Klay Thompson For Kevin Love: The Trade That Never Was

Klay Thompson for Kevin Love. Remember when this was the hottest trade rumor in the summer of 2014? It’s time to take a look at the trade that never was.

Remember when Kevin Love was the star player of the Minnesota Timberwolves? It seems like it was a long time ago, doesn’t it? Klay Thompson is still with the Golden State Warriors, but what would it have looked like if the Warriors traded him to the Wolves for Love?

The Timberwolves and Warriors had been engaged in talks that would send Love to the Warriors, but Golden State was reluctant to include Thompson as the Wolves were demanding him in the deal. As Rob Mahoney of SI.com put it, the Warriors’ refusal allowed both teams to asses their options and go a different route. The biggest kicker was Love’s pending free agency — he had a player option for the 2015-16 season.

Enter the Cleveland Cavaliers. Before LeBron James decided to return to the Cavs, Andrew Wiggins was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and David Blatt was hired as the head coach. Blatt was hired to coach a team where Kyrie Irving and Wiggins were the two stars. Obviously, that didn’t turn out to be the case.

The end result ended up with Love playing for the Cavs, Wiggins playing for the Wolves and Thompson winning a NBA championship over Love and the Cavs, and storming on to the national stage as a star.

Jan 24, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (42) holds onto a rebound next to Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Back to the fictitious NBA world where Thompson is in Minnesota, Love is with the Warriors and Wiggins is with the Cavs.

Love would likely excel with the Warriors, like he did with the Wolves, because he’d be a focal point of the offense. But the changes would be drastic from how the Warriors won the NBA Finals.

The Warriors would likely turn to Leandro Barbosa as a natural fit at shooting guard, or a bigger Harrison Barnes to start with Andre Iguodala beside him at forward. Doing so would allow Love to play at the power forward position and the Warriors would still have a three-point shooter alongside Stephen Curry in the backcourt.

With either of these lineups, the Warriors would be light on the wing. Justin Holiday and Brandon Rush would come off the bench, as opposed to having either Iguodala or Barnes off the bench with Barbosa.

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Love would have prevented the development of Draymond Green and kept him from becoming a top 10 player in the NBA, as the NBA’s high-profile Jerry West told KNBR in November. Instead of Green playing 31.5 minutes per game, like he did in the 2014-15 season, he’d likely play 15-20 minutes per game off the bench.

Not having Thompson on the wing would create a lack of depth and a surplus of bigs, though that wouldn’t be known since Green had not burst on to the national stage yet. The Warriors would likely be a playoff team, but would they be a championship-caliber team? Possibly, but it’s hard to think that would be a given.

The Timberwolves would have greatly benefited from Thompson’s shooting abilities. As a team, the Wolves shot 33.2 percent from three-point range. Thompson shot a career-best 43.9 percent from three-point range during the 2014-15 season.

The Wolves struggled on their way to a 16-66 season, which was good enough to land them the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. But they suffered a long season that was plagued by injuries. In fact, the Wolves had 11 players that started 13 games or more, and only Wiggins played in all 82 games.

Wiggins aside, the Wolves may have stayed healthier with Thompson’s ability to stretch the floor. But then they wouldn’t have had the ability to land Karl-Anthony Towns the next summer.

Running out a lineup with Ricky Rubio and Thompson in the backcourt with Thaddeus Young and Gorgui Dieng in the front court, the Wolves would have had great depth all around. They would have been able to develop Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine, but the young Wolves benefited from the large amounts of playing time they received due to all the injuries.

It’s hard to tell where the Wolves would be now. Thompson had a WAR of 7.83, while Wiggins had a WAR of -0.5 for the 2014-15 season. Those totals would likely be adjusted playing on different teams, but Thompson would have helped the Wolves, who may not have landed the top pick (though with the oddities of the NBA’s Draft Lottery, anything could happen).

Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs would look a lot different than what they do now. Blatt may still be the head coach, Wiggins’ inside and midrange game would be complemented by Irving’s perimeter shooting and great handles and the Cavs’ future would be bright.

There’s no telling how the Cavs would have filled out their roster. Guard Dion Waiters and forward Tristan Thompson would still have a big impact on the outcome of the 2014-15 season.

The Cavs would have needed to finish 38-44 to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. It wouldn’t have been out of reach with Wiggins, but it would depend upon how they would fill out the rest of their roster.

Wiggins is going to be a star in this league. Whether it was going to be with the Cavs or the Wolves, it was evident that he has the tools and potential to become one of the next great wing players.

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Thompson would have been the Wolves’ superstar and the go-to scorer. He would have had success, but may not have thrived as a shooter like he does with the Warriors. His shooting percentages may have suffered some due to being the go-to-guy in Minnesota.

He likely wouldn’t be an NBA champion, but would have had another top lottery pick around him, whether it was Jahlil Okafor, Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja or someone else. The future would still be just as bright with the Thompson-led Wolves.

The Warriors may have drawn the shortest straw if they traded Thompson for Love. The production of Green and lack of depth on the wings would prove costly, and possibly would result in a playoff exit instead of becoming NBA champions. With the threat of Love leaving in the offseason, the Warriors could have potentially been without Love this season without compensation for him.

All three teams are likely happy with the outcome. Hanging on to Thompson allowed the Warriors to utilize their depth and develop Green into a top player on their way to being crowned as the NBA Champions.

The Cavs were able to get to the NBA Finals, but with injuries to stars in Irving and Love meant James’ heroic effort fell short against the Warriors. However, they lead the East and are threatening to get to the NBA Finals again in 2016. The Wolves have one of the brightest futures of any NBA team behind the two young stars in Wiggins and Towns.

Next: NBA Trade Rumors: Trade Priorities For All 30 Teams

The reality is that all three teams are in better situations than where they could have been. It’s hard to look back on something in hindsight and think about what could have been different because no game is played on paper. Surprises and injuries happen, so it’s difficult to predict the “what ifs,” but all parties should be satisfied with where they are now.