Minnesota Timberwolves “What if?”: Kevin Love was traded for Klay Thompson

The thought of Kevin Love being sent to Golden State instead of the Cleveland Cavaliers has endless “what if” possibilities. One thing that is for sure, the NBA would have been completely different.

Sports has always been about “What if’s”. What if this trade happened, or this player signed with this team. It especially happens when you’re a Minnesota Timberwolves’ fan. To say the past decade has been a disappointment is an understatement.

Spending 13 years out of the playoffs has been way too long. Watching teams play in the middle of Ma, and not having it being your own is not fun. There has been so many “What Ifs” during this span.

What if the Timberwolves drafted Stephen Curry, instead of Ricky Rubio, and Jonny Flynn? What if they drafted Demarcus Cousins instead of Wesley Johnson? What if the Timberwolves didn’t trade Kevin Garnett? What if… the Wolves traded Kevin Love for Klay Thompson?

Hindsight’s always 20/20, but what if the Timberwolves did trade Kevin Love for Klay Thompson? Well, for one thing, the NBA would look a lot different.

If the Timberwolves traded Kevin Love to the Golden State Warriors; then the Wolves would look completely different.

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First of all the Timberwolves roster for the start of the 2014 season would look like: PG: Ricky Rubio, SG: Klay Thompson SF: Corey Brewer, PF: Thaddeus Young, C: Nikola Pekovic. Not only would their play be different, but it would also alter their future plans.

With Thompson on the Wolves roster, it would cause Zach Lavine to rarely play, and in fact, leave the team in a trade, or when he would become a free agent.

Everyone knows that Lavine has a high ceiling, and no one knows that more than LaVine himself. He would see himself being more valuable elsewhere where he can develop and become a big star.

It would also mean that the wolves would probably be borderline playoffs, flirting with the 7th-9th seed every year. While Klay Thompson is a valuable player as he can hit three’s and play tremendous defense. He is not a player who will bring you deep into the playoffs.

If the Wolves were landing around that 8th seed area, it would mean that they would be a late lottery to middle of the first round team in the draft. Yes, that means that the Wolves wouldn’t have Karl-Anthony Towns (shed’s tear).

Maybe the Wolves get a nice addition in the middle of the draf or a solid veteran pickup in the offseason, but they wouldn’t be competing in the finals.

Because the Wolves traded Love, for Andrew Wiggins, they currently have a great number two player, a future Hall of Famer in Towns and a good player in LaVine. Did I mention that they also have one of the brightest futures in the NBA, who could one day be holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Now let’s look at the Warriors side of the story. If Klay wasn’t on the Warriors, it would have ended the era of the Splash Bro’s. It would also mean that the Warriors would not be as dynamic, and scary as a team.

Kevin Love is a good player, but his stats were deceiving because of his play on a weaker Timberwolves team. He hit his peak during the 2013-2014 season. Hitting a career high 26.1 points per game, and 12.5 rebounds a game. Pretty good numbers right?

But what happened to Kevin Love when he was not the number one option? He ultimately found himself struggling, only scoring 16.4 points per game, and averaging 9.7 rebounds a game.

The same thing would have happened if he was playing for Golden State.

Draymond Green didn’t find his stride until the 2014-2015 season. The same year that Love was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers. What does this mean? It means that Love would have been in Draymond’s way of becoming an All-Star. Love would have taken over the power forward position, making Green a bench player.

The Warriors would be a good team, but nothing like the superstar team they are now.

Would Kevin Durant still have joined the Warriors? Would the Warriors have found themselves in their third straight finals appearance? Probably not.

Finally, let’s look at the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James come’s back to his home state of Ohio, and this is when the NBA changed greatly. First of all, Andrew Wiggins, would not be a Timberwolf. Instead, Wiggins would be learning how to play the game from LeBron.

It can be looked at from both angles. As some people would argue that it would slow Wiggins development, as he would be in the background and coming off the bench.

Not Like in Minnesota, Wiggins wouldn’t be starting, as well as becoming a building block for the future. Yes, he would be a nice addition, but he probably wouldn’t be the same star player that he is now.

Others would see this as a great way for Wiggins to relieve some of the pressure, as the two former number one picks, LeBron, and Kyrie Irving would be the main pieces in Ohio.

However some may look at it, Wiggins would be better off in Minnesota, where he can be one the main pieces for years to come. It would be a great opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players to play the game.

The Cavaliers would probably be reeling in free agents, as many players love to play with LeBron. Why wouldn’t they? They get to coast to the finals every year and play with LeBron.

Kevin Love is better suited for the Cleveland Cavaliers because of his veteran presence, and immediate help.

Whereas, Wiggins would be trying to learn the game and possibly slowing the Cavs from winning the finals.

The landscape of the NBA would be a lot different if the Timberwolves and the Warriors traded Kevin Love and Klay Thompson.

The NBA might not see the Cavs and the Warriors completely blowing everyone out of the waters like they are now. The two teams would still be competing every year for a chance to go to the finals. Bu, the talent would be a lot more spread out throughout the NBA.

Kevin Durant might still be with the Oklahoma City Thunder, or elsewhere.

Andrew Wiggins might not be that future star like he is in Minnesota. The NBA would be a lot different.

In my mind, it was a good thing that Minnesota decided to trade Love for Wiggins. As Minnesota now has a better chance to compete in the finals some day with all the young talent they have surrounding them.

Next: Dunking With Wolves mock draft

The Timberwolves always seem to be playing the “What If’ game, but every fan can rest knowing that they were better off not sending Love to Oakland.