Wolves hope to see a healthy Ratliff

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune file

Wolves center Theo Ratliff is returning from knee surgery, which will enable the team to see what his shot-blocking ability brings to the mix.

The Wolves hope to use the team's final 30 games as a measuring stick to decide which players they want to be around for the start of next season.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: February 21, 2008 - 12:38 AM

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WOLVES VS. SAN ANTONIO 7 tonight • Target Center • TV: FSN (106.1-FM)

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Timberwolves veteran center Theo Ratliff vows he will play tonight against San Antonio for the first time since the season's seventh game at Target Center.

His anticipated return after 45 games, and only hours after the trading deadline passes, is significant for multiple reasons.

Whether the man with the expiring $11.6 million salary slot plays again for the Wolves beyond this season, his return to good health after knee surgery for the season's final 30 games would allow management to see how a bonafide shot-blocker fits among the pieces the team has assembled in its rebuilding efforts.

"If you say it fits beautifully, then it becomes a major, major priority," said Kevin McHale, Wolves vice president of basketball operations. "If you decide it's not a monumental change, then you say, 'OK, there are a lot of teams who are very successful who don't have that shot-blocker in the middle.' It's going to be a chance for us to see what impact that particular type of player has on our team."

Ratliff's expiring salary slot is the most valuable resource McHale has to dangle with tonight's 2 p.m. trading deadline fast approaching. But he said Wednesday he expects to hang onto it for future use. Veteran forward Antoine Walker has said he'd welcome a trade to a contender, and the agent for young guard Gerald Green, an unrestricted free agent this summer not expected to return to the team, wants the Wolves to trade his client.

If the Wolves do anything, look for them to deal Green -- he of NBA All-Star Game slam-dunk fame but precious little playing time -- for a player whose contract also is done after this season and a little something extra, be it a draft pick and/or cash.

"I wouldn't be surprised if something happened, but I'm surely not holding my breath, either," McHale said. "It has kind of been the year of the big deals; I guess we did our big deal earlier."

McHale said he understands the situations of both Walker and Green. Walker's salary -- $8.5 million this season, $9.3 million next -- makes him difficult to trade. Green's upcoming free agency -- the Wolves' declined to pick up an option for next season -- and short, sporadic career limits his value.

"Antoine has been very good," McHale said. "I completely understand where he's coming from. I don't blame him. We have a young rebuilding team and we have to see what we have with our other guys. Antoine has been professional and has really handled his business well, but that doesn't mean anything is going to happen.

"At the end of the day, unfortunately -- and I do mean unfortunately -- you get caught in a situation where your team is on a whole different course than you are as a player. That's where he is right now."

The Wolves apparently have decided Green is not part of their future, and it appears certain he would not return next year to a team where he has not played much. Both Walker and Green declined interview requests Wednesday.

"I mean this: I've been very impressed with Gerald's professionalism," McHale said. "He has been ready to play when we've asked him, and that's so hard to do when you're young. The hardest thing in this league is be professional at 22, and he has been really good."

Wolves coach Randy Wittman said he doesn't expect to have any issues with either player if both are still Timberwolves after today's deadline. He said there's still time in the season for Green to prove he's part of the team's future.

"That's part of being a professional," said Wittman, who added that Ratliff's return tonight is not 100 percent guaranteed. "You have to be professional, and we have to make sure that happens ... Thirty games left are a lot of games to be played. A lot can still change as far as my thinking of who I like and who has caught my eye from now until April 16."

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