"This is a blessing to be back where it started for me," Martin said before Friday night's Wolves-Milwaukee game at Target Center. "I got the coaching bug during my last three years with Toronto."

Martin, 38, retired after the 2007-08 season. As a point guard, he had an edge over other candidates who interviewed to be an assistant to J.B. Bickerstaff, the team's player development coach. It also helped that Martin and Wolves coach Kurt Rambis have the same agent, Lon Rosen, who's based in Los Angeles, Martin's hometown.

Martin will spend a lot of time with Wolves point guards Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions. He hopes to make an early impact on Flynn, the Wolves' excitable rookie. Rambis plans to start Flynn the entire season.

"The one thing I hope to get across to him is that you can't make the same turnovers in the fourth quarter that you make in the second or third," Martin said. "The ones in the fourth quarter can really hurt you."

Love injury update: Wolves forward Kevin Love had the stitches removed in his left hand Thursday and will have X-rays taken Nov. 20 to evaluate his progress. Love said the X-rays would give him a better idea of his return to practice and game action. He backed off slightly from comments earlier this week when he believed he might be able to play before the end of the month.

"It all depends on how the X-rays look," Love said. "My hand feels much better after the stitches came out. I have more flexibility, but it's still tender."

Love broke the fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand during the Wolves' Oct. 15 exhibition game at Chicago. He had surgery Oct. 19 and was projected to miss six to eight weeks.

Love is doing daily conditioning work, but he's prohibited from catching a ball or dribbling with his left hand.

Pecherov struggles: After scoring a career-high 24 points against Boston on Wednesday night, Wolves forward Oleksiy Pecherov had only one field goal in six attempts in 24 minutes. He finished with two points but had nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Sign dispute prompts lawsuit: A dispute over outdoor signage at Target Center led the Timberwolves to file a lawsuit Friday against AEG, operators of the Minneapolis arena.

The lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County District Court, claims AEG is unwilling to consent to the Timberwolves' installing advertising signs on the Second Avenue side of Target Center.

Briefly: Flynn's 17 shots Friday night are a season high, but he came close to not getting an assist. He did not have an assist after the first quarter.

Milwaukee rookie guard Brandon Jennings entered Friday's game leading the team in scoring (22.0) and assists (5.3). His scoring average is tops among all rookies and he ranks second among rookies in assists. He had nine points and three assists in 27 minutes Friday.

Jennings, the 10th overall pick in the draft, opted to play overseas last season.