Patrick Reusse: Don't expect Wolves' luck to turn

The Wild turned the return of coach Jacques Lemaire into three days of headlines earlier this month, even though every staff member, player, media type and hardcore follower of the team knew that The Inspector was coming back for his eighth season behind the bench.

This subterfuge served the dual purpose of getting casual fans to excitedly tell friends, "Did you hear -- Jacques is coming back," and to get the story about ticket prices being raised by a hefty percentage moved to the back of sports sections and sportscasts.

The Wild's latest success in media manipulation caused a reporter to decide it was time for some fair play. A call was placed to the Timberwolves' media staff, with the request for an interview with Kevin McHale, the boss of basketball operations.

Mike Cristaldi, the public relations director, wanted to let McHale know where the interview would be headed. The reporter's response was:

"What did McHale and staff see that intrigued them at the NBA camp in Portsmouth [Va.]? That's where the second-rounders can be seen, and the Wolves have two such choices. Were there some players -- maybe Jonte Flowers, the 6-5 guard from Winona State?"

"How close is McHale to making a decision on the five free agents? For instance: How does he balance the fact Sebastian Telfair was better than anticipated for a good share of the season and then missed a big hunk of the schedule with an injury?"

"Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. Not so much which player does McHale like, but how much does he like both of them?

The request was relayed to McHale. Four hours later, came the answer from Cristaldi: "Kevin doesn't want to do an interview."

This was on Wednesday. A day later, the Wolves did make Fred Hoiberg available for a media session. This is the only basketball operation in the NBA that has a bossman (McHale), a general manager in charge of negotiations (Jim Stack), an assistant GM in charge of scouting (Rob Babcock) and an assistant GM in charge of interviews (Hoiberg).

Hoiberg's task was to stir up excitement for next Tuesday's drawing for lottery positions. And if that wasn't enough, the Wolves also mailed a package to media members that included lottery information and a sleeve of two pingpong balls.

And we thought the Wild was ingenious.

The headline provided by Hoiberg was that he is taking a teddy bear offered by a sick child to this lottery for good luck.

The Wolves wound up staying put at No. 7 and selected Florida's Corey Brewer. As it turned out, the holy water would've been better used had it been sprinkled on Brewer's right arm and improved his 37.4 percent shooting.

The Wolves' position entering this lottery is third, which makes sense since this is a draft with Rose, Beasley and then everyone else.

The only time the Wolves drafted as high as third was in 1992, when they fell two places, missing Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning and winding up with the obnoxious and mediocre Christian Laettner.

Prediction: The Wolves will fall to fifth in this draft and wind up with O.J. Mayo, the 6-5 guard from Southern Cal. The last time the Wolves selected a 6-5 guard with the fifth pick it was UNLV's J.R. Rider in 1993.

At last report, a bench warrant had been issued for Rider in Los Angeles, after he failed to answer the latest criminal charges against him.

Duffy and McHale were teammates at Minnesota and remain friends. And, OK, here's an admission:

Another question in last week's proposed interview would've been, "What do you think of your pal Duffy?"

It wasn't asked, since McHale wasn't available.

And, really, can you blame the basketball boss for being sensitive over the unfair criticism he's faced while maneuvering the Wolves from 58 victories in 2004 to 22 four years later?