Everybody knows that, come tomorrow, Kevin Love will be heading to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett will be heading to the Timberwolves, but what about the other players that will be moved around because of the blockbuster deal? What about the Philadelphia 76er's stake in all of this?
According to a tweet by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, the Minnesota Timberwolves will also likely acquire forward Thaddeus Young in their big deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers will receive shooting guard Alexey Shved, Forward Luc Mbah a Moute and a 2015 first round pick from the Miami Heat that the Cavs picked up in the Lebron James package.
The Cavs have been after Love since James rejoined the team, and they are getting exactly the player they wanted. Meanwhile, Minnesota has also pulled in an impressive catch for their three-time All-Star by nabbing Young and the last two No. 1 draft picks in Bennett and Andrew Wiggins. Unfortunately for Philly, it looks like they will field the same mediocre team the fans have grown accustomed too; and mediocre is being generous.
The T'wolves are taking a bit of a gamble on Young because he's an unrestricted free agent next summer and may choose to walk away from a rebuilding project, after suffering through an embarrassing season in Philly last year. I guess the hope is that having Wiggins and Bennett as new teammates will convince him of the team's potential, and entice him to stick around. Young averaged a career high 17.9 points along with 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game last year.
For the Sixers, Shved has been a non-factor through his first two seasons. His rookie season, he averaged 8.6 points and 3.7 assists per game, but lost traction last year, averaging just 4.0 points and 1.1 assists per game as his minutes were cut back. Mbah a Moute averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game with Minnesota last season, but the upside is that he brings strong defense and a veteran presence.
So, the moral of the story is the Cav's and T'wolves made out pretty well. Look for the Cav's to rule the East with the new big 3, and expect Minnesota to make noise out west as they gell together, while in Philly, it's rebuild, rebuild, rebuild, yet again.
