Words of wisdom that couldn’t come from anyone sweeter. Ricky Rubio’s not always Mr. Nice Guy (No, not that one). He has a fiery passion burning from within, especially when the game’s on the line or disgust fills his soul after yet another pathetic loss. But these kinds of moments couldn’t be subbed for anything else.

Honestly, what if Ricky Rubio were there every time you were having a bad day? He could poof from anywhere, give some special words of encouragement that doesn’t quite make the most sense in English (How does one “change” their face?) and your day would literally be that much better and probably the rest of the week for that matter.

But in all seriousness now, it’s no secret that the Wolves are playing some really bad basketball right now. But as long as Rubio can keep his cool and look towards a brighter future all while still working hard to progress as a better team player, you can’t complain all that much. This team needs leaders, especially vocal ones that send signs of encouragement and screams of despair when appropriate. We all know greener pastures are ahead, and even when it’s hard to see through the dreary fogged stretches of games like the one lately, there’s still a way to push on. All you gotta do is “Change your face,” and all will be renewed.

Wolves-Lakers recap will be out later this afternoon, so please feel obliged to return to HTW later today!

The title of this post relates to nearly everyone in the Association. Teams up and down the standings decided to stand pat during the 3 pm trade deadline for all sorts of reasons but one major underlying one: The new CBA.

It used to go that teams would trade players to get, well, more players, and hopefully better ones. Rather the CBA and its new tax rules create incentives for those looking to gain assets as opposed to surefire ballers. Assets, meaning cheap pieces to the long-term puzzle, rev the engines towards a long winding road that is a steadier, stronger future. Since many teams under the new CBA are balanced enough — and able to pay their players healthily — they have no reason to sniff out a big deal to land a specific-need player. Instead they can just go out, try to spend one asset to acquire two pieces instead.

The problem is that it takes two to tango, as the saying goes, and many don’t feel the need to play that game when they could very well be on the losing end.

Take the Timberwolves for instance. They stand pat with a losing record and a growingly bleak chance at the playoffs. But one card they still hold is a roster full of blossoming young guns on rookie and/or reasonable deals. They could’ve just easily unloaded the cannons and shipped off any one of those guys on a whim. Derrick, you looked at me funny today. You’re off to Los Angeles.

Instead the Wolves didn’t see any necessary means to make such a move. There could’ve been a good return on a player like Williams. Rumor has it that — and judging by the current deal that went down — the Wolves could’ve easily gotten their grimy hands on free-agent-to-be JJ Redick. A combination of Williams and the Memphis pick surely would’ve sealed the deal. But the Wolves understand that that kind of move would’ve been judged as premature. Push Williams’ budding game aside and just weigh the two players right now: Redick is a shooter ready to help a team push to the playoffs for one season and likely leave the next for copious amounts of money. Williams is an underutilized, underperforming tweener forward that still has potential to fill in his shoes.

The asset in this scenario, Williams, far outweighs the prospect of a beneficial player such as Redick. And, as mentioned earlier, the Magic were the team looking to add assets as opposed to true-blue players that are ready to move the team forward immediately. Don’t try to tell me that Tobias Harris and Doron Lamb are difference makers in Orlando’s playoff hopes. 

As much as everyone wants to see their team make a blockbuster move at the trade deadline, it continues to prove to me that the ones who stay relatively quiet are the real winners. The deadline is a race you don’t necessarily want to win. There are only a handful of trade deadline deals in history that have changed the makeup of a team for the better that season. Rasheed Wallace to Detroit in 2004 comes to mind, as he helped them win a title that season out of nowhere essentially. But my case rests. The deadline is a fickle beast that only ought to be messed with once every now and then. Poke it too often, it will certainly bite back.

For that reason alone, I’m more than satisfied with management’s decision to stay quiet today. There was little urgency for a move, especially one that didn’t have the short-term and long-term in mind, such as the Paul Millsap rumor. As a matter of fact, the Wolves’ personnel problems stem internally; bringing more players in would only complicate the looming situation coming this summer. Nikola Pekovic needs money, and so does Chase Budinger. Those two alone will put Glen Taylor up to his neck in bills and will scratch the surface of the salary cap and beyond. (Gasp) Not the luxury tax!!

But for those of you that are still feeling disappointed and thwarted, don’t fret. At least we get to watch a team that has won six games since the new year. Wait, I guess that’s not a positive. Well, be thankful we held onto our asses. I mean, assets.

