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There also were some rumbles in Boise that the Timberwolves are prepared to start exploring the trade market for Al Jefferson amid questions about Jefferson’s compatibility with Kevin Love and how he fits in Minnesota’s more free-flowing triangle offense under new coach Kurt Rambis. A case can be made that either Jefferson or Love — undeniably good players individually who are still both developing — would be helped greatly by playing next to a more athletic sidekick no matter what the system.

When we checked it out, though, one source with knowledge of the Wolves’ thinking insisted any such rumblings about the centerpiece of Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett trade with Boston in July 2007 are off target and Big Al is staying put.

The consistent message out of ‘Sota has been that any significant changes are on hold until after this season at the earliest…

Kevin Love’s versatility is beginning to show up in a surprising area. The Wolves forward is leading the team with 23 assists over the past six games. He had two Friday night.

In the same six-game stretch, rookie point guard Jonny Flynn has 16.

Though the 6-foot-10 Love was not expected to challenge Flynn in playmaking duties, Rambis is not surprised to see a surge in Love’s assist numbers.

“Looking at the roster when I came here, I felt he would be one of the players who could benefit from our system,” Rambis said of Love’s role in the Wolves’ triangle offense…

He has seen them work together in the starting lineup for 15 games now, and Kurt Rambis sounds convinced: Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, despite their similarities, can coexist.

But there’s an asterisk with that opinion, the Timberwolves coach added: “The third person [in the frontcourt] is going to be critical.”

That’s because Jefferson and Love both stand 6-10, relatively small for an NBA center. Jefferson is filling that role for now, but most elite teams, Rambis pointed out, have 7-footers anchoring their defense.