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A Minnesota makeover

Trade everyone but Kevin Garnett.

Then hire Eric Musselman to coach the team.

There you have it -- my two steps to rescuing the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Yes, the Timberwolves just underwent a facelift prior to last season, when they obtained Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell.

Yes, they just replaced former coach Flip Saunders with vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale.

And no, trading everyone isn’t really feasible.

But something drastic needs to be done, as it can safely be said the T-Wolves are this year’s biggest disappointment.

Unloading Cassell and Sprewell would be a good place to start. There’s nothing worse than chemistry-killers who have lost a step, which is the case with those two.

Both complain constantly, are prone to injury, and too often play invisible minutes.

Now, if Cassell and Sprewell were great locker room guys, or were playing key roles in helping Minnesota tap into its potential, then I’d say keep ’em. But just like football’s Deion Sanders, they’re past their prime time.

And the truth is, they haven’t served their purpose -- namely, displaying professionalism and playing their tails off to help Garnett reach the Finals. Instead, the T-Wolves have taken at least two steps back from recent seasons, their lack of cohesion being the biggest reason why.

So Cassell and Sprewell must go. That’s true even if Minnesota has to accept players of lesser value (it probably will).

And while the Timberwolves are at it, they might as well go ahead and try to deal Michael Olowokandi, Wally Szczerbiak, and Eddie Griffin, too.

Olowokandi has worked hard to get his reputation for being lazy and indifferent, so again, the T-Wolves probably couldn’t get much in return. But Szczerbiak and Griffin could actually bring some value, as both possess the potential to score lots of points.

Why get rid of all these guys? Because it just isn’t working. There’s really no logical explanation. This is a team that definitely has some talent. It has good shooters like Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiberg. It has top-notch defenders like Trenton Hassell and Ervin Johnson. But other than the remarkably multi-skilled Garnett, these T-Wolves lack a winner’s edge. Saunders couldn’t give it to them, and it’s highly unlikely McHale can.

Besides, all McHale is doing is keeping the seat warm while he looks for someone to take over the team next season.

A Case for Musselman

We’ve already seen what Musselman can do. He got an average Golden State team to play over its head for two full seasons before inexplicably getting fired and replaced by Mike Montgomery at the end of last season.

Today, Musselman is an assistant under Mike Fratello in Memphis. He basically took that job to keep his name out there, in the event a head coaching job (any head coaching job) became available.

Denver considered Musselman before hiring George Karl as its new coach, and a few others have tossed his name around as well.

There are a lot of reasons to like this guy. He’s young, passionate, and forces his players to stand up and be held accountable. Mostly, he gets results.

And how fitting would it be for Musselman to be the coach who one day leads Minnesota to the Finals? His dad, the late Bill Musselman, was the first coach in Timberwolves history.

Anyway, there might be some concern how Garnett would react to Musselman’s strict approach -- especially after playing for the laid-back Saunders for so long.

But all the Timberwolves would need to say is it didn’t work the old way. And that maybe a little toughness would be a good thing.

More on the Timberwolves

• It’s a given that Saunders will resurface as a head coach, probably by the start of next season. New York is a possibility, as is Los Angeles with the Lakers. (Sidenote: Kobe Bryant is said to be a big Saunders fan).

• I really like the all-out defensive efforts and overall outstanding attitudes of Hassell and Johnson. But neither will give you much in the way of offense -- which really hurts when you consider the inconsistency of everyone but Garnett.

Undone in Utah

Larry Miller had this to say about the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City newspapers:

“We suck. We really do.”

Some very strong words from a very frustrated owner who isn’t used to losing.

Miller recently ripped the team in the locker room after a loss, then complained about some of his players to the media.

Much of his criticism was directed at off-season acquisition Carlos Boozer, as Miller said he may have overpaid for the one-time overachieving power forward.

There’s probably some truth to that, considering Boozer makes enough money to feed all of Texas breakfast for the next five years.

“(Boozer is) a talented player, but I don’t know how tough he is,” Miller said.

Boozer came to Utah with hopes of becoming the next Karl Malone. The problem is, Boozer isn’t as strong as Malone underneath or possess his soft touch from the perimeter. Nor does Boozer run the floor or finish with the speed and power of Malone.

Miller and the Jazz pursued Boozer after witnessing his tireless work ethic, high shooting percentage, and penchant for getting every rebound in Cleveland -- where he was adored.

One Cavaliers executive called Boozer, “the ultimate role player.” That was last season.

