Wiggins is rare No. 1 pick traded before rookie year

MINNEAPOLIS — The wait is almost over.

The blockbuster trade that will send Kevin Love to team up with LeBron James in Cleveland will be completed on Saturday (today Phl time) , making the Cavaliers an instant favorite in the Eastern Conference and turning Andrew Wiggins into something of an anomaly.

When Wiggins is moved from the Cavs to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the deal, he will become just the second No. 1 overall draft pick to be traded without playing a game for the team that drafted him since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976.

The only other time it happened was in 1993 when the Orlando Magic traded Chris Webber to the Golden State Warriors for a package headlined by Penny Hardaway.

The Timberwolves will also get Anthony Bennett, the 2013 No. 1 pick, from Cleveland and veteran forward Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia in the threeteam deal. The Sixers will get Miami's 2015 first-round pick from the Cavaliers and guard Alexey Shved and forward Luc Mbah a Moute from the Timberwolves in the trade, which cannot be an- nounced until Saturday due to a seldom-used NBA rule that prevents draft picks from being traded until 30 days after they sign their rookie contracts.

The Webber-Hardaway trade occurred on draft night, allowing both players and both teams involved to leave the venue that night with a clear picture of their respective futures.

Wiggins, on the other hand, has endured a much longer, more awkward process. He suited up for the Cavaliers at the Las Vegas summer league even as the rumors of his trade started to swirl. As the summer dragged on, the 19-year-old Canadian who spent one year at the University of Kansas even wore the Cleveland colors in a rookie photo shoot at the start of August.

Through it all, he sidestepped questions about where he was headed and steadfastly maintained the rumors didn't bother him.

''Anywhere, any team,'' he said earlier this month when asked about it at a promotional appearance. ''I can play anywhere.''

But Jayhawks coach Bill Self said that he thinks Wiggins has used the Cavaliers' decision to trade him as fuel.