Prized rookies Wiggins, Parker face each other in Wolves' exhibition loss

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – The first time top NBA draft picks Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker faced each other, fans lined out the gym doors and far past the bathrooms just to get a peek at the future on a blistering July evening at Las Vegas Summer League.

On Friday, fans queued up at box-office lobby windows on a blustery autumn night in Iowa and filled 7,000-seat U.S. Cellular Center for a preseason rematch.

This time, Wiggins wore a Timberwolves jersey during a 105-98 loss to Milwaukee that drew twice the number of spectators but lacked the same sort of electricity on a night when Wolves star Ricky Rubio was rested and didn't play.

The two players just might be linked for the rest of their pro careers, if for no other reason than they were the first two selections in last June's NBA draft. Their selection order — Wiggins No. 1 to Cleveland, Parker No. 2 to Milwaukee —just might alter the league's historical course.

The Cavaliers, of course, chose Wiggins first in June and traded him in August to the Wolves in the deal that sent Kevin Love to Cleveland.

"Those were the top two guys, but no one really knew until the pick was made who was actually going No. 1," Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said. "They both bring something a little different, but both are important as the building blocks for their organizations."

Parker is the former Duke star and multidimensional offensive player deemed by many NBA scouts as the most ready to play now. On Friday, he was the guy who delivered a 21-point, 11-rebound, two-assist performance in 35 minutes – despite early foul trouble – that included a spinning slam-dunk of an exclamation point in the final 30 seconds after the Wolves chopped a 14-point deficit down to just one point twice in the final minute.

Wiggins is the former Kansas star who could become a devastating player at both ends of the court. He had a 10 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes, but didn't play down the fourth-quarter stretch while Parker did and provided the play that repelled the Wolves' comeback.

Rookie Zach LaVine started in Rubio's place Friday because Saunders said he wanted to rest Rubio and keep him healthy after a summer spent playing for Spain's FIBA World Cup team and after three demanding practices this week.

The fact that the Wolves play five preseason games in eight days and the Bucks played without injured point guards Brandon Knight and Nate Wolters probably had something to do with it, too. Rubio now will be plenty rested to meet Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., provided Westbrook plays in that game.

Asked about depriving Iowa fans on Friday the chance to see one of the league's most creative point guards, Saunders told reporters, "If we didn't have other people — Wiggins, LaVine — who they're coming to see, it would affect things, but you've got to make the decision that's best for the player."

Saunders returned to the Cedar Rapids arena where he once brought Continental Basketball Association teams to town to play the local "Silver Bullets." Based on those experiences from the 1980s, he says Cedar Rapids is a viable market for a D League team and he said his franchise remains interested in an exclusive affiliation with a D League team.

•Veteran guard Kevin Martin has missed the first three preseason games so far because of a groin injury, but could play Sunday in Tulsa, Saunders said. Forward Shabazz Muhammad also didn't play Friday because of a heel injury. Martin's more likely to play Sunday than Muhammad, Saunders said.

•The Bucks played without injured Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova and St. Cloud's own Wolters, among others, and lost starter Zaza Pachulia for the second half because of a hamstring strain. Wolters was sidelined because of an ankle injury.

•Saunders, rather adamantly, addressing national media reports that the Wolves are trying to trade veteran Chase Budinger to ease their glut of wing players:. "We're not shopping Budinger."