You quite possibly have read the money quotes from Kevin Love's interview with Yahoo!'s Marc Spears, but just in case you haven't, here we go: "My patience is not high. Would yours be, especially when I'm a big proponent of greatness surrounding itself with greatness? All these [Team USA] 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."
Gulp?
"At this point, I'm not afraid to go on the record. Being around these [USA] 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."
Well ...?
"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."
Hmmm ...
This is largely what he said at the end of the season (though maybe it was said this time with a little more force and purpose. Our quick take: The Wolves should be improved this season, and that should help. But if they aren't markedly better by the time Love can opt out ... well, then he probably should opt-out because this project would have failed.
For now, though: Are you alarmed, or is this just an athlete blowing off a little steam?
