T'Wolves have no interest in trading Love to the Celtics

Love is under contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for another season, so he's not a free agent, but when the bruising All-Star was spotted lounging in the Fenway stands, hangin' with Rajon Rondo and sipping Sam Adams, it led to wildly hopeful speculation that Love would not only welcome a trade to the Boston Celtics, he would be willing to sign an extension that would enable him to roam the parquet alongside Rondo for years to come, the way Kevin Garnett once did.

In fact, team and league sources confirm, that's a scenario that Love is willing to consider.

That immediately led to speculation that if Love came into the fold, then maybe Carmelo Anthony would be willing to opt out of his contract and join Rondo and Love to form their own version of a new-age big three that would return the Celtics to glory.

And, if Boston actually was able to reach contender status again, perhaps Paul Pierce (he and Love are both represented by Jeff Schwartz) would return at a sage veteran hometown discount to complete his career with the team he never wanted to leave in the first place.

There's only one problem with all these dizzying (and highly speculative) scenarios: They are meaningless unless the first domino -- Love actually coming to Boston -- falls. According to team and league sources, that isn't happening any time soon because the Timberwolves are less than enamored with what Boston can offer them.

The conversation would have adopted a completely different tone had the Celtics landed the first, second or third pick in the draft. The Timberwolves, like everyone else, covet the opportunity to have a crack at one of the troika of Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

The No. 6 pick isn't quite so sexy. The Celtics can offer only some combination of that pick and the following: the valuable future Brooklyn picks, the 17th pick this year, Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Keith Bogans' expiring $5.05 million contract (if they can do it before July 1).

In other words, pretty much anything Minnesota wants.

The Timberwolves privately maintain they already have fielded better offers from other teams, among them the Chicago Bulls, who can offer draft picks and some combination of Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson along with Carlos Boozer, whose bloated $16.8 million contract expires next summer and represents the kind of cap space rebuilding teams crave.

If you are Kevin Love and can choose to join a team with top dogs Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah or Rondo and Jeff Green, which way are you leaning?

Remember, there's still no guarantee Rondo is sticking around for any of this. He does not want to languish with a young rebuilding team in the prime of his career. Can't say I blame him. He wants to play in a big market, which limits trade destinations for Boston, and he wants a max deal. He has not given the Celtics any guarantees he's in for the long haul.