The Cleveland Cavaliers are still at odds with the Kevin Love trade. Minnesota has reiterated that they want to include the contracts of Kevin Martin and JJ Barea along with their All-Star Forward. They also demand cap flexibility.

The last time the Cavs traded rotation players to clear salary cap (Jarett Jack, Tyler Zeller) it turned out to be the deal that sealed LeBron James. Now, they are also unloading a reserve with a guaranteed contract in order to sweeten the deal for the Timberwolves.

The Yahoo report gives the details:

"The Cavaliers unloaded the guaranteed deal of Carrick Felix - along with a future second-round pick and $1 million - for John Lucas, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy, sources said.

Cleveland has been determined to acquire Love since it signed LeBron James to a free-agent deal.

Those three players can be included in packages as preludes to a Love deal, or in a Love deal itself to give Minnesota salary-cap relief. The Cavaliers hold an interest in keeping Thomas, who could be an inexpensive role player to strengthen their frontcourt depth, sources said.

Cleveland has to be creative in solidifying a deal for Love, who the Timberwolves want to package with Kevin Martin and J.J. Barea, several front-office officials told Yahoo Sports."

This recent development hints that Cleveland is very close to finally acquiring Kevin Love. These are marginal players which means they seem to be ironing out the minor details. It would be assumed that Love has approved of the Cavaliers  as a destination and that he would sign an extension there if the trade pushes through.

The Cavs are taking big risks with Martin and Barea. Their contracts (according to Rotoworld) has Barea at $ 4.5 million expiring next season and Kevin Martin at $ 21 million for the next three years.

The Yahoo report has named the Denver Nuggets as Cleveland's closest rival to acquire Love. The details of the Nuggets offer have not been disclosed.