CLEVELAND – Kevin Love finally is teaming up with LeBron James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers completed a delayed blockbuster trade Saturday that’s been talked about for months and on hold for 30 days. Love, arguably the game’s best power forward, is headed from Minnesota to Cleveland where he will join James and instantly make the Cavs an NBA title favorite, two persons with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The persons spoke on condition of anonymity shortly after the teams completed their conference call with the league to approve the deal.
The Timberwolves are getting No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins and former top pick Anthony Bennett from Cleveland and veteran forward Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia.
The 76ers get a 2015 first-round draft choice from Cleveland, forward Luc Mbah a Moute and guard Alexey Shved from Minnesota.
A rarely used NBA rule forced the teams to wait to complete the trade until 30 days after Wiggins signed his rookie contract.
The Cavs and Timberwolves had been discussing a trade involving for Love for months, long before James decided to leave Miami and come back home to Ohio. The deal dragged on through the summer, first because of Cleveland’s unwillingness to include Wiggins in any package, and then because the 30-day provision.
That bit of fine print in the collective bargaining agreement triggered an agonizing wait in both cities, more so in championship-starved Cleveland.
AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski reported from Minneapolis.
