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Kevin Love

Final Kevin Love trade agreed upon, awaits approval

Sam Amick
USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Love will we joining LeBron James in Cleveland.

The long-awaited Kevin Love trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers will finally be formalized soon, but there was an unexpected twist near the end: Anthony Bennett won't go to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the three-team deal after all.

According to a person with knowledge of the deal that will be finalized on Saturday, the Cavaliers forward and 2013 No. 1 pick who was rumored to be headed for the 76ers will be retained by the Timberwolves. He'll join 2014 No. 1 pick and fellow Cavaliers youngster Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves will also receive 76ers forward Thaddeus Young and a trade exception (which allows teams to acquire players via trade without taking players back in return) worth more than $5 million.

Minnesota will send Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved (both expiring contracts) and a 2015 first-round pick (via the Miami Heat) to Philadelphia. The Cavaliers, of course, land the three-time All-Star in Love who will join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving & Co. on the most unexpected of title contenders. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal — which was delayed because of league rules relating to Wiggins' contract — can't be formalized until Saturday.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported that the final terms of the three-team trade had been agreed upon.

When the deal was first agreed on in principle in early August, it was a two-team trade in which the Timberwolves would land Wiggins, Bennett and a future first-round pick. Instead, they'll add Wiggins, Bennett, and Young to the roster that still includes the likes of point guard Ricky Rubio, shooting guard Kevin Martin, small forward Corey Brewer and center Nikola Pekovic from its 2013-14 starting lineup.

Minnesota, which went 40-42 last season before president of basketball operations Flip Saunders decided to add the head coaching role to his duties in the wake of Rick Adelman's retirement, is hopeful that the injection of young and athletic talent coupled with the veteran presence can make for a positive situation. Still, the odds of the Timberwolves ending their decade-long playoff drought anytime soon in the loaded Western Conference certainly appear slim.

The 76ers, meanwhile, continue down their longest of rebuilding roads while losing their best player from their awful 2013-14 campaign (19-63). Young, who averaged a career high of 17.9 points, six rebounds and 2.1 steals last season, is entering the final year of his deal.

As for the Cavaliers, they get their man in Love at a relative bargain. Wiggins was an asset they never expected to have at their disposal for this sort of game-changing scenario, as they entered the draft lottery with a 1.7% chance of drafting first overall and walked away with their third top pick in the last four years. The Bennett subplot wasn't nearly as much of a surprise the year prior, as Cleveland entered with the best odds of landing the top pick of any team (15.6%) and surprised the masses by taking Bennett out of UNLV. And now, both players have allowed these most-fortunate Cavaliers to do what they couldn't do when James was there the first time around (2003-10): give him not only one formidable co-star, but two.

James made his surprising decision to leave the Miami Heat last month without knowing that Love would be part of the Cavaliers' plan, but he now finds himself heading a roster that should be among the Eastern Conference elite. As James said in his Sports Illustrated essay explaining his decision to return to his home state, "My patience will get tested."

Just not nearly as much as he may have thought back then.

Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.

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