How did you decide to play with the third-string team?

I had a conversation with somebody and they were like, "You're gonna practice with the starters." And I was like, "Look, man, I'm just getting back. Let's just ease in to this whole thing. They're grooving right now. D-Rose is playing phenomenal." He still is. Love him for doing that. I want him to be so successful. I want KAT, I want Wigs, I want everybody to be successful. I was like, “Yo, they're rolling right now.” Obviously, I was feeling a type of way because we all know what I wanted to happen. So I was like, “I'll come off the bench if I want to.” And the individual says, "No you're gonna practice with the starters." And I was like, "No. Now I'm practicing with the third string."

I was already on half rebel mode anyway so it just fit, and it just happened. But there's so much more to the story that nobody knows that I'm not gonna say. I might tell you after the mic's turned off but there's much more. They only told you the real juicy parts of the story. They hyped it up to make it sound way bigger than it really was. Let's just say that.

Were you whooping their ass, though?

We won.

You keep in touch with your teammates from Minny?

Yeah. I talk to some of the guys from Chicago [too]. When you realize that this is a business, that's when you respect what goes on. And it's never ever personal. When I was in Chicago, I took some things personal and then I learned. I read about it, I talked to people that's been through it before and they were like, “Yo, relax, it's a business.” And I was like, damn you're right. And once I accepted that, I'm cool. Im cool.

I'm going to push back a little bit, because when you were talking to Rachel you said it wasn't about the money, it was about not being appreciated. How true is that? How much was it about business and how much was it about not being appreciated by the Timberwolves?

I think it was a little bit of business, but it is about being wanted and being appreciated. I don't like talking about Minnesota, I really try to leave it in the past. Let's just say: there are some things that could've happened, that we both talked about, and at the end of the day, I felt like I was told one thing and something else happened. I'll leave it at that. I'm not going to get into too much detail about it because I still got a lot of respect for a lot of people in their organization, as everybody knows.

But it just didn't work out, man. It's all good. It really is. I want them to be successful. I want Wigs, KAT, Tyus, be the best you could be. I don't wish any ill will on nobody. Nobody. I pay attention to them. They're playing extremely well right now. Good for them. If they're happy, I'm cool… I want y'all to be happy, do what you do, win as many games as possible, make as much money as you can, because everybody got a short window with this thing.

One of the quotes that came out from practice that day was, "You fucking need me." And, like you say, the Timberwolves have been doing well since. How do you feel about those comments now?

I feel great about the comments. Fuck you mean? I feel great about the comments. You should be trying to win. I hope you're trying to prove that you don't need me, so it's making everybody do what is needed to win on any given night. I like it. If that's the type of shit that brings out the best in you, you're welcome. You're welcome. Just be the best and win as many games as possible. I think they're doing that right now. I want them to continue to win. I really do. Because Jeff [Teague] has never missed a playoff. I want Derrick to know that he's a top player in this league. Same with KAT. Same with Wigs. Taj [Gibson], all of those guys. We're still all good. We're still close. We still talk. Like I said, I'm glad that they're winning. I am. I'm winning, too.