Losing is painful for Kahn, but he's not ready to panic

Help for the Timberwolves presumably will arrive next summer, when the team could have as many as three first-round draft picks and gobs of salary-cap space.

Until then?

With his team on a 13-game losing streak and one more loss away from the worst season start (1-14) in franchise history, Wolves boss David Kahn vows to follow the prudent path.

"It's very painful to have to take a position of inactivity," he said, "but I think we'd be doing a terrible disservice making some rash decisions about our team."

Kahn said he expects options to improve the team for this season and beyond will arise as the NBA trading deadline approaches.

But that's not until February.

Until then, he and coach Kurt Rambis say they will wait until Kevin Love makes his season debut next month and until Al Jefferson returns to full health, a process that could take until that trading deadline nears.

"Until Al really feels like he's playing normal again and until we get Kevin back, we don't quite know who we are," Rambis said. "So let's see how that goes for a little bit."

Kahn said trade talk within the league has started to percolate in the past week. Until then, teams have used the season's opening month to assess themselves and their needs. He could choose to use some of the more than $20 million cap space reserved for next summer to acquire a star player by the trade deadline rather than wager the team can sign a free agent, or more, in July without obviously overpaying him or them to come to Minnesota.

"It's still really early," Kahn said. "But I suspect there will be opportunities, especially as we come closer and closer to trade deadline, whether it's for financial reasons or playoff positioning."

Kahn last summer traded away Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Bobby Brown and newly acquired Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Quentin Richardson in moves to acquire extra draft picks and obtain more salary-cap space starting next summer.

Thing is, the Wolves still have 68 games to play.

"We're all frustrated," Wolves veteran forward Brian Cardinal said. "If we weren't, there'd be something wrong and then you'd start questioning people. We're all still motivated. We're still trying to get it right. We're in solid position [to improve the team next summer]. What that means, who knows? Right now, everyone is focusing on the next game and the games we have left. When next summer comes, it comes and we'll figure it out."

For now, Kahn will stay on the plotted course, even if the Wolves are three more losses away from tying the franchise's longest losing streak at 16 games.

He calls this 1-13 start unrepresentative because Love hasn't played a game yet, "Al's clearly not himself" and because of what he calls a "culture of newness."

"New staff, new everything," Kahn said. "Because of the combination of those things, I just think it's tainted. If Kevin had been playing, in particular, it'd be a lot easier. I think -- I hope, at least -- his impact will affect others around him. It's hard right now. But I think it's important we don't do anything hastily."

• The Wolves practiced for almost 90 minutes Tuesday after getting off the plane from Los Angeles, where they lost to the Clippers 91-87 on Monday night. In past seasons, the team usually didn't practice if it were flying back home from the West Coast.

"If we had played three games in four nights, it'd be a different story," Rambis said. "It has to do with the amount of games. This is not abnormal. We need to work on things every single day; it has nothing to do with that. This would be a normal practice day. It's on the schedule."

• NBA referees have told media members in a pregame briefing that they are emphasizing, among other things, traveling violations from a standing stop this season. Apparently, nobody told Jefferson. Six of his eight turnovers Monday were for traveling violations, including three in the fourth quarter.

"Those were good traveling calls, appropriate calls," Rambis said.

• Rookie Wayne Ellington has not played two of the past three games, and played fewer than four minutes in that third game. Rambis said sending Ellington to the NBA Development League to get him some playing time is an option. "There's benefits for being around and practicing with an NBA team," Rambis said. "There's also a value in playing as well. Those are things that are open for discussion."