I’m annoyed. Maybe I shouldn’t let things like sports affect me this much, but some things are so flat-out dumb that it’s hard not to be aggravated by them. Of course, I’m talking about the false Kevin Love diatribe that began as soon as Love went out and his teammates stepped up to seal the victory Thursday night in Denver. I knew it was coming, and so did everyone else, but there was nothing we could do to stop it. Keep in mind I’m not addressing everyone in the space below, but you know who you are, and you need to stop it.

Of course, this stems from the Yahoo! article with Adrian Wojnarowski where fans took exception to Love’s remarks about the team, and his future with them. You know what? I think the way he went about vocalizing them was counterproductive, but the things he said weren’t necessarily wrong. Apparently he made some positive comments that didn’t make the cut, allegedly; whether you believe that or not is up to you.

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Kevin Love’s putrid performance last night led to some serious hostility on Twitter and beyond.

Kevin Love just looks tired all the time. Clanking three-pointers on the front iron, walking and/or jogging up the court…

— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) December 27, 2012

@kevinlove if you could put the team on your back i could tolerate your whining. But since you like to go 0-7 from 3 you shouldnt be whining

— Eric Larson (@asian_laxer) December 27, 2012

I’ve watched Kevin Love play a lot of basketball. Tonight was the most lifeless I’ve seen him. Not sure what happened.

— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) December 27, 2012

The criticism was, dare I say it, well deserved. In a game many thought the Wolves should’ve won — They really should’ve won — Love spent his time trying to shoot his way out of a horrible shooting slump since returning to the team from a broken hand before the season began. He ended up going 3-of-14 from the floor, including a pitiful 0-of-7 from three-point land, not including a botched play drawn up for him to take a three at the end of the game and one he actually took just before that — a step-back three attempt.

Rick Adelman combated the question of “Why Love?” with, “Well, all I can say, he’s our best player. I’ll take those two wide open threes any time.”

Love has battled criticism all season long. From the broken hand to the public relations monstrosity that was the Yahoo! article, he’s seen it all. It hasn’t helped that he hasn’t been able to find any groove whatsoever on the court either. Last night’s performance is just one of many poor shooting nights, as he finds himself shooting just 36-percent from the field coming into that game and not even 25-percent from deep.

It’s hard to believe that all of his problems are physical but he’s taken his fair share of beatings in just four months. Just last week he took a hard jab to his face that caused his eye to swell up and miss the New York game. Then just before that he mysteriously came down with the flu — just hours before tip off — after he was expected to start despite spraining his thumb the night before. But before it all was the bone-shattering knuckle push-ups incident, that broke his hand and forced him to sit out the first nine games of the season. Breaking your shooting hand is a huge blow in basketball because you almost have to retrain it once healed. But Love shot well in his first few games back, and Kyrie Irving just proved that it’s not a huge deal to break your hand and find the rhythm once healed.

So if it’s not his ailing physical health, what could it be? Everyone has always noted Love’s dreadful body language on the court ever since becoming the best offensive option they got. Emotionally, he expresses himself very deeply into the fibers of the game but also loses grasp of the meaning of “team” in the process. His constant complaining that comes from that lack of fouls forces mismatches on the defensive end in transition is most notable. It leaves the Wolves flailing back one man down and is part of the reason the Wolves allow the ninth most opponent fastbreak points per game this season.

Love’s start to the year just isn’t ideal; the season many thought the Wolves had a serious chance to make a run at the playoffs, the first time since 2004. But his behavior on the court is alarming and greatly unalluring. He looks out of shape, tired and entirely disjointed with what’s going on around him.

In last night’s recap, I wrote that “superstars earn their respective title because they perform at a very high level consistently on a night-by-night basis.” Love has failed to do such a thing since his miraculous debut on Nov. 21st against the Nuggets. I wrote further that Love’s failure to aid the team in other facets — clutch shots, defense, etc. — also raise the red flag in dubbing him a “star.”

But there’s no doubt in my mind that Kevin Love is still a great player in this league. It’s just unfortunate that his recent stresses haven’t allowed him to perform to his ability, which used to be that of a star in this league.  This current slump has been difficult for all to watch, especially him to endure. Slumps come with more than just poor box scores; when you’re the leader of a team, it bodes great responsibility including taking the heat from fans and critics alike. We can sit back in our comfy chairs and criticize behind a computer screen — I’m a huge culprit of this — because we think we know best. But, in the end, we’re wrong. Love knows best and he’ll find a way to regain his heroic stature in Minnesota with the new coming year, and hopefully lead the Wolves to the playoffs like the star he really is.

And it all starts with his attitude.

“It’s frustrating for the entire team, we know that. I’m upset with the game, but it’s not going to hold me down,” Love said.

It’s not going to hold him down.