Wolves, Love reach deal

"I wanted to be here," he said. "I love Minnesota. I love the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I love the fans. Everyone who has been around me the last four years know that. Obviously the cold weather is tough at some points, but the fans have been so great.

"I'm excited, very excited for the coaching staff, for my teammates, for myself, for my family, for the fans. I'm excited to be here for four years." He said there were "many times" he thought a deal wouldn't get done and said he didn't know until 8 a.m. this morning -- with an 11 p.m. deadline today looming -- that he had a deal. Love said he "definitely considered" waiting to become a restricted free agent next summer and an unrestricted free agent in 2012 when the Wolves offered a four-year deal and he wanted five. The compromised and reached a contract that will allow him if he chooses to become an unrestricted free agent in 2015, the same summer Ricky Rubio's rookie contract expires. "Yeah, I definitely considered that," he said about not signing now. "Me personally, I wanted to make a five-year commitment. When they weren't willing to do, I feel like four years is good. I'd like to see the direction of where this team is headed and I think we are getting better. I think it is working for us. With the addition of Coach (Rick Adelman), the players we added in the offseason, where we're heading with our youth, I think the future is bright." So what's he going to do with all that money? "Give a lot of it to my parents and save it," he said. "I'm not worried about it changing me, not at all. I'm still going to play with a chip on my shoulder. Money doesn't rule all with me. I'm grounded as much as I can be. I'm just going to go out there and keep working. I'm not going to let it affect my play in any way."