Grading the Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins trade

The Love affair is over, and it turns out the Minnesota Timberwolves did a little bit better from the break-up than most expected.

Not only did Kevin’s jilted ex land Andrew Wiggins, the T-Wolves also came away with both Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young in the split. That should mend some broken hearts.

Most reports had Bennett replacing Young in Philadelphia, but the 76ers let him go for a draft pick and Joel Embiid’s pal, allowing Minnesota to pick up a pair of young, talented power forwards to try to replace one of the game’s best.

It’s the 1980s rom-com equivalent of coming out of a divorce with the family dog AND the Bruce Springsteen CD collection.

So the Cleveland Cavaliers put themselves firmly in the championship mix, the T-Wolves pressed the reset button and the Sixers stayed true to their astonishing commitment to be the worst basketball team the NBA has ever seen (I’ve heard the Harlem Globetrotters are considering taking them on their next tour).

But which team won the trade?

Cleveland Cavaliers

In: Kevin Love

Out: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett

Grade: A-

The Cavs probably put LeBron James right back in the NBA Finals with this deal.

It’s tough to find any fault with the deal from Cleveland’s point of view, but the minus recognises the possibility that Wiggins becomes a better player than Love down the line.

Nevertheless, even with this risk, the deal was what the US sports media like to call a ‘no-brainer’. Cleveland’s new Agent Zero is an elite rebounder and shooter, point guard Kyrie Irving is a future star and LeBron is still LeBron for a few more years yet. As long as David Blatt can coach in the NBA, this team will be just as good as its fans hope and its rivals fear.

Minnesota Timberwolves

In: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Thaddeus Young, $6.3m trade exception

Out: Kevin Love, Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved

Grade: A

At one point, Minnesota seemed to be ready to surrender Love for a Golden State Warriors package featuring David Lee and Harrison Barnes, or letting him walk in free-agency (the second of those deals is probably preferable). Two number one draft picks and a borderline All-Star is a historically good haul  in a trade for an NBA superstar.

They won’t make the playoffs any time soon, but a team featuring this athletic trio, 2014 first-round pick Zach Lavine and point guard Ricky Rubio should produce an entertaining team with boundless potential.

It’s win-win for the two main players in the deal …

Philadelphia 76ers

In: Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved, 2015 Miami Heat first-round pick

Out: Thaddeus Young

Grade: ?

Who the heck knows? How do you rate a team that’s already terrible getting even worse on purpose?

Never change, Sixers.

Three pointers

1. Team USA’s 12-man roster for the upcoming Fiba World Cup is an NBA B-team. At best. They’ll most likely still win the tournament, but the team is somewhat uninspiring. I’ll still be able to name the original Dream Team in 20 years. I’ve forgotten this one already.

2. James Harden says he’s the best basketball player alive right now. I’m not sure about that –is defence still an NBA skill? – but he is certainly becoming one of the best at appearing totally and utterly unlikable. Quite a feat for someone who plays with Dwight Howard.

3. Somebody has made a sculpture of Kobe Bryant wrestling a snake in the nude. That’s Kobe in the nude. The snake is also in the nude, of course. Otherwise it would be weird.

Jamie Goodwin is Web News Editor on gulfnews.com and has been an avid follower of the NBA for more than 20 years.