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Kevin Love Talks Future In Minnesota

March 23rd, 2012 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Love signed a four-year extension in January that should keep him in Minnesota until at least 2015 (he can opt out of the final year of the deal). When Love and the Timberwolves agreed to that extension, the team received some criticism for not simply offering its star forward a maximum five-year contract. The fact that Love can opt out after three years raises questions about his long-term future with the T-Wolves, a topic the All-Star discussed with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

"For me, at the end of the day, I want to win. My first three years were 24 wins, 15 wins, 17 wins," Love told Spears. "Now things are finally turning around. Losing Ricky [Rubio to a season-ending knee injury] was terrible for us. We didn’t make a move at the deadline, which is tough. But we just got to rock with the guys we have now…. At the end of the day, if we continue to progress as we get older, learn the system, learn to play together, things are going to look up for us. But am I going to be here my whole career? That’s really up in the air."

When superstars like LeBron James and Dwight Howard have considered leaving their teams to sign elsewhere, terms like "marketability" and "brand" have been used liberally. The idea that playing in a bigger market increases a player's off-court opportunities is one that Love acknowledges.

"Building a brand is definitely big," Love said. "If someone said they didn’t want to do that they’d be lying to you. If you win everything takes care of itself. That’s how greatness is formed. But guys in bigger markets are going to get more endorsements because that’s just what sells."

With a solid core in Love, Rubio, and rookie Derrick Williams, the Rick Adelman-coached Timberwolves appear to be headed in the right direction. The continued growth of the club over the next few years will be crucial in Love's eventual decision on whether to stay or go.

"Heading into my prime, if I’m here all four years, I’ll have my chance to pick and be 27," Love said. "I will have my chance to go wherever I want. But if we are rolling? Who’s to say what will happen."

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Timberwolves Notes: Love, Rubio

February 25th, 2012 at 6:29pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

While everyone seems eager to marry large markets and larger than life superstars, Minnesota Timberwolves teammates Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are proving stardom can be achieved just as readily by performance on the court. The Timberwolves duo, along with rookie Derrick Williams, represent the greatest contingent of talent Minnesota has sent to All-Star weekend festivities since Kevin Garnett, Tom Gugliotta, and Stephon Marbury in 1997. Some notes on the Timberwolves this All-Star weekend:

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Pau Gasol Rumors: Tuesday

February 21st, 2012 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

While Pau Gasol appeared a little more at ease last night with the trade rumors swirling around Los Angeles, relations between Kobe Bryant and GM Mitch Kupchak still seem tense. After Kupchak released a statement that essentially said he wasn't going to give in to Kobe's request for the team to make a decision quickly on Gasol, Bryant told reporters, "I already said what I had to say. I'm done."

Kobe's public frustration may be a result of the team's lack of private communication with him, says Ken Berger of CBS Sports.

"Kobe's exploding, and he should," a source with ties to the Lakers told Berger. "Your lead player, you should always have communication with him let him know what's going on. There's no communication, and that's ridiculous."

As drama continues to surround the Lakers, here are today's updates on Gasol, with the newest items up top:

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Kyler’s Latest: Brand, Love, Lin, Anthony

February 16th, 2012 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld fielded questions from his followers on Twitter this morning, focusing on everyone's favorite topics — Jeremy Lin and Dwight Howard. In addition to his morning tweets, Kyler also has an NBA AM piece up at HoopsWorld that includes a few interesting tidbits. Here are some of the highlights:

  • 76ers forward Elton Brand has an early termination option for 2012/13 worth about $18.16MM which will almost certainly be picked up. He intends to keep playing well past next season though, if his body allows it: "Everything hurts now but I still love playing the game and it's a joy coming out and competing against the best guys every night and having some success with the team, it feels good."
  • Kevin Love says the presence of Rick Adelman is a big reason why he signed a long-term extension with the Timberwolves: "He's allowed me to play with a lot of confidence and he's a coach that I enjoy playing for and I think everyone will say that in this locker room."
  • Addressing some Knicks trade speculation that has arisen since Lin's emergence, Kyler says it's way too early to talk about trading either Lin or Carmelo Anthony. While Kyler acknowledges that Carmelo is a tradable asset, he says the Knicks need to see the two players on the court together before jumping to any conclusions. I think this goes without saying — I don't expect we'll see Anthony leaving the Knicks anytime soon. I'm betting he and Lin will co-exist better that people are anticipating.
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Anderson Shows Off For Potential Suitors

February 10th, 2012 at 9:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

There's plenty going on in Orlando this winter, with the All-Star game coming to town and the daily Dwight Howard rumors. Much less attention has been paid to power forward Ryan Anderson, whose 16.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 43% three-point shooting are all career highs. His 74 three-pointers made coming into Friday led the league. He'll be a restricted free agent at season's end.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel takes a look at the development of the 6-foot-10 power forward in his fourth season.

He'll be showing off his long-distance shooting in the three-point contest at All-Star weekend, but Schmitz notes how he, at the behest of coach Stan Van Gundy, has become more of an all-around player.

Van Gundy laments not playing him more last season, when Anderson split time with Brandon Bass.

"We didn't have any doubts that he could do what he's doing offensively. He's exceptional," the coach said. "The only other guy in the league that can stretch a defense and grab offensive rebounds like that is Kevin Love. Ryan has some unique abilities."

Anderson, making $2.24MM this season, would be unlikely to accept a qualifying offer of $3.23 million from the Magic this summer. It's more likely the Magic, who opted against signing Anderson to an extension before last month's deadline, will have to shell out significantly more to keep him. According to Basketball Reference, his career numbers coming into the season (which exclude his hot start this year) were similar to those of Al Jefferson, who's making $14MM this year, and Anderson Varejao, who's earning $7.7MM. Love, to whom Van Gundy compared Anderson, recently signed a four-year extension worth a total of more than $60MM.

Regardless of his precise market value, it's clear Anderson will be at or near the top of the list of free-agent power forwards come July.

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Poll: Will Love Face Suspension After Stomping?

February 5th, 2012 at 9:59am CST by Daniel Seco

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love seemingly retaliated Saturday night against Houston Rockets big Luis Scola after an incident earlier in the week left Love writhing with pain. After getting rebound after rebound over Scola and finally netting a basket, Love appeared to have fouled Scola on the other end of court, causing the fifth-year player to drop to the floor. Love quickly turned to head back down the court and stepped on Scola’s chest and face with his size 19 left sneaker. Talking heads from around the NBA having varying opinions on what actually transpired at the Target Center.

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