"Yes, it was weird. And, yes, Al Jefferson was looking forward to getting the whole thing over, just so that he never had to discuss it in so much detail again.

The Jazz center made his professional return Wednesday to Minnesota, facing off against his former team, the Timberwolves, at the Target Center.

Jefferson was surrounded by media members and television cameras during a morning shootaround. The interested parties then significantly increased their attention during a pregame interview at the arena.

Jefferson said that it was odd to dress in the visitor's locker room prior to tipoff, and he was not sure how he would be received by Minnesota's fans. However, he again had nothing but positive words to offer when asked about his tenure with the Timberwolves.

"I take my hat off to [Minnesota president] David Kahn and the front office, because they could've traded me anywhere," Jefferson said. "And they put me in this situation because I feel like they want to see me do good and succeed and have a great career. You don't catch too many GMs that'll do that for the top player on the team."

Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said that it is still too early to evaluate a trade last summer that sent Jefferson to Utah in exchange for center Kosta Koufos and two first-round draft picks.

However, Rambis acknowledged that Jefferson lacked "pop" in 2009-10 after coming off major knee surgery. And with the ascension of Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, who leads the NBA in rebound average, Rambis said that it was clearly time for Jefferson and Minnesota to part ways.

"Al was struggling with his position here and the pressures that were on him," Rambis said. "It was a mutual decision. It was something that he welcomed as well. So, there can't be any hard feelings when a decision is made in a win-win situation like that. We're happy for Al, and we wish him continued success.""