When it comes to possibly trading Kevin Love, the Minnesota Timberwolves are letting other teams come to them.
Newly installed head coach Flip Saunders — who also happens to be president and part-owner of the club — told the Star Tribune that while around 16 teams have contacted the Wolves about the All-Star power forward, “we haven’t called anybody.”
More than half the NBA being interested in Love isn’t surprising. He is 25 years old and coming off a season in which he averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. It is well documented that the Boston Celtics would like to land Love, but they appear to be no better than third in the running for his services.
Love can opt out of the final season of his contract next summer, and has reportedly made it known that he wants to be traded.
Saunders, who hired himself as coach Thursday, didn’t cast aspersions at the Celtics for a high-profile visit Love made to Boston last weekend — though he did not rule out the Celtics’ possible role in the trip, behind the scenes.
“I don’t think Boston had anything to do with it,” he told Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune. “But I don’t know.”
