Kevin Love, Andrew Wiggins forever linked, yet each making his own way

LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers two summers ago by announcing his mission while making an obvious omission.

James needed only 952 words to heal a once-fractured relationship with fans he scorned for a two-ring fling in Miami, making a pledge to bring a title back to his native, championship-starved community in a well-executed “Sports Illustrated” letter. Two words that were left out of that ode to Northeast Ohio – Andrew Wiggins – remain the source of speculation and conspiracy theories.

Some 18 months later, James finally explained why he mentioned Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao in his homecoming announcement but failed to include the player Cleveland had just selected first overall in the 2014 NBA draft.

"I didn't know the kid, really," James told Yahoo Sports. "I knew Dion. I knew Kyrie. I knew Tristan. I knew all the guys that I was playing with before. I didn't know the kid, so it wasn't no big issue to me."

James never got the chance to know Wiggins because it wasn't long before the rookie was used as the primary piece of a three-team deal to acquire three-time All-Star Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wiggins-Love trade will forever link the Timberwolves and Cavaliers, as the former attempts to end the NBA's longest playoff drought and the latter tries to push the fast-forward button toward claiming the major professional sports title that has eluded Cleveland for five decades.

James' desire to maximize what remains of his prime and add another title or two with a ready-made contender pushed the Cavaliers to surrender promising potential for the immediacy of an established known. That ambitious pursuit – which some rival NBA executives viewed as shortsighted – raised the urgency for the Cavs and yet has worked out relatively well for both sides.

The Cavaliers reached last season's NBA Finals, albeit short-handed with Love sidelined with a left shoulder injury, and are the overwhelming favorite to again win the Eastern Conference. The Timberwolves played poorly enough to land another No. 1 pick in Karl-Anthony Towns, but Wiggins has provided ammunition for second-guessers of the deal as he was named NBA Rookie of the Year and continues to make gazelle-like strides.

In his second season, Wiggins is experiencing the challenging progression of a player groomed for stardom – trying to expand his game while adjusting to quicker double-teams and clogged driving lanes. The losses have started to pile up recently, though not at the same rate as last season, and Wiggins is adamant that he never wonders what could've been with his former team.

“I don’t even think about it,” Wiggins told Yahoo. “Being traded, that’s going to happen in basketball. Especially in the NBA.”

The Cavaliers declined establishing an age-tiered superstar system – from James to Irving to Wiggins – that could’ve kept the small-market team relevant for at least a decade as opposed to a five-year or so run. James believes the move probably will benefit Wiggins in the long term.

“I think the best thing about it is he’s getting an opportunity. He doesn’t have to wait in the shadows for anybody,” James told Yahoo. “He’s getting the opportunity to play and show everybody what he’s able to do, and it’s tough because the West has been so thick the [last] few years; there’s not a lot of room to win a bunch of a games. But I think for him, the sky could be the limit.”

Wiggins's competitive fire burns slowly and the grace – the ease with which he moves – is often misinterpreted as indifference by those who demand more consistent aggressiveness. Teammates and coaches continue to push Wiggins to develop more of a killer mentality, but the 20-year-old remains determined to move at his own deliberate pace.

“Growing up, I never lived to please no one but God and my family,” Wiggins told Yahoo. “That’s the only people I think about pleasing, or making proud. That’s the only thing to me.”