Timberwolves Roster & Trade Rumors: Without Kevin Love, Will They Win?

Before the actual departure of Kevin Love from Minnesota in August 2014, the Timberwolves were already expecting their former star to leave since January 2012.

In a report by CBS, president of the Wolves, David Kahn, rejected Love's maximum contract extension at the start of 2012. Furthermore, Love was showing signs of discontentment with the team, especially after failing to make the playoffs in six years.

Forward Corey Brewer of the Wolves said, "I knew he was going to get out of here. I'll be honest," forward Corey Brewer said. "But it is what it is. You've just got to adjust. We're young. It's not an excuse not to win. A lot of young teams win. Think about it. Phoenix was young last year and they should've made the playoffs." He added, "I feel like we can still compete I played on a Denver team that was the third seed and we didn't have a superstar at all. You don't have to have a superstar to be able to compete."

Nikola Pekovic, said, "I think the loss of Kevin Love, I think there was something somewhere in the air toward the end of the season. Still, we had some hope that he would stay. But we tried to make our team younger, and I see a lot of new faces, a lot of younger guys. Just waiting to see how Flip (Saunders) and the rest of the coaching staff are going to put everything together."

Reportedly, although the Timberwolves will definitely miss Love's offensive skills on the court, they also acquired a couple of new promising talents in exchange, namely Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, both No. 1 overall NBA draft picks.

Veterans Thaddeus Young and Ricky Rubio are also geared to step up in the upcoming season. Rubio said, "Kevin was a superstar last year. It was his team. Now we have to step up. (Martin), me, have to step up and put this team higher than it has been the last 10 years. We're gonna make it, and I think we're excited to do it. That's it."

Young will be put into Love's starting position. He said in a report by Sportsnet.com, "I'm not trying to replace 26 (points) and 12 (rebounds). Twenty-six and 12 hasn't made it to the playoffs. If we can get to the playoffs with me doing 10 to 18 or something like that, I'm great with that. I just want to win basketball games. I'm not trying to come here and be a stat stuffer."