If Andrew Wiggins is dealt for Kevin Love it almost certainly won’t be in the immediate future. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Wiggins will sign his rookie contract with the Cavs this week, precluding him from being traded for at least 30 days.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are planning to sign No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins to a contract in the coming week, according to sources close to the process.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Cavaliers’ delay in signing the former Kansas star has nothing to do with the prospect of Wiggins being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of Cleveland’s ongoing trade discussions for Kevin Love.
The Cavaliers, sources say, are merely exploring options for using their estimated $1.4 million in remaining cap space before signing Wiggins to a contract that will pay him in the neighborhood of $5.5 million as a rookie.
Some have assumed that the contractual hold-up between Cleveland and Wiggins is directly related to the team’s pursuit of Love, but Windhorst says the situations are unrelated.
Differing reports have emerged from Cavs camp in recent days as to whether or not Wiggins has been included in the team’s trade package to Minnesota. Cleveland initially balked at the notion of parting with Wiggins for Love, but several sources have reported that it acquiesced to the ‘Wolves insistence otherwise in the last 72 hours. The Cavaliers, of course, have since refuted that intel.
News that Cleveland will officially ink Wiggins in coming days doesn’t necessarily speak to its desire for Love other than prolonging the process. With Minnesota and the Golden State Warriors involved in a similar state of limbo regarding Klay Thompson, there’s little incentive for the Cavs to rush things. Their preference, obviously, is to acquire Love without surrendering Wiggins; until the competition for Love ramps up considerably, Cleveland should try its damndest to do just that.
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