Wolves wing out 4-6 weeks with herniated disk in back. Posted by Matt Moore

Well, then. What a fine way to start the season in Minny. Minnesota Timberwolves wing Martell Webster, acquired in a trade with Portland which netted them rookie Luke Babbitt, will miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. The 23-year-old guard averaged 9.4 points and 3.3 rebounds (13.8 and 4.0 per 36 minutes) last season for the Blazers and shot 37% from the arc. He was expected to help tremendously with the Wolves' perimeter shooting and desperate wing situation. Without him, Corey Brewer and rookie Wesley Johnson will get most of the minutes, which should be entertaining, either way.

Brewer actually shot considerably well from the arc towards the end of last year, and with Michael Beasley on board, this doesn't hurt as much as it did. Well, for the Wolves, I mean. Must hurt pretty bad for Webster. Ouch.

Posted by Royce Young

Yeah I know. I've already gone over this. But Marc Stein of ESPN.com has some new information regarding who could be seeing a last minute contract extension before the Nov. 1 deadline.

And as was before, there may only be one player in line to join Joakim Noah and Kevin Durant with extensions and that's Al Horford. Sources maintain to Stein that a deal before the deadline remains probable, given Horford’s status as a borderline All-Star big man. Things were complicated with Joe Johnson's massive contract, but the fact Atlanta remains still on Jamal Crawford indicates they'd like to get something done with Horford.

But what about the other players? Stein says there's really nothing more than some "maybes" in that group. And that includes top pick Greg Oden. Reportedly, Oden is resigned to the fact he's not getting a deal and in fact, isn't really even asking for it. Understandable for both sides really. Oden's obviously had the health issues and both sides understand this is an important year for Oden's future not just with the Blazers, but in terms of his well-being.

How about Jeff Green, who I sort of went over already - where's he at? The Thunder have been characteristically quiet on negotiations but Stein says Green's camp and Sam Presti "aren't close" to getting anything done. However, there's been regular conversation between both sides and from I'm told, everyone is in good spirits. The Thunder are playing things carefully with Green with the new CBA coming plus Russell Westbrook's extension that's coming next summer.

Mike Conley (taken No. 4), Corey Brewer (No. 7), Rodney Stuckey (No. 15) and Aaron Brooks (No. 26) and likely looking at becoming restricted free agents as a deal probably isn't headed their way. Yi Jianlian (taken No. 6) and All Thornton (No. 14) of the Wizards have at least had negotiations but nothing appears to be coming, Stein says. However, he believes Yi may be getting an extension much like Andray Blatche's sometime soon.

Two others that are at least having discussion are Wilson Chandler (No. 23) and Jared Dudley (No. 22). Wilson's chances aren't great but Dudley, who's a quality bench player and a nice 3-point shooter, has a legitimate chance.

Overall, there's a very strong possibility only two players from 2007 will be getting extensions, with the chance of a third in Horford. And it's not like it was a bad class either. A combination of factors including injuries, team situations and the uncertainty of the new CBA have really complicated things for the class.

Posted by Royce Young

Minnesota continues to be an odd place of transition. No one really knows what's going on in the front office and it doesn't really seem like anyone inside the fanbase really cares at this point. While the outside world criticizes David Kahn, Wolves fans remain faithful. They're already said they aren't contenders, but can they at least be decent? Not likely.

Training camp site: Mankato, MN

Training camp starts: Sept. 25

Key additions: Wesley Johnson (draft), Michael Beasley (trade), Luke Ridnour (free agent), Martell Webster (trade)

Key subtractions: Ramon Sessions (trade), Al Jefferson (trade), Ryan Gomes (free agent)

Likely starting lineup: Jonny Flynn, PG; Wesley Johnson, SG; Corey Brewer, SF; Kevin Love, PF; Darko Milicic, C

Player to watch: Michael Beasley. Supposedly, Beasley has had a basketball rebirth. David Kahn said Beasley is off smoking pot and has regained focus in Minnesota. Everyone knows Beasley has serious basketball ability. He was one of the most dominant college freshmen ever. But it hasn't translated yet. With a new situation and a new view on basketball, maybe he starts to find his way.

KAAAAAAAAHN?: KAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHN!!!

Camp battles: Kevin Love has quietly been a little miffed with his role in Minnesota saying he felt more valuable to Team USA than to the Wolves. Right now, it's looking like he'll start. But Michael Beasley could push him for the spot.

Biggest strength: Transparency and honesty! Just kidding. But seriously, they've already pretty much admitted they're going to stink, so why should anyone else think different. The one thing the Wolves might do well is run the floor. They brought in Luke Ridnour to lead that charge and there's a good amount of athleticism on the wings in Corey Brewer, Wes Johnson and Beasley to get out in transition.

Glaring weakness: Scoring. Who puts the ball in the basket for the Wolves? Corey Brewer has shown flashes of being able to score, but on a mediocre team he would be the third or fourth option. And in Minny you're telling me he's the primary? Oh boy.

Jonny Flynn can create and score a little, same goes for Ridnour, Wayne Ellington can shoot, Martell Webster can put it in the basket some and we don't really know about Wesley Johnson. For the most part, it's a cast of average to below average scorers at best, so finding points could be difficult for the Wolves.

Posted by Matt Moore

I've been accused of hating on the Minnesota Timberwolves, but nothing could be further from the case. I think small market teams like Minnesota need strong and smart leadership more than their colleagues in the big ol' cities. They need general managers that know how to get the most value out of their assets and can acquire talented players with a cohesive plan in place to contend within a set number of years.

By all indications, the Minnesota Timberwolves do not have that.

Ken Berger reports that the deal is done for Al Jefferson to be sent to Minnesota for a future 1st round pick from Utah, the Grizzlies' 1st rounder that the Jazz acquired for Ronnie Brewer last season, and a Traded Player Exception (Marc Spears of Yahoo! was first to report the terms of the deal, which we discussed last night).

Hey, they cleared cap space and got draft picks out of it! Good rebuilding move, right? Except the Wolves are not rebuilding. They've been in rebuild mode for three years. During that time, they've managed to bungle multiple drafts with the exception of Kevin Love... who, naturally is in management and coaching's doghouse for some bizarre reason. They dropped the bottom out of Jefferson's value and then traded him for picks. And that part's not a bad plan. If they were any good, in any way, at drafting.

The Wolves have drafted Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, a player who currently is sitting on a beach in Spain sipping some sort of drink with an umbrella in it, and Wesley Johnson, probably the biggest reach of the 2010 draft. So pardon me if I'm not super thrilled at what David Kahn can do with more choices with which to stock up at positions he already has solidified.

Jefferson's market was non-existent, his defenders will say. Mostly because every team in the league knew that if they waited, his value would continue to drop. Utah came through with a stronger offer, because they were willing to spend it based on what Jefferson's worth. The Wolves, on the other hand, elected to go with Darko Milicic, Martell Webster, Michael Beasley, and Luke Ridnour (seriously ) as their big offseason additions. It's a cavalcade of marginal players who are overpaid, with one of the bigger headcases in recent mystery thrown in for good measure.

Meanwhile, Jefferson, with a 20+ PER and a range of post moves to go along with those question-mark knees (and youth to recover with) is headed to Utah to play with Deron Williams.

Maybe this master plan will work and the pieces that Kahn has assembled will play brilliantly while Al Jefferson flounders. Maybe Wesley Johnson is an elite player in the making.

Or maybe Wolves fans deserve better than to have a 3-D trainwreck played out before their very eyes.