http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/15875245.htm Here's a little news flash you might have missed: The Timberwolves open the regular season Wednesday. It's not your fault if your attention has been focused elsewhere since the Wolves grinded to a halt in April, a playoff berth so far from sight that Kevin Garnett was given the season's last 10 days off. During the summer, the Twins grabbed the public's attention with their amazing run to the playoffs. The Vikings took a share of the the spotlight the minute they opened training camp because, well, they're the Vikings and the top draw in Minnesota's sports market. And now the Wild have made their bid for center stage with a franchise-best 9-1 start. The Wolves? Two consecutive disappointing seasons without a playoff berth have put them off the radar. "We should be," Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said. "We didn't do anything last year. We won 33 games. This is all about winning. I don't mind that." McHale's latest plan to resuscitate the team is a work in progress that began last season and continued through this preseason. There was the acquisition of Ricky Davis in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics, the drafting of rookies Randy Foye and Craig Smith, the signing of free-agent point guard Mike James, and the belief that coach Dwane Casey has learned from his difficult first year on the job. The belief is that this roster, with time spent together during the preseason, will form a cohesive unit focused on stout defense mixed with an up-tempo offense. Combine that with the team's most valuable constant the past decade — all-star Kevin Garnett — and the Wolves just might have the right pieces to surprise skeptics. But struggles the past two seasons have opened up the team to potshots and low expectations. There aren't many believers whose paychecks aren't signed by owner Glen Taylor. PLENTY OF SKEPTICS The doubters have spoken: Just two Wolves games are scheduled to be broadcast nationally on major TV networks this season, down from 17 games two seasons ago. When Detroit Pistons all-star Richard Hamilton was asked about an NBA.com annual general manager's survey released last week, he was in disbelief when told none of the participating GMs picked the Pistons to win the league's title, though even the Wolves and Orlando received at least one vote each. "Minnesota and Orlando?" Hamilton was quoted in the Detroit News. "Wow." In its annual NBA preview, Sports Illustrated picked the Wolves 13th among 15 teams in the Western Conference. The Wolves became the darlings of the NBA and the Twin Cities in 2003-04, as Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell led them to the Western Conference finals. The magic disappeared the next season when Cassell and Sprewell didn't play as well. The team sank to a 25-26 start, coach Flip Saunders was fired, and the Wolves missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. That led to Casey's hiring in 2005. So far, the adjustment has been difficult. The Wolves went 33-49 last season, their worst record since Garnett's rookie campaign in 1995-96. McHale's 2006-07 overhaul actually began last season when he pulled the trigger in January on a trade that sent one-time all-star Wally Szczerbiak to Boston as part of a seven-player swap. The trade faltered, at least initially. The Wolves were 19-21 at the time of the deal and stumbled to a 14-28 mark the rest of the way, finishing 33-49. There was no confidence and no chemistry. "It was frustrating, but I don't know if it was any more frustrating than having a veteran, talented team the year before, winning 44 games and underachieving with that group," McHale said. "I'd say the last few years has been very frustrating. And it hasn't been talent. It's been mostly chemistry, working together, the discipline, the things you need to have. "If you're just saying, well, we just flat-out can't compete with these teams, that'd be one thing. The frustrating part about last year for me was there were so many close games and so many games that we pretty much had under control that we let slip away." Garnett said last season was so disappointing it pushed him to look within himself and remember why he plays basketball. The players have tried to erase the season. "It's so painful I forgot about it," guard Trenton Hassell said. "I don't even think about it. You just wipe it out because you can't think about last year. This is a whole different team, a whole different year, so you just kind of put it behind you." --

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