Northwest Division Preview

Yay! Minnesota resisted the urge to fidget over the summer, returning every player from their final four team and adding a potential contributor in Eddie Griffin. Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell work together extremely well and genuinely enjoy each other's company; they are the team's constants. It will be the non-Alpha Wolves that determine if the team can go from conference finalists to NBA finalists, or even champions. After years with the Clippers, Michael Olowokandi apparently didn't know you could play basketball between April and October, ambling after loose balls like he was retrieving a tiki bar daiquiri. Now adjusted to the extended schedule, and after a summer of genuine hard work, Kandi should be the player Minnesota expected last year. Three years removed from a token All-Star appearance, Wally Szczerbiak feels the need to re-prove himself, and a healthy, focused Wally is several consonants better than Trenton Hassell or Fred Hoiberg. Add the urgently needed return of Troy Hudson, possibly the league's best third guard, and Minnesota is deep, experienced, and determined. They have the best player, the best starting lineup, and the best bench. Will that equal the best team in June?

Boo! After Garnett spared his team a huge distraction by extending his contract before the start of last season, it's amazing that Cassell has sullied the excitement of training camp's opening this year with a fun-sized holdout that achieved nothing more tangible than management's diplomatic assurance of future considerations. See, Cassell is seeking a contract extension, which he needs because he's underpaid, which he is because of the last time he demanded a contract extension. Cassell has always preferred the warm blanket of a long-term contract over the hazards of free agency, and that stability has cost him millions; especially considering the money inferior point guards like Steve Nash have received. The concern for the Wolves is that Cassell or Sprewell, who is seeking the same security, allow their short-term contract status to affect their focus. Many believe the Cassell incident was a reaction to his involvement in a rumored Jason Kidd trade. Hopefully the Cassell incident will disappear along with those rumors, as Minnesota needs a healthy and dedicated Cassell to improve upon last year's performance.

Denver Nuggets

Yay! Most NBA teams enter free agency looking to correct obvious shortcomings, like when I receive my tax return and seek an entertainment center to replace the cardboard box my TV sits on. Not Denver. They already possess a perfectly respectable wall unit, and they go purchase the cherrywood model with the built-in fish tank. And they don't need to spend hours putting it together like they did with the first one - it's already assembled! That's what the Nuggets achieved when they upgraded from skilled and improving youngster Nene to the proven Kenyon Martin, an All-Star with Finals experience and an unnerving capacity for on-court violence. Denver now boasts an impeccable power rotation - tough, experienced veterans Martin and Marcus Camby starting, with the developing Nene, Francisco Elson, and Nikoloz Tskitshivilli backing them up, anxious to maximize their opportunities.

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