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Home | Sports | Timberwolves

Wolves roster outlook

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: June 28, 2008 - 10:49 PM

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KEY DATES

Tuesday: Teams can begin negotiating with free agents -- their own and those from other teams -- and agree to contracts.

July 9: Teams can officially sign free agents.

July 11-20: Las Vegas Summer League. Love, Brewer and Richard are scheduled to play on a Wolves team that will include free agents such as Michigan State's Drew Neitzel.

*-Note: Restricted free agents. Gomes, Smith and Richard have received qualifying offers, which means the Wolves can match any offer they receive from another team. Telfair and Snyder did not, which means they are free to sign and stay with any team they choose.

POINT GUARD

Randy Foye, 6-4, 213 pounds, age 24, Villanova, 2 years pro

Sebastian Telfair*, 6-0, 175 pounds, age 23, Lincoln HS (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 4 years pro

Overview: At 9 p.m. Thursday, the Wolves had Foye, O.J. Mayo and Marko Jaric at point guard. Now, only Foye, a scorer in a point guard's body, is under contract. The Wolves didn't make Telfair a qualifying offer, so he's free to sign with any team starting Tuesday. They'll pursue him and other free agents, but suddenly this is the team's biggest question mark, especially if Foye gets hurt.

SWING (GUARD/FORWARD)

Corey Brewer, 6-9, 185 pounds, age 22, Florida, 1 year pro

Rashad McCants, 6-4, 210 pounds, age 23, North Carolina, 3 year pro

Mike Miller, 6-8, 218 pounds, age 28, Florida, 8 years pro

Kirk Snyder*, 6-6, 225 pounds, age 25, Nevada, 4 years pro

Overview: Miller and Brewer provide flexibility because they can play either big guard or small forward. Miller also gives the Wolves the shooter they've lacked and would give them a long lineup if he starts at guard, but he's by no means a shutdown defender. That's who Brewer is going to have to be. Training camp will determine whether Miller starts at guard, forward or inherits a sixth-man role McCants filled last season. Best bet: Miller is your new starting big guard.

FORWARD

Brian Cardinal, 6-8, 245 pounds, age 31, Purdue, 8 years pro

Ryan Gomes*, 6-7, 250 pounds, age 25, Providence, 3 years pro

Chris Richard*, 6-9, 270 pounds, age 23, Florida, 1 years pro

Craig Smith*, 6-8, 250 pounds, age 24, Boston College, 2 years pro

Overview: Three big questions with three restricted free agents starting Tuesday. All three have been made qualifying offers, so expect the Wolves to sign all three unless somebody gives them silly money. Gomes started the season's final 58 games, but he could be moved to a reserve role this season to get Brewer's defense on the floor more because with their lineup, the Wolves really might need it.

FORWARD/CENTER

Al Jefferson, 6-10, 265 pounds, age 23, Prentiss HS (Miss.), 4 years pro

Kevin Love, 6-10, 255 pounds, age 19, UCLA, rookie

Mark Madsen, 6-9, 250 pounds, age 32, Stanford, 8 years pro

Overview: The Wolves' future just might depend on how well Jefferson and Love play together as a power forward/center tandem. Jefferson's low-post game and Love's passing and his ability to take defenders out onto the floor with his outside shooting could make them unstoppable. The big question: Will they score more than they allow? "He might have a little bit of a mismatch defensively," Wolves coach Randy Wittman said of Love. "As a coach, you look at it as what's the greater risk: What he's not able to do guarding somebody or that guy not being able to guard him? That's where coaching comes in."

CENTER

Jason Collins, 7-0, 255 pounds, age 29, Stanford, 7 years pro

Overview: Collins, with one year left on his contract, provides a legitimate center for those rare matchups -- Yao Ming, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard -- when one might be needed. Meet the new Michael Doleac, Wolves fans, but expect him to play a lot more.

KEY DATES

Tuesday: Teams can begin negotiating with free agents -- their own and those from other teams -- and agree to contracts.

July 9: Teams can officially sign free agents.

July 11-20: Las Vegas Summer League. Love, Brewer and Richard are scheduled to play on a Wolves team that will include free agents such as Michigan State's Drew Neitzel.