The NBA Trade Rumors almost closes the book on Kevin Love's transfer to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, an evaluation has to be made on who won the trade.

ESPN's panel of experts did just that. The panel included George Karl, former coach of the Denver Nuggets and he can't help but compare this trade for the trade they did with the NY Knicks that sent them Carmelo Anthony. From ESPN:

George Karl, former NBA coach:

"This is the steal of the century for the Cavs.

To give up Love for Wiggins, Bennett, Young and a first-round pick is crazy to me. With Wiggins, you're only talking about potential. You're not yet talking about productivity. Yeah, I think he goes on to be good. But this bothers me: He is a young player, and if any of a number of things happen -- he gets injured, the team is the wrong fit, he gets bitter about the game, doesn't have the passion, doesn't have the love . . . There's a significant chance he might not even be an All-Star, just because that's the way things work."

However, there are digressing opinions and the idea that it's a 'steal' depends on what they gave up. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, they lost most of their 'upside' as David Thorpe explains:

David Thorpe, ESPN:

"Bennett and Wiggins are not throwaway guys. Wiggins has a chance to be a very high level All-Star. Bennett probably doesn't make an All-Star team with his bad start -- his basketball IQ is not great, and if the Wolves struggle, we're not going to be talking about him much. But does he have the talent to be an All-Star? No question."

George Karl compares this trade to the Nuggets-Knicks trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple.

"You have to understand, with the Carmelo Anthony trade, we got five players and draft picks.

Analyst Amin Elhassan places the situation in context:

"And that's the crux of this deal. Minnesota's the one that has problems. Everyone said Minnesota was in the driver's seat. Quite the opposite. The closer we get to the season, the worse it would have gotten."

George Karl was right when he said that Denver got more from the Knicks in their trade. But that trade served as a cautionary tale for the rest of the NBA. Getting the superstar doesn't mean you won the trade if you paid too much of a price.

Minnesota didn't have too many competitive offers to compel the Cavs to give up more. It's certain that they tried but they failed. Golden State won't even give up Klay Thompson in a trade, why would the Cavs need to give more.

The Cavs were lucky-they caught Minnesota at the exact right time and no other team went crazy on the trade offers.