Minnesota: We lost that lovin feeling....

  This summer in the NBA is a pretty special one.  Starting Thursday we have a rematch of last years finals With the Spurs versus the Heat. Which proved to be a great series.  This will be the first time since the 97-98 season in which we have had the same two teams return to the finals.  The last teams to do so were the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.  Kind of ironic, considering these two teams are fashioned similar to the Jazz and Bulls of the 90's.  Should make for another great series.

  Then in a few weeks we have the most coveted draft since Lebron James came in to the league.  A draft deep on talent with the top 3-4 players considered franchise building/cornerstone type players.  Four days following the draft, free agency begins with big names like James, Wade, Bosh, Nowitzki, Anthony all having the ability to find a new home if they so choose.

  But the biggest name being talked about is not a draft pick, not a free agent to be, but a player that is under contract next season.  A player that seemingly holds all the power in their hands due to an early out clause in his contract that could make him a free agent in the summer of 14-15, that being Kevin Love.

  Love has been been a Timberwolf  his entire career having been drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded on draft day 2008 to Minnesota.  In his six years in Minnesota, the Timberwolves are yet to make the playoffs much to the dismay of Love.  So much so that there was a rumor at the beginning of last season that Love had requested to be traded.  The rumor was denied by both love and the franchise but the foundation had been laid.  Love was not happy and Minnesota need to appease him by adding quality teammates or lose him in free agency.  Minnesota chose to call Love's bluff and did not trade him before the deadline last season.

Bringing us to present day.....

  Love and his camp have officially lobbied for a trade now and are no longer denying their desire to move on.  As for Minnesota, they seem to want to believe it is all a bad dream.  They continue to hold to the fact that Love is under contract for the next season and that they fully expect him to play for the Timberwolves.  There have been hints and rumors that Minnesota is softening its stance on trading Love as they know they can not let him walk or lose him for nothing.

And that is where things get difficult.

  With Love having an early termination clause on his contract and technically only being under contract for the following season, he has all the power or control over where he gets traded.  At this point no team seems to be willing to role the dice on Love without the assurance that he will sign an extension.  The one team that might would be the Los Angles Lakers who did so with Dwight Howard who in turn left money on the table and left the lights of L.A. for greener pastures in Houston Texas.

  But this is different, as the Lakers are supposedly a preferred destination for Kevin Love.  It would be unlikely that the Lakers would need that assurance from Love, as he is a west coast guy, a southern California guy having been born in Santa Monica.   Last year Love was asked about playing for the Lakers and said that he was not sure the Lakers were a better situation than he was currently in in Minnesota.  He went as far as to say the Timberwolves were the better team.  True at the time.....

  But are we to believe that Love doesn't really want to play for the Lakers?  I believe that if he could choose and all things were equal, there is no way he turns down the Lakers.

  So what other options are there?  Cleveland did just win the #1 pick in this summers draft.  They are said to be in a "win now" situation and seem to be likely suitors for Love.  What about the Phoenix Suns?  They have multiple first round picks as well as a couple of young assets they could move.  The Suns first round picks include 14,18 and 27.  Is the combination of those picks and Gerald Green appealing?  What about the Chicago Bulls?  They have picks 16 and 19 the expiring contract of Carlos Boozer.  Maybe Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell.  Its unlikely they give up Taj Gibson....Or the Golden State Warriors.  They have no pick this year, but have young players like Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes.  Many Jazz fans have clamored to get in the Love sweepstakes and the Jazz do have both picks and assets to do so, but I find it hard to believe the Jazz could get the assurance that Love would sign and extension.

Now we have the Flavor of the Month, the Boston Celtics.

  This weekend was a hot weekend for Love and Celtics rumors.  As Love took in a Red Sox game at Fenway.  It was also reported that Rajon Rondo happen to be at the same game.  There was also the this tweet from Red Sox DH David Ortiz, #cityofchampions.  As well as the rumored communication with Celtics legend Bill Walton.  Again, do the Celtics have the pieces to make this happen?  First off, they have a relationship with Minnesota thanks to a trade years ago in which a very similar situation was transpiring with then Timber wolf Kevin Garnett.  The Celtics also have picks 6 and 17 in this years draft.  They actually have 17 first round picks stockpiled in the next 10 years!  So picks, they have the assets.  What about players?  They have a good young small forward in Jeff Green, a young power forward in Jared Sullinger, big man Kelly Olynyk and veteran Gerald Wallace.  If the Celtics look to make the deal it is unlikely that they add Rajan Rondo, who too has been rumored to be on the trading block.  So clearly the Celtics have the assets.

  This may be the best situation for Love.  He would get the big market he so desires.  Would have the opportunity to play with a great point guard in Rajon Rondo and the Celtics will likely have picks and the flexibility to add a few other pieces to their two studs.  Personally, if Love is going to go somewhere, this is one place that I would like to see him.  One, it keeps him from the Lakers and two he is on the east coast.  I would like to see a little more balance in the conferences and this would help move towards that.

  Its only a matter of time at at this point.  Love has said he wants to be traded before the season and with the teams in play its likely that a trade gets done in the next couple of weeks.  Where ever Mr.Love ends up, I hope that he is able to get back "that loving feeling" again....

Some things learned....

  The Utah Jazz fell hard again last night, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-97.  This one was hard to watch.  I fully expected the Jazz to come out with more intensity.  This was not the case.  The Jazz started the usual starters minus Derrick Favors who was out with a strained abductor. Enes Kanter was plugged in and was ineffective.

