Kevin Love Calls Out Timberwolves; Wants to Win Now or Else
By Josh Hill
Team USA is packed full with winners and Kevin Love is sick and tired that he’s not. Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Love said Minnesota better start making moves to make them contenders or he may very well split to a team that will surround a winner with winners.
“I’m a big proponent of greatness surrounding itself with greatness?” Love said. “All these [Team USA] guys seem to have great players around them.”
Since Love has been with the Timberwolves, the team has done nothing but lose. In fact, they haven’t made the playoffs since they fell in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers in 2004 and a guy named Garnett was still on the team.
This monster has been brewing in Love for sometime, he’s just kept that monster dormant. But the losing has gotten to the competitive Love who has seen his stock and stardom skyrocket, but the winning percentage of his team plummet. The Timberwolves showed flashes last year of a team that could compete in the NBA but with Oklahoma City and Los Angeles always a presence, Love wants a little bit better then minor improvements.
“It’s tough seeing all these guys that are young and older who have all played in the playoffs. When they start talking about that, I have nothing to talk about. If I don’t make the playoffs next year I don’t know what will happen.”
Love and Brooklyn’s Deron Williams are the only two guys on Team USA who didn’t make the playoffs last year, but even there Love sees Williams Nets making massive improvements adding Joe Johnson and potentially Dwight Howard, while the Timberwolves continue to make trades for rising stars like Chase Budinger and signing like that of the injury hobbled Brandon Roy.
“Chase is good for us. Brandon if he can come in relatively healthy and be back to somewhat of where he was … we can be pretty damn good, especially in the fourth quarter with how he used to be [with the Trail Blazers] with LaMarcus [Aldridge] in the pick-and-roll. If Ricky can come back healthy that would be great.” Love said. “If we don’t make the playoffs, I don’t know it’s going to be me or something, but our management needs to step up and make some moves.”
But the Wolves are trying and Love did just sign a long term contract in Minnesota. But even that was a torrid affair with Love taking well under what he’s worth or what he wanted.
“I would say it’s coming down to it for sure [next season]. It’s no secret I was willing to commit to Minnesota for five years. I’m very happy with my contract. I’d love to be in Minnesota. But like anybody else, I want to win.”
Timberwolves fans need to worry about this situation; just because Love like the fans in Minnesota it doesn’t mean he’ll sacrifice his competiveness to be their teddy bear. Kevin Garnett was notorious for his love of fans in Minnesota but like Love, he was fiercely competitive and Wolves management did very little to improve the team around him, making only one deep playoff run.
As soon as Garnett was traded to Boston, he become the star he should have been in Minnesota and won a title.
Speaking to the media on his return to Minnesota last season, Garnett said he had nothing but love for the fans of Minnesota but would never ever play for the management again.
David Kahn needs to take notice in this situation as Wolves fans could be forced to swallow the bitter pill of mediocracy once again and watch their superstar bolt to a better run franchise. Love, like Garnett, has nothing but love for Wolves fans (he even both tickets to fill Target Center last year). But he wants to win and he’s planting the seeds that Garnett planted almost ten years ago.
“I think our front office and ownership needs to step up and get us some pieces. We need to make some moves. We can’t just stand still. We have to make this happen.”