K-Love On T-Wolves Lack Of Progress, “My Patience Is Not High”

Each person’s perception is their own personal reality, a garbage-dump to one person, could be another’s paradise. Circumstances and surroundings, also affect our perception, if that person in the dump find themselves suddenly find that they are in a better situation, they might see the dump that they have been in, for what it truly is.

Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love whose game has improved at warp-speed over the past two seasons, is a member of Team USA and will head to London for the 2012 Olympic games in the next few weeks, as the squad defends the Gold Medal they won in Beijing in 2008. As he works out with some of the other great players from the Association, he has gotten more and more perturbed that all of his teammates on the squad have something he still lacks; Playoff experience.

The T-Wolves made some strides this past campaign, after ending the previous season mired in last place in the NBA. The franchise was in the Playoff hunt, until rookie point guard Ricky Rubio was injured and lost for the rest of the season. The club ended up with a disappointing record of 26-40, yet for the first time since Flip Saunders and Kevin Garnett left the T-Wolves, the team seemed to be heading in the right direction.

Minnesota brought in veteran head coach Rick Adelman before this past season and changed the mind-set of the squad; there would be no more settling, this team was now in it to win. The team has already made changes on their roster in the off-season, as Michael Beasley will leave the club to sign a Free Agent deal with the Phoenix Suns, most likely promoting second-year forward Derrick Williams to the starting lineup. The T-Wolves will also add former Houston Rockets forward Chase Budinger to the roster next season.

Love has seen the team improve, but he is not pleased with the progress so far and wants the team to acquire some more quality players. Being exposed to his fellow members of Team USA has only reinforced that wish, he told “Yahoo Sports” and although he signed a four-year contract extension back in January, the team’s performance in the next couple of seasons will determine his long-term future in the Association.

Love told the website “My patience is not high. Would yours be, especially when I’m a big proponent of greatness surrounding itself with greatness? All these guys seem to have great players around them. 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.”

The All-Star originally sought a five-year extension with the club, but ended up with a four-year pact in which he can opt-out after the third season. He bluntly stated that the results of the team before that opt-out clause kicks in, will determine whether he stays or looks for a new home.

He said “At this point, I’m not afraid to go on the record. Being around these guys, they know the situation I’m in and how competitive I am. I want to win. All the players on the Timberwolves feel the same way, as well. The coaching staff is awesome. They want to win and win now. Hopefully, we can make some stuff happen. I would say it’s coming down to it for sure (upcoming campaign). 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.”

That responsibility falls back on Team President David Kahn and Owner Glen Taylor. If they fail to keep the multi-talented big man in a Timberwolves uniform, they will lose a large segment of fans who may never return. It could be a blow that the franchise never recovers from, which could lead to the second time an NBA club left the state, following the lead of the Lakers who relocated decades ago to Los Angeles.

K-Love has become one of the best  and most popular players in the Association over the past two-seasons, far surpassing any expectations that were put on him when he entered the NBA. The T-Wolves have to do what ever it takes to keep the big man satisfied and in a Minnesota uniform for years to come.