These Timberwolves can make Target Center cool again, just like it used to be

It takes about 45 minutes to drive from Northfield to downtown Minneapolis. Then, sometimes, another 45 minutes to find a suitable parking spot near Target Center.

For proof, ask Brent Nystrom, Timberwolves season-ticket holder for the past 15 seasons, and off and on before that. A dozen or more times a season, he drives up Interstate 35 to attend games. He made it during their formative years. He made it during the Kevin Garnett era. And he's made it during a stretch in which the Wolves made the playoffs once in 17 seasons.

Nystrom also attended games last season, when Chris Finch's squad won 46 games, then a play-in game to qualify for the postseason. Nystrom was joined by thousands of new believers.

It was OK to be a Wolves fan again.

Now after the Wolves shocked the NBA by dealing five players and four first-round picks to Utah for three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, expectations are that the franchise will contend in the Western Conference.

"There hasn't been as much anticipation for a season since Garnett and the Western Conference finals season (2003-04)," said Nystrom, who works for an investment management firm in Northfield. "That was the Big Three year, [Latrell] Sprewell and [Sam] Cassell.

"I mean, in terms of a roster in advance of a season, it's got to be the best since then."

Jeff Haff, a lawyer from Maple Grove, has been a season-ticket holder since Year 1 in 1989. He walks from his office in the IDS Center about 30-35 times a season to watch Wolves games. Nystrom is in the long-suffering Wolves fan club; Haff is the chairman of the board.

"I've been there through the down years, the Jimmy Rodgers years, the Kurt Rambis years," Haff said. "I was there for the good Kevin Garnett years."

A trip to Target Center in 1998 came with the understanding that you were going to be overstimulated. Prince sat courtside across from the Wolves bench. Kirby Puckett sat under the basket on the same end. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were at midcourt. Jesse Ventura was easy to spot. Superfan Bill Beise was sitting in my same section — at the front, of course — with that rolled-up program, pretending to call plays. Some guy I later got to know as Dark Star also had courtside seats, wearing his favorite sweater vest.

It was a combination of stars and characters and KG that made Wolves games a destination during the best times of the early Flip Saunders era.

The Wolves reached the postseason for eight consecutive years, including that run to the conference finals in 2004. A year later, Saunders was dismissed after a middling start. Then the losses mounted over the years and fans had to shelter in place.

"Rambis was the dark days," Haff said. "That was the only time I ever considered giving up my season tickets. It was Kurt Rambis and David Kahn running the team."

Times have changed. Haff noticed more young fans at games last season. They are showing up to watch Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and friends.

"You know that you are getting some real basketball fans," he said.

A franchise-record 2,500 new season tickets have been sold, among the leaders in the NBA this offseason. A packed Target Center is expected Wednesday night as the Wolves open the season against Oklahoma City. The Gobert-Towns partnership will be scrutinized as much as the Great Experiment in the mid-1980s when Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon joined forces for the Houston Rockets.

The Wolves are back to being must-see viewing. Minority owner Alex Rodriguez might be the big star sitting courtside, but he'll probably be joined by Lynx, Vikings and Twins players throughout the season.

The celebrating after winning the play-in game last season might have been over the top. But if this season goes as the Wolves have planned, it might have been just a warmup. Nystrom, Haff and a tormented fan base are ready to be overstimulated again.