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, 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 three-team 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 announced 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.

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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 side-stepped questions about where he was headed and 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.”

HAWKS: Atlanta re-signed guard Shelvin Mack, who General Manager Danny Ferry says proved to be a good fit for coach Mike Budenholzer’s system.

Mack averaged 7.5 points and ranked second on the team with 3.7 assists per game. He played in 73 games, including 11 starts, and ranked seventh in the NBA with his average of 3.04 assists per turnover.

Ferry said the 24-year-old Mack showed the “toughness and level of unselfishness that we truly value.” Terms of the deal were not released.

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As a starter, Mack averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 assists. He previously played with Washington and Philadelphia.

KNICKS: Carmelo Anthony said he believes New York will definitely make the playoffs this season and he can’t wait to get started.

“I don’t think we will have another season like we had last year. I believe that we will make the playoffs,” said an excited and noticeably slimmed-down Anthony on Thursday at Barclays Center for the Summer Classic Charity Basketball Game, which was presented by CC Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation and Robinson Cano’s RC22 Foundation.

“I think we will have a much better season than we did last year. As far as putting a number on the games we want to win, it’s hard to say that right now. But I believe we will be in the postseason.”


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