For the Love Of the Game: What KLove Brings To the Wolves

Kevin Love wants to be the leader of the Timberwolves.  Just ask him and he will tell you.  Or, watch his game and it will be just as evident.  Gone are the days when he dropped his eyes and shook his head after a play went badly.  Gone is the baby chub chub he had coming into the league after just one year at UCLA.  And, thankfully, gone is that stupid chin strap that reminded all of us he was still just a kid his rookie season.

KLove is now showing that he has the potential to be one of the most dynamic bigmen in the league.  His physical strength and overall game grew last year as the season went on, impressive for any guy coming out of the slack college schedule.  And, since coming back from injury he is showing that he can hit the outside shot.  Love was one of UCLA's biggest outside threats when he was there.  He would hit the college three, and J's from all over the floor, scoring 17 ppg.  (Man!  They keep showing Bosh school Gomes on a drive to the basket hitting a reverse layup (and one) on NBA Coast to Coast.  Really bad match-up).  Hitting J's will not only run up his numbers, it also will pull defenders off Al.  With his hands Love will be feeding the beast underneath (Al) all season.  And, he is perfect for the triangle offense.  This system needs passing, creation of open space and hitting open shots.  That is Love's games.  Not to mention his outlet passing skills being a perfect fit for a team that wants to run!  And, a team like ours can use all the bball IQ we can get. 

At the time, McHale trading Mayo for Love, and Memphis trading Love for Mayo, was ridiculous.  The Wolves were a team that needed a bonafide ass-in-seat putter, and the Grizzlies were in desperate need of a power forward (after the Pau Gasol trade debacle).  Furthermore, our best player was a power forward (Al) and Memphis already had their go-to-guy in Rudy Gay.  We did get rid of some really bad contracts (Jaric, Walker) but we also took some on (Cardinal, Collins).  We got Miller, which at the time was the tipping point.  The two teams had spoken earlier that day about virtually the same trade, excluding Miller, and the Wolves turned it down.  But, when Memphis came back to the table with Miller, even though it made no sense, McHale did his thing.

But wait.  Maybe McFail actually did something right.  The Wolves still have two star power forwards on the same team and they still haven't found their "two of the future" but Love is one of those guys who could easily, if healthy, have a 15ppg/15reb career, while making everyone around him better.  Mayo will drop 20ppg a year for the next five to eight years, but he will demand the ball be in his hands and not make anyone around him better.  Love is not that guy a team builds around, but I am not convinced Mayo will ever be that player either.  And, Love does have the potential to be a great player on a great team.  He can pass, he can play under the basket a little bit, he can hit the open shot, he will dive on the floor, get assists and rebound the ball better than anyone else in the league.  Love also has natural leadership abilities that along with Jonny Flynn could help our young team mature.

It has been hard so far this season without KLove but these timberpups have been showing heart, actually playing defense (sometimes) and continue to have an amazing attitude considering they have so little talent (although this may be because 3/4 of the guys on the team are just happy to be in the league).  They looked like a d-league team without Love, but the strong comeback from his hand injury gives us some hope that perhaps the Wolves are getting a little closer to being a contender in the Northwest.  Personally, I hope they lose every last game left this season and we finally get the first pick in the lottery.  Either way, the games will be a little more watchable now that Love is back on the floor.  Bring on Gay and Wall or Turner or Aldrich in 2010 and it will be a fun year to be a Wolves fan!

If McHale does leave a lasting legacy as a GM in the NBA perhaps it won't be what most of us expected.  It very well may be Kevin Love.  We will know in a decade.  Check back.

P.S. Love had 18 points and 7 rebounds tonight losing to the Raptors.  He also had 5 turnovers and 5 personal fouls.  It looks like Flynn isn't the only one who needs to learn this new system.