As for all of the talk about Love’s weight, he admitted he has put on a few pounds since the draft. However, he said he has taken steps to make sure he keeps his weight in-check to ensure he maximizes his potential at the NBA level.
“I’m going to cut that weight,” Love asserted. “It’s just investing in myself. I’ve gotten a chef. It’s about getting out there everyday and working hard.”
Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on David Harrison:
He said he turned down European teams and nonguaranteed contract possibilities with Chicago and Dallas to sign with the Wolves because he was impressed with Kevin McHale. McHale’s friendship with former Celtics teammate Larry Bird, the Pacers executive for whom Harrison played for four seasons, didn’t hurt, either.
“McHale’s a great man,” Harrison said. “From our conversations, I can tell he cares a lot about the game and his players. He just gave me a general sense of well-being. I have to prove to the owners, the fans, my teammates that I am someone who can be depended upon to play both ends of the court and that I’ll be ready for 82 games.”
Harrison, who averaged 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in four seasons with the Pacers, didn’t play in Friday night’s exhibition game at Denver and won’t practice with the Wolves until he passes his physical examination.
He said he expects to do that by Monday and that the calf injury he suffered while working out for the Wolves a couple of weeks ago won’t keep him out long.
As for the Wolves, this is a very confident group. Randy Foye told me he thinks 40 wins is a reasonable goal, while rookie Kevin Love chimed in and said he thinks 30 is a mark Minnesota should surpass.
Talking to Mike Miller, it’s clear he’s genuinely happy to be in Minnesota. After all of the trade rumors in Memphis, he’s just happy to be with a team that he believes plans on holding on to him. He also told me he used to root for the Wolves growing up in South Dakota, so it was kind of like a childhood dream of sorts for him to return “home.”