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This is the product Rambis envisioned when he asked Kahn after last season to make the team quicker, longer and more athletic. Perhaps the biggest move Kahn made in the offseason was to trade Al Jefferson to Utah. Rambis made a subtle yet defining reference to the trade after the game, giving a clear indication of the dramatic change in the Wolves' approach.

"We're not going to just throw the ball inside to somebody and everybody stand around and watch him," Rambis said. "That's not what we're going to do. The ball is moving more. We have a lot of players who can space the floor and shoot the ball well. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense to defend those three-point shooters."

Rambis isn't ready to scrap the Wolves' low-post game entirely, but their effective outside shooting is keeping the team from relying on Love or Darko Milicic to get inside baskets. Love, however, seems intent on replacing Jefferson as the team's primary low-post option. He credited Jefferson for being one of the game's "best low-post scorers" but he wanted to ease fears that the team will struggle to get easy baskets.

"Don't forget about me," Love said. "I still want to do some things down low."

mandurugo wrote:This seems to contradict the idea that Rambis didn't like the deal and was taking indirect at shots at Kahn about it in previous interviews. But Love should really think about forgetting the idea of doing things down low. Stick to scoring on broken plays please.

SO_MONEY wrote:Love needs to stay out of the low-post he will just get his shot blocked. Leave the post scoring to Pek.

collin_k41 wrote:

SO_MONEY wrote:Love needs to stay out of the low-post he will just get his shot blocked. Leave the post scoring to Pek.

Love has gotten noticeably better preventing his own shot from being blocked. He's starting to adjust his skill set to the NBA game. There is no way we go away from scoring in the post, you simply need someone who is capable of doing that. I don't want us having the reverse problem of when we had Al. A good combination is the best idea, see the Lakers.

This Wolves team is vastly different from the one that stopped by a year ago. And perhaps the biggest change is the trade of leading scorer Al Jefferson. But team president Chris Wright says trading the big man to the Utah Jazz will help the current team's chemistry.

"Al wanted to be sort of a low post, number one option," Wright said. "I don't think that that was going to work out here with our style of play currently. So, he's going to a team he'll be very, very happy with. Utah is perfect for him. Meanwhile, we're going to be young, athletic, quick. We're going to get up and down the court."