I'll get to the Twins later this month, I promise, hopefully in tandem with Brauer and Zellar but also to talk about whether Terry Ryan ought to go for it or punt.

Meanwhile, this board is delightfully full of Wolves fiends. I owe you my two cents on some of the things you've been talking about.

First of all, there is no way you can play Craig Smith at the 3. Under the new rules, he actually is better suited as a 5, although his natural position is as an undersized power forward. Does anyone else remember poor Smith trying to guard Vlad Rad, who killed him from outside during that second collapse against the Lakers? Shedding 14 pounds doesn't make Smith quick enough to play a swingman out on the open floor, and anytime a Wolves opponent saw the opportunity that's what would happen.

Used right, Smith is a valuable piece. And paired with the right pivot man--Yao Ming would be ideal--he'd be a solid starter. Yes he works well with Garnett, and yes there are definitely periods of the game when they should play together. But the matchups have to be right: the flow, the foul situation, and what you've got as your next sub rotation, are all factors.

If Smith continues to improve, and also gets the benefit of the doubt on more charging calls this season, I can see him averaging between 20-30 minutes a game, but the time would fluctuate game to game.

I don't want to open this can of worms, but I am not entirely convinced KG is here to start the season.

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I think McCants is generally going to be streaky. That's certainly been his m.o. the first two seasons, and the key is to feed the beast when he is going off, and to have him have enough maturity and the coaches and teammates enough clout and sway to stifle him, either by ball-sharing or Shaddy-benching, when he is in a funk. If he plays the kind of defense he showed last season, the rope on his offensive ego should be longer. Bottom line, he is a bigger wild card than Foye--less of a sure thing to be solid, but with a higher upside--and now is the time to play wild cards and find out if they're aces or jokers.

Brewer is a great pick for this franchise.
Great team attitude, and the kind of virtues--defense, athleticism, versatility--that really fit into any scheme or system. Richard is a smart choice for the second round. Rip McHale all you want--and I do a regular basis--but that's three pretty good drafts in a row.

It is very hard to talk about this franchise without seeing what other shoes drop. The braintrust has made no secret of the fact that there are other deals on the table, and there are a lot of teams in flux right now, either stocking up for the future and trying to win now. But one thing that can be said: The best argument for why Randy Wittman is here is that he will demand better chemistry in the locker room and on the court this season. Last season he essentially benched Trenton Hassell for attitude problems, then the squad went out and drafted a better Hassell. Fine, I like Hassell, but am willing to concede he's not so valuable now. Bujt what about Davis and Blount? What they did to the team and their own reputations--not to mention Wittman--last season is not easily forgotten. If one or both is still on the roster come opening day, there needs to be a dramatically different dynamic at play. Otherwise, the Wittman rehire and the stand pat on corrosive chemistry will stink to high heaven.