http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16612518.htm Although a long-term contract agreement for new coach Randy Wittman doesn't appear imminent, general manager Jim Stack said the organization remains confident a deal will get done. "There's nothing in terms of dialogue right now," Stack said Friday. "I think Randy understands that we want him to be successful, and he knows that he's got to perform, and we're confident that he will. We'll work something out at the right time. I just don't know when that time is going to be yet, that's all." Kevin Garnett wants Wittman around a long time. Garnett said it wouldn't make sense to change coaches in the midst of the season and then not keep Wittman beyond this season. "I don't see keeping Witt for the short term, how that helps us," Garnett said. "You've got younger guys who need to be taught. Young guys who need to understand and learn the game, and someone being up front with them, not to say Case (former coach Dwane Casey) wasn't that, but he was here, what, a year and a half? … At one point there has to be some consistency in what we're doing for the future." Wittman took over on Jan. 23 when Casey was fired after going 20-20 this season and 33-49 last season. Garnett said he didn't want to see Casey lose his job but felt Casey had grown too influenced by vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale and owner Glen Taylor. "At one point, a coach has to be a coach," Garnett said. "You can't be influenced by anything or any headmaster. I think Witt has a relationship with Glen, and he has a little bit more of a relationship with Kev. He'll speak his mind." Wittman not surprised by Melo's snub: Wittman said he wasn't surprised that Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer, wasn't picked as an all-star reserve by the Western Conference coaches. Anthony's 15-game suspension for a fight with the New York Knicks clearly hurt him. "I think with everything that went on, I'm sure there are detractors out there that held that against him," Wittman said. "I thought he'd make it, but then he didn't, and it wasn't like, 'Oh, wow.' I knew there was going to be people out there who wouldn't vote for him." Wittman wouldn't reveal whether he voted for Anthony but said that the reserves that made the team were pretty much in-line with his selections, except for a couple players. Briefly: Forward Eddie Griffin's status with the team remains unresolved. He has not rejoined the team since his five-game suspension last month for violating the league's anti-drug program. Griffin is believed to be in Houston working out while awaiting word on whether the team will try to buy out his contract. Stack wouldn't rule out anything with Griffin, including a return to the team. But that would be a stunning turn of events given that Griffin hasn't appeared in a game since Dec. 13. "Hopefully that will come to a head here, because I don't like guys hanging out in limbo," Stack said. --

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