Eddie Griffin was starting to drink again before the Timberwolves waived him March 13, Kevin McHale said during a conference call Wednesday.

At that time the troubled 6-10 forward needed help best available at a rehabilitation center near his home in Houston, said the Wolves vice president of basketball operations. "He was cycling down into a bad, bad spot," McHale said. "In one of the last conversations I had with Eddie, he said, 'I got to go. It's unhealthy for me here.' "

Griffin, who played for the Wolves for nearly three seasons, died Friday at age 25 when his sports-utility vehicle struck a moving train in Houston.

McHale called Griffin a good-natured person with a lot of demons.