NBA Trade Rumors and Free Agents News 2014: Kevin Love Wants to Play With Los Angeles Lakers, Reports Say

Kevin Love is one of the hottest subjects of several trade and free agency talks after the Minnesota Timberwolves star forward expressed disappointment with his teammates after one of their recent defeats.

With his name floating in several free agency rumors once again, a report suggested that Love could soon force his way out of Minnesota -- similar to what Carmelo Anthony did when he was still with the Denver Nuggets and Dwight Howard during his last days with the Orlando Magic.

CBS Sports reported that Love wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers -- and it could happen through free agency in 2015 or by forcing a trade next summer or next season.

Love, who is averaging 25.9 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this season, has yet to make the playoffs in his first five seasons in the league -- and this is expected to be considered as the biggest factor when he makes his decision on whether or not to continue playing in Minnesota.

Timberwolves president of basketball operation Flip Saunders previously said that the Timberwolves will make sure Love stays in Minnesota by building a competitive team before he hits free agency in 2015, but one rival executive said that Minnesota should start considering trading the 25-year-old power forward.

"They should trade him," an Eastern Conference team executive said. "No one thinks he's staying. Everyone knows he wants to go to the Lakers."

Concerns about Love's impending free agency are continuously growing and the six-year veteran's comment on Thursday about his teammates worsened the situation.

Love, whose team is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004, criticized his teammates, particularly Dante Cunningham and J.J. Barea, for what he described as poor body language due to having limited playing minutes.

"We can't have two guys sitting at the end of the bench that play good minutes just sitting there and not getting up during timeouts," Love said on Thursday as reported by ESPN. "We all need to be in this together. That kind of pisses me off. We're supposed to be a team."

Barea reacted to Love's statement, saying that the former UCLA standout should have told it to him face-to-face, but the backup guard vowed that it won't happen again, while Love said that he will deal with such issues privately in the future.