The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions are still centering on Kevin Love. It seems like the All-NBA second team forward has a new suitor-The Minnesota Timberwolves!

Ricky Rubio, who threw Love under the bus and called him out for not being a good leader in Spanish, spoke in clear English to nba.com:

"I don't want to convince him if he doesn't want to stay. But I want him to stay and I'm going to tell him what I think, which is we've been improving every year and he's a great player, he helps us a lot. I think we need to make the next step. ... The media says it's pretty settled, but I don't know what he thinks. What I've been hearing is from the media, not from him, so I don't trust that. It can be an opinion from you guys. I just really want to talk to him as a teammate."

"If he leaves, it's going to be painful because he's a main guy. But it depends what we get back for him," We'll see what we can do. I don't think going through a rebuild year is going to help us because we've been improving every year and now we're so close to making the playoffs that it doesn't make sense to rebuild it again. It's not continuing what we were doing."

While Rubio seems to have a change of heart and wants to take the long shot to keep Love, GM Flip Saunders, who recently hired himself as head coach, had no sympathy for Love. Saunders said during an interview with KFAN 100.3 in Minneapolis-St. Paul:

"Just like I told (Kevin) Garnett, he didn't have a right to be frustrated. Why does any player have a right to be frustrated? You're either part of the problem or part of the solution. Should the team be frustrated? Yeah, the team can be frustrated. But I don't think any one individual should be frustrated."

So much for trying to make an appeal. Saunders is trying to call his bluff, but he must realize-as he said so himself-16 teams have called about Kevin Love. Is he trying to jack up the trade value by not looking desperate?

Saunders might think they have the power in this scenario since Love is under contract-but most of those 16 teams (as of now, the Sacramento Kings are the only exception) would pull out their offers if Love does give them an assurance that he'll sign an extension. Ultimately, he will have to work with Kevin Love to get the best possible returns.