Saunders: Heat hasn't bought title

If you want the opinion of Washington Wizards coach and former Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, you can't buy an NBA championship. He says the Miami Heat didn't assure itself of the title when it added LeBron James and Chris Bosh and retained star player Dwyane Wade during free agency.

"I'll tell you what, usually teams that try to buy championships, it becomes very difficult," Saunders said. "They still have to get a point guard. No one's really had success, as far as playoff-type success, without having some type of a point guard situation.

"They have to get a big yet be able to guard bigs. So a lot of people are saying they should win it. I guess we'll put the pressure on them and say they should probably go 82-0 with the team that they have. It'll be interesting to go and play against them."

Saunders said the one advantage the trio has is that they played and won a gold medal together in the 2008 Olympics.

"Like I said, it's going to be very interesting to see how all the dynamics play out," Saunders said. "When they played in the Olympics, they beat teams so bad that they all kind of shared. They only played 20-some minutes a game and all 12 guys played about the same and they averaged 15 points a game.

"It's a different situation when you get into our league. LeBron is used to being the leading scorer in the league and the MVP, so we'll have to see if they can share all the glory."

Saunders said Lakers star Kobe Bryant has proved he can carry a team to the championship, something James hasn't yet accomplished.

"Kobe Bryant [has that] killer instinct," Saunders said. "Down the stretch he's a guy that will carry a team and do whatever it takes to win. LeBron hasn't proved that he can do that yet. He's an extremely gifted, talented player -- he's so strong, big, does pretty much everything -- but hasn't proven the ability as far as to close out games."

Beasley has talent Saunders regards new Wolves forward Michael Beas- ley as a very talented player. However, Saunders said Beasley has had off-the-court issues he's trying to deal with, and there are always going to be issues with him.

"The talent has not reached the potential that a lot of people thought he would, coming out of college," Saunders said. "A little bit undersized, not really a big forward, and not really quick enough as far as to play [small forward], but he has the ability to score points. And I think he'll help Minnesota, as long as he can keep his off-court issues intact. He'll be a good pickup for them."

Saunders likes forward Wesley Johnson, the Wolves' top draft choice from Syracuse.

"We really liked him, extremely talented," Saunders said. "I think [the Wolves] did well in the draft. They got a need as far as a small forward."

Saunders had the chance to coach Darko Milicic, whom the Wolves recently re-signed. Saunders coached the 6-11 center in Detroit.

"Darko, again, is a guy that's long, talented ... [but] just hasn't proved that he really loves to play the game at this point yet," Saunders said. "But he does have the ability, and if they can tap into that and he gets that killer instinct, he can be a good player for them. But in seven years, he hasn't reached that potential yet."

The Wizards haven't signed any free agents as yet.

"The reason is the money that's being given out right now to a lot of these players is pretty astronomical around the league," Saunders said. "There's players that have been guys coming off the bench and haven't played great, and all of a sudden they're getting $7 million, $8 million a year. So it's kind of interesting with the way the situation is right now."

Jottings The Indians have released former Twins catcher Mike Redmond. Redmond was a great chemistry guy for the Twins. His presence in that locker room might be a big plus with the slump the team is in now.

Is local Champions Tour golfer John Harris going to be the new director of golf at the University of Minnesota? His name is being mentioned prominently as a candidate.

The Wolves start summer league play Monday in Las Vegas and two former Gophers, Damian Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook, have been named to the team. ... Minnesota native and North Dakota State standout Ben Woodside is playing for the Golden State Warriors summer league team and is averaging 6.5 points per game through two games. He scored 11 in his first summer league game.

A number of players with ties to the Wolves also will be competing in the summer league. Former first-round draft pick Ndudi Ebi is playing with the 76ers squad and is averaging 12 points and six rebounds through two games. Former first-round pick Rashad McCants is playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers after being out of the NBA for the 2009-2010 season. Former second-round draft pick Chris Richard is playing with the Chicago Bulls.

Former Timberwolves Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes will be reunited with the Los Angeles Clippers next season. Foye played for the Washington Wizards last year and averaged 10.1 points and 3.3 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. His contract is for two years and said to be in excess of $8 million. Gomes was traded from the Wolves to the Portland Trail Blazers for Martell Webster but was immediately waived by Portland to create cap space, which left Gomes open to sign a three-year, $12 million contract with the Clippers. Gomes averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Wolves last year.

The Gophers have signed a fifth player in Elliott Eliason, a 6-11, 225-pound center from Chadron, Nebraska, and not only four as mentioned here Sunday.

Gophers assistant track coach Lynden Reder was checking the Internet for top athletes who are involved in weight events in Europe and discovered Quentin Mege, who hails from a small town in France. Mege was contacted and he will be a member of the Gophers track team next year. Mege had a 63-meter throw in the hammer, a distance that would win the Big Ten championship.

Former Gophers wrestler Cole Konrad, who won two NCAA titles, will put his unbeaten MMA record on the line Aug. 19 in Chicago against Rogent Lloret. ... Randy Handel, a longtime coach at Sun Prairie, Wis., has been added to the Gophers athletic department's fundraising group. Handel's son, Michael, will be a freshman pitcher/shortstop on the Gophers baseball team this fall.

Jon Leuer, the former Orono forward now a star with the Badgers, is among 20 players named to the USA Basketball Select Team who will practice against the USA Basketball National Team from July 19-24 in Las Vegas to prepare them for the FIBA World Championship in Turkey in August and September.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com