Ricky Rubio dished out 12 assists, scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in a 103-101 loss to the Heat on Friday.

"The kid has something. He has that Steve Nash capability," Dwyane Wade said. "They've got a gem in him. He's going to be great for them."

Rubio left a lasting impression on the Heat.

"He's a handful on the pick-and-roll," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "At the end, we were forced to go bigger and switch just to get him out of that pulling trigger game and get us running around all over the place. He's a clever passer. Two or three times, he had me looking the wrong way."

Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee underwent successful surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Dr. David Fischer, Timberwolves team orthopedic surgeon, performed the surgery at TRIA Orthopaedic Center.

The typical recovery time for this type of injury is approximately six weeks.

Ricky Rubio came off the bench to record six assists, six points and five rebounds with no turnovers in a 104-100 loss to the Thunder, arguably the NBA's best team.

Rubio piloted the fast break with precision, set up teammates for easy baskets and showed some of the flair that made him a YouTube sensation while Wolves fans patiently awaited his arrival for two years.

"He really sees the floor," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "He competes at both ends of the court. We just have to give him a little bit of time to work his way in. It's going to be an up-and-down situation for him. All rookies face that. He seems to have an awful lot of hype going his way, but I don't see him buying into that. I just see him as a young man who really wants to learn, really wants to do well."

The Timberwolves have waived veteran guard Bonzi Wells.

Wells has not appeared in an NBA game since 2008.

He spent the past two years playing in China and Puerto Rico and came to Wolves camp hoping to revive his career. Wells had a history with Wolves coach Rick Adelman, and Adelman brought him in to give his younger players some guidance during training camp.

Timberwolves general manager David Kahn said he will not discuss any contract negotiations with Kevin Love's agent publicly, other than to call the matter "very important" and say he expects Love will play for the Wolves for "many, many" years.

If Love does not sign an extension by Jan. 25, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.

The Wolves then could match any other team's offer. Or Love could then elect to accept a one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team in summer 2013.

Asked Wednesday if he's decided he will seek a maximum contract, Love said, "Not really. I'm still thinking things through. It's just going to depend on what they think is right and what me and my agent decide as well. We'll look at the scenarios."

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman is willing to feature Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and rookie Derrick Williams in the same frontcourt because of the stress they can put on an opponent’s defense.

"They're a tough matchup for the other team, but they have to do the job defensively," Adelman said. "They were active Saturday night. The key is everybody has to keep their concentration. That's the biggest problem we have. We get into situations on the weak side, and we don't have guys thinking all the time. We'll keep working at it."

Adelman might have to limit how much time he plays the trio together until Williams becomes a better defender. Adelman said the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft has a "ways to go" defensively.

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman is asking rookie Derrick Williams to focus on playing power forward for now.

When the Wolves drafted Williams, he was projected at small forward because the team already has Love at power forward.

"I think he's just going to get more comfortable if he's playing one spot rather than two," Adelman said. "I thought he did a very nice job today. He shot the ball really well. When he really gets set, he shoots it pretty good."

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team free agent Bonzi Wells. 

Wells' deal is non-guaranteed and he will have to make the roster.

Wells is a 10-year NBA veteran with career averages of 12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.6 apg. He spent five-plus seasons with Portland, and also saw action with Memphis, Sacramento, Houston and New Orleans. His most recent NBA action was during the 2007-08 season when he played in 51 games for the Rockets and 22 games for the Hornets. He spent the 2008-09 season playing in China and the 2009-10 season in the Puerto Rican League.

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed free-agent guard José Juan Barea.

"We are excited to add J.J. Barea to our team," said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. "His experience, leadership capabilities and all-around play should help us immensely this coming season and beyond."

Barea, 27, played in 81 games for Dallas in 2010-11, averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 assists in 20.5 minutes per contest.

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman believes Brad Miller’s presence will benefit All-Star forward Kevin Love who, while leading the league in rebounding, averaged just 2.5 assists per game last season.

"There is no way he should average two or three assists a game," Adelman said. "I'm sorry, that should be up. This whole team is that way, though. They have to learn to share the ball and make the extra pass."

Adelman has watched Love play since he was in high school and said he knows what is possible.

"He sees things on the court and he makes the right play," Adelman said. "Even in high school when he was the dominant guy, he would still make the right play, whether he had the opportunity or if a teammate was open. I think that's going to happen. We'll put him in situations where he will be a facilitator."

Love says he has listened and learned from Miller during these early days of camp. And he has heard Adelman's message loud and clear as well.

"He told me, 'Your points might go up and down, your rebounds might go up and down, but the one thing I want to go up and only up is your assists,'" Love said. "I told him I can do that."