Bored with what’s going on right now on his own team, Kobe Bryant decided to share his wisdom regarding the upcoming trade involving the Cleveland Cavaliers the Minnesota Timberwolves, stating that sending Andrew Wiggins away from Kevin Love is the same mistake done 18 years ago when he was a rookie getting dealt before playing a single game for his new team.

Personally, I don’t agree with the moves the Cavaliers are about to make. There’s nothing wrong with building for the future while playing for the now. It’s still not clear how much the Cavs are going to give up for Kevin Love, and unless the Minnesota Timberwolves are really selling him for cheap, I feel like the Cavaliers are giving up too many assets and future for the sake of one or two good seasons in which they can contend for the title.

What happens after that? If LeBron James leaves again? If Kevin Love doesn’t extend his contract? Square one, only with just Kyrie Irving, which means pretty much what the last three years felt like. Anthony Bennett is never going to be the franchise player a number one draft pick is often expected to be, but another first round pick and obviously Wiggins, who is going to contribute right away, might be betting a bit too much on the now.

But the Cavaliers aren’t making the same deal as the Charlotte Hornets back in the day. With all due respect to Vlade Divac, he isn’t Kevin Love, and not even close.  A veteran center with solid defense, good 3-point shooting and good vision. Love? He’s one of the best players in the NBA if you disregard his defense, and if you highly regard PER he’s probably the third best in the league behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Bryant fails to mention how happy he was with being traded. He landed with the Los Angeles Lakers, the only team he has ever played for, winning five NBA championships and reaching seven NBA finals along the way. Maybe the Hornets made a mistake, but maybe Bryant didn’t want to play for them that badly, and other things went on behind the scenes.

Is it a mistake to send Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves? Maybe. In our opinion yes it is, but one championship with Irving-Love-James will make everyone in Cleveland forget about Wiggins, at least for a short while. However, it’s nothing like the Kobe Bryant situation 18 years ago.

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