I am a big Chicago Bulls fan, so I was very excited when I  saw the headline for the article “Kevin Love likes Warriors, Bulls.” The article describes how Kevin Love, star basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, has no intention to re-sign with the team when his contract expires after next season.  The Timberwolves have been pretty mediocre for Love’s entire career there and it seems he is ready to move on to a winning team.

I think one explanation for Kevin Love’s desire to move teams is the diminishing marginal utility of playing for the Timberwolves.  When Love first came to the Timberwolves as a rookie he was probably excited to the join the team.  He was paid a lot of money, had thousands of fans cheering for him at home games, and got to work with a new set of talented teammates and head coaches.  However, over time it seems that Love has lost interest in playing for the Timberwolves.  It is no longer as fun to step out onto the court when you have already done so with the same team for multiple seasons.  Though there is some degree of variation from game to game — a buzzer beating win is more fun than a 20 point blowout loss — on the whole Kevin Love is getting less and less utility out of playing for the Timberwolves.

Another relevant economic idea is Kevin Love’s opportunity cost of playing for the Timberwolves.  Kevin love wants to win, and every season he spends on a losing team in Minnesota is one he could be spending on a good team like the Bulls.  There are not very many explicit costs for NBA players simply because they are paid so much money and live a luxurious lifestyle.   Implicit costs, like missing out on the opportunity to play for a better team, tend to be the most important costs for NBA players.

The Timberwolves do not want to lose Love, but as the article mentions, the smartest idea might be to trade him.  They would be better off trading him — even for less valuable players — than letting  him go after next season and getting nothing in return.  This is similar to the economic idea of unexploited gains from trade.   If Kevin Love signs with another team, the Timberwolves will be losing out on profits they could have made by trading.