Timberwolves Should Have Homecoming With Franchise Icon Kevin Love

Kevin Love’s History With the Timberwolves

The Timberwolves originally selected Love with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of UCLA.

He spent his first six NBA seasons in the Twin Cities, averaging 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in 364 regular-season games (282 starts) with Minnesota, earning three All-Star selections, the Most Improved Player award, and two All-NBA selections.

In 2014, the Timberwolves traded Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a package that included Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, and Love would go on to win the NBA Championship in 2016 with the Cavaliers.

Since leaving Cleveland in 2023, Love played in parts of three seasons with the Miami Heat and last year with the Jazz, a rebuilding team where he provided invaluable leadership to the team’s young players.

But with the Jazz trying to get out of their rebuild phase and make it to the postseason, the team made several moves this offseason to fill their roster, and it doesn’t appear that Love will be back.

That’s why the Timberwolves should take advantage of the situation and bring Love back to Minnesota to finish out his NBA career.

After the Timberwolves just signed Jonathan Kuminga and made a salary dump with the Jazz for Josh Green, the team has just enough money remaining under the second apron to sign one more player to its roster.

Love should be the 15th man on Minnesota’s roster and be the final piece to the puzzle as the team looks to win its first NBA Championship ever.

It would truly be an incredible story if Love came back to where it all began and won it all with the Timberwolves next season.

That’s why Minnesota needs to get this deal done and bring Love back for one more ride.

Minnesota Lineup With Kevin Love

If the Timberwolves signed Love, this is what their lineup would look like for next season:

PG: LaMelo Ball
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Jonathan Kuminga
C: Rudy Gobert

Bench: Ayo Dosunmu, Isaiah Evans, Terrence Shannon Jr., Joan Beringer, Bones Hyland, Enrique Freeman, Rocco Zikarsky, Jaylen Clark, Cody Williams, Kevin Love

It goes without saying that the Timberwolves are already one of the best teams in the NBA Western Conference since they have Anthony Edwards, who is arguably a top-five player in the entire league.

Anytime you have an elite superstar, you have a chance to win the chip.

In addition, the Timberwolves have two elite defenders in Gobert and McDaniels, another All-Star-level player in Ball, a potential stud in Kuminga, and a solid bench, one that Love’s addition would make even better.

The Timberwolves have the cap space to sign Love, and they could use his leadership in the locker room plus his play at the end of the bench.

It’s a perfect match, so Minnesota and Love need to get this done and let the Timberwolves franchise legend finish his storied career where it all began.

Not everyone gets to have a storybook ending in sports, but Love should be one of them.