Nikola Pekovic hopes to remain with the Minnesota Timberwolves.



Barring an extension, Pekovic will become a restricted free agent in July 2013.



"I would like to stay here because of everything," Pekovic said. "I just like everything. I like the area. I like the team. I like all the stuff. Now I got some friends here. Now it's real easy. It's just nice, nice people, nice town. I would like to be here."

Pekovic trimmed his body fat to 8 percent over the summer.

"He's slimmed down, but he's stronger," Rick Adelman said. "You just watch him. Guys in the scrimmages just want out of there. They don't want to go against him. He's going to be crucial for us. If we have a guy who has to be our Iron Man, it's Pek. When we have him out there, he's such a force around the basket. It makes everybody else better."