Timberwolves Owner Has Parting Shots for Love
The long drawn out trade between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers came to a close over the weekend. Most thought the saga had finally ended with new a player or players being presented to their news teams.
However, Glen Taylor the owner of the Timberwolves made a comment that Kevin Love might struggle with Cleveland.
The comment could be out of frustration for losing one of the top players in the league or Taylor knows something the rest of us do not.
It was obvious Love did not want to play any longer in Minnesota he let that be known in one or two of his dozens of interviews that always touched upon the subject.
Taylor in what seems like a way to vent frustration took to the airwaves on Tuesday to speak his mind about the trade.
Taylor said he knows that Love was able to get away with some stuff with the Timberwolves as far as playing defense. However, Taylor was not sure how that was going to work for him in Cleveland. He feels they might ask Love to play more defense and he is prone to fouls.
Taylor’s comments are nothing that is not already known. Love by any measure is a defender of below average quality. While the presence of Anderson Varejao at center and LeBron James will make his defensive life easier, never has the offensive minded Love experienced the type of on-court accountability he will soon be facing in Cleveland.
Taylor also questioned if the deal in Cleveland was the best for Love, because he will be the third player not the first of second.
Taylor feels if the team is successful, the credit will go to LeBron and Kyrie Irving and likely not reach Love.
However, Taylor feels if the Cavaliers are not successful then the blame will definitely reach Love.
The first comment about his lack of defense is one thing, but it is different to assume one of the league’s top 10 players will be a third wheel on a team.
The remarks by Taylor likely will not hold the vindictiveness in them that the letter from Dan Gilbert the Cleveland owner did four years ago when LeBron left to play in Miami, but they certainly smell of sour grapes.
After all, the trade just brought to the Timberwolves one of the most promising new prospects in the NBA in Andrew Wiggins, a solid power forward in Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett a former overall No. 1 pick who played well this past summer in Las Vegas and is looking to put a horrible first season behind him.
Of course, it is true that watching Love force his way out of Minnesota was not the thing Wolves owners or fans asked to see over the summer, but there are a number of reasons to be optimistic about the start of the NBA season in Minnesota.
Therefore, if Taylor’s comments on Tuesday do not turn into a barnstorming, month long tour then they likely will be forgotten before the players even take the court this fall for training camp.
