Rambis is willing to adjust to cold

At first blush, the marriage between Kurt Rambis and the Minnesota Timberwolves seems odd.

Rambis was born in Cupertino, Calif., and spent the vast majority of his playing and coaching career in sunny Los Angeles. He doesn’t own a winter coat and has deep roots in a Lakers organization that has won 15 NBA titles.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, haven’t been to the playoffs since 2004, have advanced to the second round just once in 20 years and call single-digit temperatures in February a heat wave.

So why would Rambis want to leave the defending NBA champions - and his post as possible successor to Phil Jackson in star-studded Los Angeles - to take over a team that won 24 games last season in chilly Minnesota?

“When an opportunity like this comes along, to build a team like I envision and playing a style of ball I would like to teach, to work with quality individuals we already have, it could not be passed up,” Rambis said Tuesday in Minneapolis after being introduced as the ninth coach in Timberwolves history.

WIZARDS: Washington officially signed forward-center Fabricio Oberto, giving the team added frontcourt depth.

The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Oberto averaged 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in four seasons with San Antonio. The Spurs traded Oberto to Detroit this summer as part of a five-player deal; the Pistons then waived Oberto.

HEAT: Retired center Alonzo Mourning has been announced as one of three recipients of this year’s Mannie Jackson human spirit award by the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

The award honors those who use basketball to help create changes in their communities. This year’s other honorees are NBA observer of officials Ken Hudson and eight-time NBA All-Star Bob Lanier.

LAKERS: Center Pau Gasol had surgery on his left index finger after an injury during practice with Spain’s national team. He will be sidelined at least three weeks.

The Spanish basketball federation said Gasol damaged a ligament in his nonshooting hand Monday while blocking a shot. He will wear a splint for 20 days, but the federation did not say whether he will play in the European Championship in Poland, which starts Sept. 7.