Kevin Love reportedly agrees to max deal; source says no deal done
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The Minnesota Timberwolves and All-Star forward Kevin Love reportedly agreed to a four-year, $62 million contract extension on Tuesday night.
However, an NBA source denied that any such agreement was in place.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported the 23-year-old Love was expected to sign the contract on Wednesday afternoon in Dallas. The Wolves will play the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Wolves officials and Love's representative did not immediately respond to messages left seeking confirmation of the agreement.
Love, the fifth-overall pick in the 2008 draft, needs to sign the extension before 11 p.m. Wednesday or he will become a restricted free agent in July.
The biggest deal Love could sign with another team in restricted free agency would be for four years and $58 million and the Wolves would have the right to match. Love, however, also could take a one-year qualifying offer worth $6 million from the Wolves for 2012-13 and then become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
If Love does get a deal done by with the Wolves by Wednesday's deadline, the options are for him to receive a four-year, $62 million deal or a five-year, $78-plus million contract. Both would be considered "max" deals because the team would be giving Love as much as it could over that time period.
Love would join Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook as players from the 2008 draft class to get extensions. Both Rose and Westbrook were signed for five years.
The issue facing the Wolves and President of Basketball Operations David Kahn about the length of Love's deal could be this.
Under the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement there can be only one "designated player" on a team, meaning if the Wolves were to give Love a five-year contract they could not offer rookies Ricky Rubio or Derrick Williams five-year deals down the road.
Love declined to comment on his contract situation on Tuesday after saying he wasn't worried about it Monday. Both Love and Wolves officials have kept very quiet about the ongoing negotiations.
Love scored 39 points and had 12 rebounds in the Wolves' 107-92 loss to Houston on Monday. He is averaging 24.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists this season and has developed into the Wolves' top player. Love also leads the NBA with an average of 39.4 minutes.
