Jefferson a big help, but Wolves need more

It seems implausible to call successful a Timberwolves season in which only two other teams have won fewer games.

It might seem so if an 82-game season that ends Wednesday night against Milwaukee had not revealed this simple but significant fact:

Al Jefferson is a lot better than anybody thought.

And as Wolves basketball boss Kevin McHale likes to say, he thought Jefferson was pretty good when he made last summer's seismic trade that sent future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett to Boston.

Now all the Wolves need is two more equally sturdy blocks to the foundation. Or, if it's absolutely the right player, perhaps only one.

Given the franchise's decision-making record, however, that's asking something.

Wolves coach Randy Wittman the other day was asked what his team needs most.

More talent, he said.

And somebody who can get to the basket. Somebody else who can defend on the perimeter. Some guys who can shoot.

More size would be nice, too.

Is that all?

Jefferson -- an anachronistic low-post scorer and lunch-bucket guy signed last fall to a bargain five-year, $65 million contract extension -- has proven in one season he is a legitimate pillar on a suddenly youthful team otherwise composed of complementary pieces.

A trade that nine months ago looked so lopsided one way might someday appear reversed if Jefferson improves his 15-foot jumper, his shot blocking and his passing vision.

"Kevin McHale wanted to get the best young player he could get if he was going to trade Kevin Garnett," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who coached Jefferson his first three pro seasons, "and I think he got him."

Now, if only the Wolves can add two more equally talented players -- Memphis freshman guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley would be a fine start -- around him. Wittman suggests Jefferson's hefty 21-point and 11-rebound averages might only rise with better players around him, because defenses can't be as attentive to him as they were this season.

However, for once in their 20-year history, the Wolves need to get lucky in the May draft lottery -- and if they do, they cannot miss this time with their selection.

Second-guessing personnel decisions has become the favorite pastime of ardent Wolves fans, the relative few who remain.

A kneecap injury that cost second-year guard Randy Foye the season's first three months and placed him that far behind his teammates renewed hot debate over McHale's choice two summers ago to trade Brandon Roy's draft rights to Portland for Foye and cash.

That discussion, judging by Roy's Rookie of the Year season a year ago and his All-Star Game appearance in February, might never die.

Corey Brewer's inconsistent rookie season has Wolves watchers wondering already if he is a draft bust, although that probably is as much guilt by association because McHale picked him as an honest evaluation. They're also closely watching the career of promising rookie Al Thornton, the unsung Florida State forward (at least compared with Brewer's starry collegiate career) who overwhelmed Brewer and other prospects in a predraft workout at Target Center and was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers five picks after Brewer.

"I just shudder when I hear people judging players a year into their career," McHale said. "If you were to judge John Stockton after his first year and a half in the league, you'd say, 'Well, Rickey Green is playing ahead of him.' Now you look back and John Stockton is in the Hall of Fame."

The Wolves started the season 3-21, a beginning that invited comparisons to the NBA's all-time worst team, the 9-73 Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73. They are 14-25 in the season's second half with two games yet to play.

A year ago, the Wolves lost their last seven games when Garnett sat out the final five and finished 12-29 in the season's second half.

"I really like their team, the way they play," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "The way they set screens, the way they knock you around. They have you turning your head to see who's going to hit you next. They'll be a very good team in a couple of years if you give them the chance to get better."

Thing is, Golden State could win 50 games and miss the Western Conference playoffs this year. In three years, New Orleans, the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah, Houston and perhaps even aging San Antonio -- playoff-bound all this spring -- still likely will be formidable in the West while Portland, with Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and another forthcoming lottery pick, and Seattle, with Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and six first-round picks in the next three years, should be flexing their muscle.

"The toughest thing when you're looking where you're going to get is, how are you going to get there and who do you have to get over?" Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "Right now in the West, there are a lot of young teams -- Portland is going to be great next year -- so now you're in a situation where there are teams you have to leapfrog over. You can get a lot better and you might not see it in wins and losses."

On Friday night, an Orlando reporter asked Wittman why it seemed as if every championship team in the past 15 or 20 years was anchored by players age 30 and older. When asked if experience is really that important in the playoffs, Wittman nodded his head in agreement and said in a seven-game series it sure is.

Somebody else reminded him that all of his main players are 25 or younger and asked what that meant for the team's future.

Wittman groaned at the question just for effect and then said, "You hope you're around in five years, when they're 30."

Jerry Zgoda • jzgoda@startribune.com