NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves Reuters

Minnesota franchise player Kevin Love sounded off on some of his teammates after a disappointing loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a six-point lead with roughly two minutes to go in the game, but the Suns unleashed a 7-to-nothing run to end the game to steal the 103-102 victory.

The loss was the 10th in a row in Minnesota in games decided by four points or less—a troubling “un-clutch” stat for a team that is hoping to make their first postseason appearance since 2004.

And Love minced no words in a recent interview with ESPN.COM.

"We can't have two guys sitting at the end of the bench that play good minutes just sitting there and not getting up during timeouts," said Love. “We all need to be in this together. That kind of pisses me off. We're supposed to be a team."

While the 25-year-old forward did not specify any names, video evidence showed that he was referring to point guard J.J. Barea and small forward Dante Cunningham.

"It's two guys that we expect more from them," added Love in the same interview. "I think they expect more from themselves. I'm not trying to single anybody out and I don't want to make it bigger than it is, but it's just a team that we needed to beat tonight and we needed everybody in there, even guys that didn't play any minutes. We need to have a team and a bench that's really in it together."

The latest incident adds drama to an already disappointing season.

The Timberwolves are one game below 0.500 (17-18) and two spots away from the playoff picture. With a healthy Love and addition of veterans Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer and other offseason acquisitions, Minnesota was pegged to be a playoff contender this season.

Love has pressured the Timberwolves front office about improving the team and his desire to get to the postseason. The real trouble begins with the persistent rumours that Love will leave Minnesota for a “big city team” when his contract expires after the 2014-2015 season, especially if the superstar can’t see the team contending in the near future.

For Minnesota, it’s about maximising Love. Will the prized forward indeed bolt in 2015? If yes, should the Timberwolves trade him now to get some value off their superstar?