LeBron James says Timberwolves aren't young anymore

"LeBron, when you look at this Timberwolves team, do you see a team that's on the rise? A young team that's going to threaten at some point here?"

"Young team?" James responded. "They're not young anymore. Jimmy (Butler), Jamal (Crawford), Taj (Gibson), Aaron Brooks, Jeff Teague, they're not young anymore."

James conceded that, while 37 years old, Crawford's face is at least still young.

"His birth certificate ain't," James said, "but his face is. He's like Benjamin Button. But it's not a young team no more. Let's throw that narrative out: They're not young anymore. (Andrew) Wiggins is the only young guy. Him and Tyler Jones."

Or, you know, Tyus Jones.

And Karl-Anthony Towns, 23, is still pretty young. Younger than Wiggins.

"Yeah, but he has an old-man game," James said. "Which is very, very effective. But KAT, he's definitely one of the young stars that we have in our league."

Still, James wouldn't even define the Wolves as "middle-aged," though the oldest of Minnesota's starters, Taj Gibson, is still just 32. Three of the Wolves' regular starters are 28-plus.

"They're one of us (old teams)," James said. "Well, not us. Us and the Spurs are like stone-aged, but they've got a good chance to be a really good team in the West, good in the league, obviously, especially with (Tom Thibodeau) implementing what he wants. I've had my battles with Thibs and his teams over the years. They're playing some good ball right now."

Regardless of whether they're young or not, the Timberwolves are a near lock to make the playoffs this season, which would snap the franchise's 13-year drought — something maybe no one can appreciate as much as Kevin Love, who spent his first six NBA seasons burrowed in the thick of the Wolves' futility.

Love said the Wolves have had "a great resurgence." In talking to guys like Jamal Crawford and other people around the team, Love said the Wolves "have a ton of confidence, are forming an identity and really getting the crowd having their backs."

"It's great to see here in Minneapolis," he said, "and it's going to be for what looks like is going to be playoff basketball, and that's going to be fun for this city."

Love met up with Clayton Wilson, the Timberwolves' equipment manager, on Sunday night and got a tour of the newly renovated Target Center — though he only saw the visiting locker room. Much has changed in the four years since Love left Minneapolis, from the building to the Wolves' roster. The Cavaliers forward said it was "weird" playing against Ricky Rubio and the Utah Jazz this season, and noted "nobody" has heard from former Wolves center Nikola Pekovic of late.

"So yeah, it is a little different to see the turnover, but at the end of the day I spent six years here, and it's cool to see this team doing well," Love said before pausing briefly, "in the West."