  Last nights game showed a couple of things.  First the value of Derrick Favors.  I think the Jazz should be extremely happy with the contract extension and the development of the young Mr. Favors.  He is a game changer in so many ways.  On defense, the other team is always conscious of where he is.  He may not block every shot in the paint but I guarantee you he effects every shot in the paint.  Offensively he demands a double team simply because of his size.  If he catches the ball deep in the post there are very few people in the league who are going to deter Favors.  Last night really shows how important Derrick is for the future of the Jazz.

  To go along with the Derrick Favors and his value to the Jazz, we need to take a close look at the value of a rim protector.  Rudy Gobert played 27 mins, went 4-5 from the field scoring 8 points, had 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.  The stats may look a little pedestrian but Rudy's effect on the game was not.  The Timberwolves were very conscious of where Rudy was at all times on the floor. At one point he made JJ Barea shot a runner earlier than he would like.  You could see that it was totally out of rhythm and was a floater a long way from the hoop (unfortunately some how it went in).  It was great to see Rudy get some extended run.

  Gordon Hayward did return to the lineup and played well.  No rust for Gordon.  He and Alec were really the only offensive bright spots for the team.  Hayward finished 10-17 from the field, 2-5 from 3pt for 27 pts.  Alec finished 6-14 from the field, 1-1 from 3pt for 18 pts.  The Jazz just did not get much else from anyone else offensively.

  One of the most frustrating parts of the game was the inconsistency in the calls by the officials.  I try not to bring the officials in to the game or anything that I write, but last night it could not be ignored.  So much so that even Coach Corbin made a comment or two about the way the game was officiated.  Looking at it, the Timberwolves shot 24 free-throws to the Jazz 12.  Its not very often that the home team is doubled up on the free-throw attempts.  Ty did mention early on that Minnesota was the aggressor, but I did not feel that it was that big of a discrepancy.  The Jazz also lost the rebound battle 42-41 and the turnover battle 9-14.  As far as the boards go, the Jazz did a much better job as a team in comparison to the previous game.  That was good to see.

  With the way this season has developed we can safely say that Trey Burke and Derrick Favors are the Jazz most important/valuable players.  This team flounders when missing one of these two players.  While I love Gordon and what he brings to the team, those things were filled by the other players on the team for the 2 weeks that Gordon was out.  If anything this may help the Jazz with their negotiations with Gordon this summer and will also help the front office decide how important he is to this team.

Jazz looking for revenge tonight!

  The Utah Jazz are coming off a 3 game road trip, having gone 1-2 with a win in Detroit.  The first game of the trip, the Jazz took the Spurs to the wire, but ultimately came up short.  Game 2 of the trip, they dominated the Detroit Pistons.  This wasn't even a game.  Game 3 the roles were reversed.  As the Minnesota Timber Wolves had their way with the Jazz.  The Wolves front court of Pekovic and Love combined for 45 points and 27 rebounds.  The Jazz had no answer.  This was the second game of a back to back and I would have guessed the Jazz would have had more energy than they did, considering the outcome in Detroit.

  Tonight the Jazz are back in the comforts of the ESA and look to return the favor.  It will be interesting to see how the Jazz come out tonight.  Gordon Hayward did practice with the team yesterday but is a game time decision for tonight's game.

  Versus the Wolves, the Jazz lost the 3 key statistical categories.  They were out rebounded 60-42, free-throws 34 attempts to the Jazz 29 and turnovers 15-16.  You can't win games if you lose all 3 of these categories.

  The Wolves were the aggressor from the tip.  They got both Trey and Alec in early foul trouble and it was all down hill from there.  The level of play dips drastically when Trey is off the court.  When Alec has to go to the bench, the Jazz lose their best penetrator and creator.  Alec's December and January have been the best 2 months of his career.  He seems to be in a great rhythm and understands his role with the team.  The best part about Alec's play has been the consistency.  He has been able to string together good games and has been effective in other facets of the game beside scoring.  Alec was the only Jazz player in double figures versus the Wolves and that was after the foul trouble.  The Jazz will need that kind of effort again tonight especially if Hayward is a no-go.

  Look for the Jazz front court to take this game personally.  Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter and Marvin Williams overwhelmed by Love and Pekovic.  Prior to the game at Minnesota, both Favors and Kanter had been using a quick offensive move that was very effective for both players.  Kanter spoke of this change in the post game at San Antonio.  He mentioned that Andres Biedrins and mentioned to him that the Spurs were loading up on him when he caught the ball in the post and advised Kanter to go early.  Make a move on the catch.  I have noticed this being used by both young bigs since the Spurs game.  Look for both Kanter and Favors to make quick moves in the post, trying to catch Pek and Love off guard.

  Lastly,  I have to give credit to Ty Corbin and the staff.  Since Trey's return to the line up the Jazz, as a collective, have really developed.  Favors offense, Alec Burks progression, Kanter coming out of his slump all this plus the kind of effort the staff has been able to get from this team every night has been remarkable.  I can't remember the last time I watched a Jazz team compete and compete for a full 48 minutes regardless of score.  This young team is headed in the right direction.  I really feel, baring a major injury or trades, the Jazz will play .500 basketball from here on out.  With that being said, the piece the Jazz get in this summers draft, regardless of position may just be the piece to get this team back to the playoffs.  Its good to be a Jazz fan!

GO JAZZ

http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/timberwolves.pdf
http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/jazz.pdf