In post-KG Minnesota, the verdict's still not clear

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: February 8, 2008 - 11:27 PM

Forty-eight games AG, the Timberwolves met the Boston Celtics for the second and final time this season with their opponents leading the NBA with a 37-9 record while the Wolves point toward what by default must be a brighter future with big, young Al Jefferson signed for the next five seasons.

So, seven months after the Wolves traded superstar Kevin Garnett to Boston for five players and two first-round draft picks in the biggest deal for one player in NBA history, who won?

Wolves coach Randy Wittman laughed when asked if it was too early to evaluate the trade.

"Until we get all the draft picks, nobody knows," he said. "You've got to wait and see how everything turns out."

A reporter asked Wolves boss Kevin McHale the same question. "I think it has been evaluated so many times, what stopped you up 'til now," said McHale, referring to the perception that the Wolves didn't get enough for their franchise player. "I felt pretty good about it last July, so I don't know."

He said it

Boston coach Doc Rivers smiled and laughed when he said it at the team's morning shootaround. Referring to the Wolves' decision to welcome Garnett before the Celtics starters were introduced Friday night, Rivers said: "It's really classy what they're doing. I didn't know Kevin McHale had that much class. I'm impressed. No, I'm joking.

"I think it's a really nice gesture by Kevin and Glen [owner Glen Taylor] and the whole organization because he's done a lot for the team and obviously Minnesota."

The two Kevins

McHale was asked in more than one way whether he would seek out Garnett for a conversation during his visit to Target Center. McHale said he didn't plan on "stalking anyone" but said he welcomed a chat.

"I like Kevin," McHale said. "He's such a good guy. He came here, and he was here for such a long time -- really the first guy I drafted -- and we spent such long hours in this gym, right here, working on his game. It's a strange business, a transient business by nature. You get kind of used to it, I guess. It has been five, six, seven months now, and I really enjoy the guys we've got here now. You do move on."

He remembers

Wolves point guard Sebastian Telfair said it will never get old facing his former team.

"You want to go out there and you want to beat them," he said. "That's just a natural instinct as a competitor. I want to win. I want to beat 'em."

Roy Bittan and the E Street Band ...

Well, you don't see this every day: One of the lead stories on NBA.com features photos of a Celtic and a Timberwolf with this wording: Tune in to ESPN at 8 p.m. ET to see Ray Allen and the Celtics visit Gerald Green and the Timberwolves for the first time since Kevin Garnett was dealt to Boston.

A sports staffer for a major metropolitan newspaper heard about that and asked, "Who's Gerald Green?" The NBA is promoting its upcoming All-Star Game weekend, where Green will be the only Wolves representative. He will defend his title in the slam-dunk contest.

Etc.

• Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce to reporters at the team's shootaround Friday morning: "Y'all here for my return to Minnesota?"

• The tornadoes that killed 58 people Tuesday hit Corey Brewer's hometown of Portland, Tenn. "They were all around them, but nothing hit," Brewer said. "Everybody's fine."

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