Three veterans

are kept by Wolves

By JERRY ZGODA jerry.zgoda@startribune.com

Thursday's NBA trade deadline came and went … and veterans Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger and Gary Neal all still were present.

The Wolves swapped Thaddeus Young for Kevin Garnett, but made no other moves, meaning Martin is, as coach Flip Saunders said, here to stay.

So, too, are Budinger and Neal, or at least until each is possibly bought out in time to sign with a playoff contender by March 1.

Saunders maintained he wouldn't trade Martin because his scoring ability, veteran sense and efficiency made him too valuable to do so. And he didn't, even though national reports said he was on the market.

"Flip and I had good laughs about what was being said," Martin said. "I was pretty certain I wasn't being traded from talking with him. He just told me I had a better chance getting hit by a car walking across the street."

One report suggested the Wolves would buy out Martin if they didn't trade him. He has two years and nearly $14 million left on his contract.

Not happening.

"Thanks to Miley Cyrus, I guess ignorant things still go viral," Martin said.

No 'Let's Make a Deal'

The Wolves tried to include Budinger's $5 million contract for next season as part of the Garnett trade but were unable to convince anybody, including easy Philadelphia, to make a deal.

"It's business as usual," Budinger said after the 2 p.m. Thursday deadline passed. "You let your agents do that and you wait for them to call and that's all you can really do as a player."

Neal's agent has pushed for a buyout — or a trade — to a contender for his client since the Wolves acquired the veteran guard last week in the deal that sent Mo Williams to Charlotte.

"I'm not into buyouts," Saunders said. "I'm not into paying a guy to play for someone else. It has to make sense for the team, not just the player."

Etc.

• The Wolves, as expected, have signed backup point guard Lorenzo Brown for the rest of the season. His second 10-day contract was up and had to be released or signed for the rest of the season.

• Forward Shabazz Muhammad missed Thursday's practice while he was getting a finger — injured the day before in practice — looked at by a doctor. He is listed as questionable for Friday's game, but is expected to play.