Sid Hartman: Wolves' 'Let's build it' plan has at least two years to go

"Let's Build It" is the new slogan of a Timberwolves team that likely will finish with one of the two worst records in the NBA.

Employees are wearing shirts with that slogan on it, and it's even inscribed on the floors of Target Center.

Team owner Glen Taylor says the franchise has a three-year plan to build the team.

And Taylor said he thinks the fans will wait that long.

"I think so,'' Taylor said. ''I think the fans realize that we have a young team and we're going to grow with this team."

Taylor said coach Randy Wittman's job is not in danger. He said Wittman has a three-year contract, is doing a good job and there will not be any coaching changes regardless of the team's record.

"Well, our goal is to get the team to be much more competitive, and I think when we laid it out we were thinking about a three-year plan," Taylor said. "I think it's three years just because we've got such young guys right now. Our average age is probably 22 [actually 26, but many of the older players don't play much]; even then we'd be an awfully young team at 25."

Still, when you're building, it is kind of sad when a team like Seattle, with six road victories to its credit, beats the Wolves here. And then Charlotte, a team with five road victories, beat the Wolves at the Target Center.

"I would expect that we should be playing better against these teams," Taylor said. "Because they're teams that have struggled during the year.

''I know that Seattle toward the end [of the game] was playing four veteran players and one rookie and we had all young guys out there.

"Well, as I said earlier in the year, we weren't going to judge this on wins and losses, but we've got to be getting better and we've got to make a big step next year."

Taylor has spent more than $20 million buying out contracts, the latest being that of center Theo Ratliff. Forward Antoine Walker isn't playing and wants a buyout, but Taylor said that won't happen because Walker is looking for his full contract, which calls for $9.5 million next year.

"I don't think so," Taylor said about buying out Walker, who came to the Wolves in the trade with Miami for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. "Their idea is that they want to get paid in full, and it doesn't make sense for me to pay him full and then go out and try to get another player."

Taylor said how the team comes out in the lottery and how many of the current players re-sign will determine whether the team will have money to sign any key free agents.

"We are doing a study of all the guys [free agents] that will be available," he said. "I can tell you at this time if we re-sign all of our guys we won't have room to do it, but if we don't sign some of our guys, then that will be the alternative."

The Wolves will have three draft picks this year, their first- and second-rounders and then Miami's second.

"My thinking is that the most that we would carry is two of those three,'' Taylor said. ''So, one of them you might look at if we can get two good ones we might push one back, trade it off to a year later, or else there's a possibility we'd draft what we would call a young European player and have him stay over there a year and practice."

The team continues to lose money, but Taylor said he doesn't have any intention of selling the franchise, that his partners are supportive and if any of them wants out he will buy their stock.

"As long as the guys are playing hard and working hard and I see that we're going to make progress, I enjoy that," he said. ''I think we're a better team now than we were at the beginning of the year."

Yes, the slogan is "Let's Build It," but if they don't get lucky in the lottery, it could take a long time before the Wolves are contenders, especially in the tough Western Conference, with all its top teams getting stronger and stronger.

Power forward Al Jefferson has his theory on why the Wolves are in a bad slump.

"I think it's just everybody coming ready to play every night, regardless of who you play," Jefferson said. "That's what we don't do. So it can get frustrating because we have beat good teams, we have played good teams, great games. Then we come against a team like Charlotte, no disrespect to Charlotte, but they're kind of having an OK season, but a team that we could have played a lot better than we did.''

Michael Doleac has warmed the bench since he came here from Miami in a trade. But he hasn't asked for a buyout like the others and is happy.

"It's a great life. You're here playing basketball,'' he said. "You're doing your thing. What else do you want? If you let something like that affect you, you're probably not a very strong person. That's right, that's the job.''

Gophers coach Tubby Smith has a lot of respect for the basketball knowledge of Ryan Saunders, who has completed his college career. It wouldn't surprise me if Saunders is a graduate assistant next year.

Jake McCoy, who played hockey at the University of Minnesota in the 1960s and has coached hockey at Washburn and Richfield for 40-plus years, was inducted into the State High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame on Thursday. A well-deserved honor.

Phil Falcone, a former local resident and now a financial adviser in New York, is one of the Wild's big new investors.

Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, reports that the Metrodome will be host to 54 small-college doubleheaders (108 games), 19 Gophers baseball games and assorted team scrimmages this spring even though the building shuts down a full week to set up and tear down for Supercross motorcycle races, which are March 15.

Rochester native Michael Restovich, who has been with the Twins and several other major league teams, is playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Pacific Coast League in Japan. Restovich, will earn $580,270 this season. ... Lew Ford, whom the Twins released, is playing with the Hanshin Tigers of the Central League in Japan and is being paid $973,000. ... The Houston Rockets, who have won 17 games in a row, are 6-0 since acquiring former Gopher Bobby Jackson from the Hornets. He is averaging 5.6 points, 2.8 assists and 18 minutes per game.

Bryce Webster, who left the Gophers to enroll at Irvine Valley Community College, scored 13 points and added seven rebounds in the team's victory over College of Desert. He will attend Utah State next season.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com