Cavs’ star unlikely to feel Love in Wolves’ den
MINNEAPOLIS — In six seasons in Minnesota, Kevin Love witnessed how warmly the fans greeted former Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett each time he came back to town.
On the eve of Love’s first game back at Target Center since he was traded to Cleveland last summer, the secondbest player in franchise history isn’t expecting the same kind of reception.
“Truthfully? Boooo,” Love said Friday when asked by Cleveland reporters about what kind of environment he expected Saturday night in Minnesota.
Minnesota owner Glen Taylor said he, for one, will welcome Love back with open arms.
“I’d be pleased to give him a hug and wish him the best and hope it goes well and hope he stays healthy,” Taylor told The Associated Press. “He worked hard and he did well for us and I’m appreciative of that.”
Love came to Minnesota in a draftnight trade in 2008, and eventually supplanted Garnett as the face of the franchise. With a strong work ethic, he turned himself into a three-time all-star and an Olympic gold medallist. He interacted with fans who had jumped off the bandwagon when Garnett was traded. He also started a successful winter coat drive that provided warm outerwear for thousands of disadvantaged in the Twin Cities.
But unlike Garnett, who took the Timberwolves to the playoffs eight times and was named MVP in 2004 while leading them to the Western Conference finals, Love never made it to the post-season.
Management failed time and again to surround Love with enough talent to compete in the powerful West.
All of those failures, coupled with injuries to Ricky Rubio and Love, contributed to 323 losses in Love’s six seasons with the Wolves. “I think it could’ve gone better with what we had if we had been a little bit luckier (with injuries),” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of things. Maybe if we drafted better and did some things, but we did what we did. It isn’t Kevin’s fault.”
As much credit as Love deserves for transforming himself from a doughy UCLA freshman to a sculpted offensive force, he carries some responsibility for the Wolves’ failures as well. The relationship soured in 2012, when GM David Kahn refused to give Love a five-year maximum contract extension. Love signed a four-year deal with an opt-out after three seasons and didn’t hide his disappointment.
Love requested a trade at the end of last season. “You turn on Minnesota, they don’t forgive you,” president and coach Flip Saunders said in December. “So I think people probably appreciated him while he was here. But you leave under the terms that he did, just the way Minnesota people are, they’re not pretty forgiving along those lines.”