Injured Wolves center Ronny Turiaf took one more step toward playing again after this morning's shootaround at Target Center when he participated in a spirited 3-on-3 game with teammates Chase Budinger, Gorgui Dieng, Robbie Hummel, Shabazz Muhammad and A.J. Price.

It was his first contact work since he fractured a small forearm bone where it connects to his elbow during the season's second game, Nov. 1 against Oklahoma City.

"I'm just very excited, this is a long time coming," he said. "I don't think I've been excited to do 3-on-3 for a while, to tell you the truth. This is very fun for me now."

He said he doesn't know when he'll be cleared for full 5-on-5 practice and said he has no timetable for when he will play again.

The 15-15 Wolves play Dallas tonight at Target Center with the chance to get over .500 for the first time since November.

Meanwhile, Budinger continues to test his knee and the rest of his body in 3-on-3 games and 5-on-5 practices, when those until now fairly rare practices have presented themselves.

"It's been great, no swelling, a little bit of soreness here and there," Budinger said, referring to the knee. "The knee has been doing well."

He continues to monitor soreness in the rest of his body, which for now might be the biggest issue as he tries to get his body back in shape after a three-month layoff.

One other thing:

I talked to Shabazz Muhammad after today's shoot. He said he hasn't discussed with management yet the option of playing in the D-League so he can get some game action in. He again made it clear he'd prefer to stay here, saying he thinks he can stay in top shape and learn more about NBA game by playing against teammates here rather than with the Wolves' D-League affiliate in Iowa.