Al Jefferson is not KG, but he's good

Larry Stamps, Al Jefferson's former AAU coach, was trying to point out the Timberwolves didn't trade Kevin Garnett straight up for his former prodigy; they also received four other players and two draft picks. However, soon he cut through the coachspeak and agreed that Jefferson was easily the key piece the Wolves received in Tuesday's blockbuster deal with the Celtics.

That led to the big question: Can Jefferson, 22, handle being the heir apparent to the Franchise?

"I don't think it will be a difficult transition mentally, because I know him. He'll appreciate the challenge of trying to replace KG," Stamps said. "He'll take the challenge. Mentally, he never flunked a test with me."

It was a strong testimonial, though Stamps readily admits, "I'm biased." Spectators at Target Center will perhaps be looking with a more discerning eye at Jefferson, a promising 6-10 power forward who averaged double figures in points and rebounds last season but has neither Garnett's résumé nor his local cachet.

Stamps spoke with Jefferson both Monday and Tuesday and said he thought his former player was "happy about the trade" and "sounded like he was in good spirits." Jefferson declined to be interviewed directly, Stamps said, because the Wolves want him to wait to speak with the media at a scheduled news conference tonight.

"He was maybe surprised the trade went through," Stamps said, "but he'll adapt well to Minneapolis."

The Timberwolves are counting on it. In fact, Wolves owner Glen Taylor said Tuesday he hopes to work out a contract extension for Jefferson, who can become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2007-08 season. "My guess is yes we would do that during the year," Taylor said, "as he is probably the most important part of this trade."

Though their body types are nothing alike -- Garnett was a string bean in high school, while everyone in Mississippi knew Jefferson as "Big Al" because of his 260-plus pound frame -- there are similarities between the career arcs of the two players.

Like Garnett, Jefferson was a preps-to-pros player, coming to the Celtics straight from high school in Prentiss, Miss., a town of roughly 1,000 people. He was a prep legend, winning a state title as a junior and averaging almost 43 points per game as a senior.

"I wasn't a school person," Jefferson told the Boston Globe in 2005. "I could have gone to college, but there was that opportunity [in the NBA] at that moment."

He made slow progress in his first two seasons in Boston, averaging 6.7 and 7.9 points, respectively. But last year, a slimmed-down Jefferson made a breakthrough with averages of 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in 69 games, very similar to Garnett's second-year NBA numbers (17.0 and 8.1); the rebounding average would have put Jefferson seventh in the league if he had played one more game to reach the qualifying minimum.

Perhaps even more impressive: Jefferson averaged 17.1 points and 11.6 rebounds in his 60 starts, and in 25 games after the All-Star Game, he averaged 19.8 and 11.5 while shooting 55.4 percent from the field. He was recently named to a team of "young elites" chosen to scrimmage against USA Basketball team members later this summer in preparation for Olympic qualifying.

"Al Jefferson is going to be a fantastic player," Celtics GM Danny Ainge said during Garnett's introductory news conference Tuesday in Boston, "and I'm glad he's in the Western Conference."

On the flip side, Jefferson was only a 68 percent free-throw shooter last year, averaged only 1.3 assists and has missed a combined 47 games in his first three seasons.

In other words, he is not Garnett. With a style and body more conducive to scoring inside than from the edges, Jefferson was once compared by Celtics coach Doc Rivers to Moses Malone. But he's not Mal-one yet, either. How close Jefferson comes to performing like either of those players, however, will have a big impact on how this trade is ultimately judged.

Staff writer Kent Youngblood contributed to this report.

Michael Rand • mrand@startribune.com