Wednesday morning, the Chicago Bulls made a trade offer for Kevin Love. According to an inside source, the Timberwolves are heavily considering the offer. Chicago offered power forward Taj gibson, and the rookie Doug McDermott. Nikola Mirotic was also said to be possibly included in the rumors. Gibson averaged 13 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Also, when Taj started, he averaged 16 points per game. McDermott averaged 18 points and 4 rebounds per game in the summer league. The only thing is, the trade for Love would have to wait as McDermott just signed his rookie contract, and it will take 30 more days until he can be traded.
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The Boston Celtics made two moves today. One was aquiring small forward Evan Turner (more on him in the paragraph below), and the other was unveiling a new alternate logo. The new logo (shown above) gives a more modern look to the classic leprechaun logo the Celtics have used. Apparel with this logo on it will be available in the Celtic store this month. Also, season ticket holders will get two days to view apparel with this logo on it, before anyone from the general public. To buy season tickets for the Boston Celtics, go to: http://www.nba.com/celtics/tickets/celtics-season-tickets
*Evan Turner: Free agent Evan Truner signed with the Boston Celtics today. Turner spent the first few years of his career on the 76ers, but was traded at the trade deadline last year to the PAcers. Turner did not fit well in Indiana and the Pacers did not extend a qualifying offer to him at the end of the season, leaving him to become a free agent. Turner averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists last season. The Lakers have aquired Carlos Boozer in a silent auction between teams with salary cap space. Boozer was waived by the Bulls, who used their amnesty clause to get rid of him. The Lakers going after Boozer is surprising as Julius Randle and Ed Davis have been added to play power forward for Los Angeles. Davis averaged 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Grizzlies last year. Randle has averaged 12 points and 4 rebounds in his 3 summer league games this summer. Jordan Hill is also available to play power forward as he re-signed with the Lakers for 2 years and $18 million. Boozer is also coming off possibly his worst season in the NBA. Boozer averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and only shot 45.6% from the field. The new Laker only played 28.2 minutes per game last year, as the Bulls' defensive-minded coach, Tom Thibodeau, hardly played Boozer during crunch time. The Chicago Bulls finally amnestied Carlos Boozer. This opened up cap space to sign Nikola Mirotic. The Real Madrid star has signed with the Bulls for 3 years, and $17 million. Over 31 games played in the international Euroleague last year, Mirotic averaged 12.4 points per game. He also shot 50.6% from the field, and 81.1% from the line, while grabbing about 4-5 rebounds per game for Real Madrid. In the Spanish Liga ACB (which is ranked in the top 3 European basketball leagues), Mirotic played in 43 games for Real Madrid. He averaged about 11.6 points per game, while shooting 50.6% from the field and again grabbing about 4 or 5 rebounds per game. The Chicago Bulls have high expectations for Mirotic who can play as a stretch four by playing inside and stepping out on the perimeter. The 23 year old Spanish/ Montenegrin is also very excited about coming to the U.S. to play. Sunday he tweeted: "I am very happy and excited to announce that next season I will be playing with the @chicagobulls. Today I fulfill a dream. #BullsNation" Even though Mirotic has proven himself in Europe, he will likely not start right away. Taj Gibson will likely be the front-runner to start at power-forward for the Bulls. With the top free agents off the market, NBA fans have now turned their attention to trade rumors involving Kevin Love. The California native has expressed that he wants to play with a contender. And by contender, most people think of a team that has made the playoffs at least once since 2004. The Timberwolves though, have not been able to do this. This is why most believe Love will be on the move this year.
*Why the Timberwolves must trade Love before he becomes a free agent: While it is very hard to trade a prospect heading into his prime, Minnesota needs to face the harsh reality. If they do not trade Love this off-season, he will become a free agent next year. Then he will be on the move, and the T-Wolves will be left with nothing in return. By trading him now, Minnesota could receive prospects, draft picks, and possibly seasoned veterans to lead their young team. *Cavaliers and Timberwolves Trade Rumors: Kevin Love told reporters he was "intrigued" by the idea of joining Cleveland. Also, if Love did go to the Cavs, a big three with LeBron and Kyrie Irving would be made. This would be an ideal situation for the championship hungry Love. The only thing stopping a Cavaliers-Timberwolves trade is the Cavs' refusal to trade their #1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins. Cleveland has proposed a trade involving former #1 pick Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters for Love. But this trade proposal has not gotten Timberwolves to bite. They are staying strong and will only accept a trade if Wiggins is involved. The Cavs are holding on to Wiggins because they believe he will be the one to take over the franchise after LeBron leaves. This is a higher risk than trading Wiggins for the already proven Kevin Love. All in all, a Timberwolves-Cavaliers trade is not likely, unless Cleveland starts to budge with Canadian Andrew Wiggins. *Warriors and Timberwolves Trade Rumors: The Timberwolves want Klay Thompson like they do Andrew Wiggins, and without Thompson in the trade proposal, The T-Wolves aren't going to budge. The Warriors like their 24 year old shooting guard too much, and it isn't likely he will be traded. Also, Thompson is an important part of the Golden State backcourt, and too valuable to trade, even if it is for Kevin Love. *Everything can be summed up by John Krawczynski's tweet: "Lots telling me Wolves HAVE to move Love now. All I can say is they don't see it that way. No Klay. No Wiggins. No Love. Period." Last Sunday, Chandler Parsons signed with the Dallas Mavericks for $46 million over the next three years. This is a huge salary boost for the former Florida Gator, who earned just $2.6 Million over his three seasons with the Houston Rockets. Many have argued that the new contract is very over-priced, and they do not blame the Rockets for not matching the offer. The only thing is, these people do not understand Parsons' recent stats. While his numbers don't seem too impressive (16.6 points, 4 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game last season), only six other players touched these totals. These players were LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Gordon Hayward, and Michael Carter-Williams. Not a bad list to be on don't you think?
The versatile 6'9 forward also brings many assets to the table. Parsons stretches out the defense with his 33.7% shooting from beyond the arc. But Dallas has not signed the Casselberry, Florida native for just his three-point shooting. Parsons is also a very good rebounder and a presence inside. While many players are over-paid, Chandler Parsons is the real deal and is just reaching his prime. Look for his name on SportsCenter for years to come. |