Warriors won't overlook defense in Kevin Love talks
LAS VEGAS — Kevin Love and Stephen Curry will be teammates soon enough, but not in the sense that so many have expected.
The Minnesota Timberwolves forward who wants to wear a new jersey will suit up for Team USA later this month, as will the Golden State Warriors point guard whose team has been debating this notion of trading for Love for so long now. But as the days have continued to pass without a deal, and as the Cleveland Cavaliers have continued to ask themselves similar questions about Love and what price they're willing to pay to land him, this much has become clear: The Warriors still care about defense — a lot.
The Mark Jackson firing and Steve Kerr hiring in mid-May were undeniably driven in part by the desire to improve offensively, as owner Joe Lacob and so many others within the organization grew tired of seeing their wondrous scoring talents so often struggle in the former coach's system. But the post-Kerr question about Golden State's third-ranked defense and what lied ahead on that end of the floor has been quietly answered during these seemingly-endless discussions about Love.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/07/19/kevin-love-stephen-curry-usa-teammates/12876193/