Then Boozer got selfish. He didn’t like playing second, and even third, fiddle to Cleveland’s LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. He wanted to be The Man -- something he figured would happen in Utah.

But as the disappointing Jazz have shown, any team with Boozer as the top option won’t get very far.

Final Jazz Thoughts

• Obviously, Utah’s struggles have been the result of more than just Boozer. Sensational forward Andrei Kirilenko missed extended time with an injury, and last year’s starting point guard, Carlos Arroyo, was traded to Detroit. So this is a team that’s never really had a chance to put it all together.

• New starter Raul Lopez is a nice player -- but playing point guard in Utah after John Stockton has to be a lot like coaching UCLA following the John Wooden era. No matter how well you do, it’s not good enough.

• On the bright side, the Jazz are still a relatively young team. Boozer, Lopez, Kirilenko and center Mehmet Okur are all learning to play together. And other than Kirilenko, most of these guys are still getting adjusted to having the ball in important situations and taking big shots.

• I won’t begin to speculate on the status of Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. All I know is that whatever has gone wrong with this team sure isn’t his fault. If he does decide to quit (and there’s no indication he will), you can bet the Jazz will stay in the family and hire someone like Sloan assistant Phil Johnson. Remember, this is a team that doesn’t fire coaches.

On Miller and Malone

Reggie Miller put the “shoot” in shooting guard and Karl Malone put the “power” in power forward.

That’s how I’ll always remember those players, each of whom has announced his retirement - Malone now, and Miller at season's end.

I’ll also remember how each was able to remain productive into their late 30s. Actually, Malone hit 40 last season, and Miller will do the same by the end of this one.

Miller and Malone also remained true to their franchises. In 17 seasons, Miller never played for anyone but Indiana, and Malone only left Utah to seek out a championship ring as the third or fourth option with the Lakers. That came after 18 years with the Jazz.

Most off all, they’re two holdovers who peaked during the NBA’s glory years of the 1980s and early 1990s -- and for me, their departures are just another sad sign of an ever-changing game.

Hoosiers and Hip-Hop

Every once in a while, a basketball book comes along that takes us deep inside the sport -- as well as the culture that surrounds it.

It’s the type of great book that is worthy of a place on the national bestseller list. Previous books that fit that description include “Breaks of the Game” by David Halberstam, “Loose Balls” and “Falling from Grace” by Terry Pluto, and just about anything by John Feinstein, particularly “A Season on the Brink.”

Well, after only having read half of Jon Wertheim’s latest effort, “Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip-Hop,” I can already say it belongs in the above category.

Wertheim writes for Sports Illustrated, and he took some time away from his regular job to follow the basketball team at Bloomington (Ind.) North High. He is a 1989 graduate of the school.

In other words, Wertheim witnessed Indiana basketball during two separate eras -- the down-home, wholesome one of his teen-age years, and the more trendy version of today.

Besides giving you an inside look at Bloomington North and the current scene in the Hoosier state, the book consists of some interesting features on key players in Indiana basketball, such as Damon Bailey, Bobby Knight, Mike Davis, and the NBA’s Pacers.

“Transition Game,” will be available in March. I will be highly recommending it again.

Talkin’ Kobe, LeBron, and MJ

• Darran Butler (Milwaukee) wrote: “Sam, who do you pick? Kobe or LeBron?”

• Dear Darran, that’s a toughie. LeBron is the better passer and rebounder, Bryant the better defender and perimeter shooter. Of course, Kobe also possesses much more big-game experience, having been in the league longer and playing in four Finals.

• That said, I’d take LeBron. Granted, Bryant doesn’t deserve the “selfish” label that’s been attached to his name -- it’s just that James is truly a once-in-a-decade team player. And, LeBron is younger.

• Michael Jordan hinted that he supports the notion of an age limit to enter the NBA draft. “If you want to look at what college can do for you, I think you can look at (Miami Heat guard) Dwyane Wade,” Jordan said at a press conference last week. “He spent three years in college and he’s ready for the pros. He’s producing.”

• Interesting that I published those comments right after writing about LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, right? But even Kobe took three years before he was any good in the NBA. James is the rarest of exceptions.

• And just think how awesome college basketball would be if LeBron played for, say, Ohio State. Just something to think about. Of course, we too would choose NBA money over “getting an education.”

A Basketball Summer

My book, “A Basketball Summer: The Pro Game as it’s Played in the Off-Season,” was released in July 2001. It features interviews with current Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, among others. It is available on numerous Web sites like Amazon.com and MTV.com.

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