Wolves: Let the offseason game-playing begin http://www.startribune.com/511/story/527681.html By the time you read this, even in cyber-form, you will be too late. No matter how eager you were to woo a coveted NBA free agent, someone beat you to him, at least for the first contact. At 12:01 a.m., a few of the NBA's most alluring available veterans heard knocks at their doors, opened up and wondered if Ed McMahon or Publishers Clearing House was out there: limo, red carpet, private jet fueled up and ready. Meanwhile, the dogs were barking, the cell phones were chiming. It's shopping season! The period from July 1 to July 12 is called a moratorium in the NBA, but only in terms of actually signing free agents or consummating trades. All the other stuff -- negotiating, posturing, dickering, denying, leveraging, finagling, handshaking, whispering and, best of all, leaking to the media -- is fair and legal and virtually nonstop for the better part of two weeks. The Timberwolves figure to be in the thick of it, too, even as they take a squad of draft picks, youngsters and hopefuls to Las Vegas for participation in the NBA's largest summer league. This place -- with 16 teams playing five games each July 6-14 -- will be a hub of offseason activity. "Free agency is going to be another big challenge for us, in getting better players," coach Dwane Casey said. Said vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale: "I've said all along, I'd like to add a couple older players and a guy who can stretch the defense out." Here are the three components of an NBA team's offseason plan (free agency, trades, draft) and how each relates to the Wolves: Free agency Guard Jason Terry is expected to stay in Dallas. Same with Peja Stojakovic in Indiana. Detroit's Ben Wallace, Atlanta's Al Harrington and Sacramento's Bonzi Wells are looking for bigger paydays than the Wolves want to spend. (Even if willing, they'd have to work out sign-and-trade deals.) But Toronto guard Mike James is a name that has been mentioned at Target Center. James, 31, for years was an underrated backup bouncing through six organizations. Then he averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists last season -- numbers that would have ranked second and first on the Wolves. Up front, some of the best available players -- Seattle's Chris Wilcox, Denver's Nene, Cleveland's Drew Gooden -- are restricted, which means their teams can match any offer. That hasn't stopped McHale in the past; he bid for Ricky Davis and Damien Wilkins in recent years but came up empty. Casey has a few old pals from his Seattle days on the market: Reggie Evans, Flip Murray and Vladimir Radmanovic, though the first two overlap with current Wolves' skills. Radmanovic can play up-tempo and shoot from the arc. Of the Wolves players free to leave, guard Marcus Banks is the top priority. But there isn't as much urgency since Randy Foye arrived via the draft. Banks' agent, Mike Higgins, said this week that the super-quick but raw point guard is seeking a five-year contract starting at the full midlevel price ($5 million in 2006-07), which might be too rich for the Wolves. Forward Justin Reed is likely to be back, after the Wolves made him a qualifying offer Friday, giving them the right to match outside bids. Trades McHale said that much of the GM chatter heading toward the draft extended to other offseason maneuvers. "Most of the trades that you're going to do later are talked about now," he said Tuesday. One player being shopped, with Minnesota allegedly a destination, is Denver forward Kenyon Martin, who still isn't fully recovered from last year's knee surgery, has $70 million left on a bloated contract and was suspended in the playoffs for arguing with coach George Karl. The draft & beyond Casey and his staff will take a 13-man squad to Las Vegas, including Foye, Bracey Wright and second-round pick Craig Smith. Others with NBA experience include Reece Gaines, Ansu Sesay and Paul Shirley. Also, forward Eddie Griffin -- making headlines for all the wrong reasons -- has been asked to attend, for practice time if not some game minutes. The coaching staff will be working on its chemistry, with assistant Randy Wittman added to the mix. It still isn't clear whether assistant Johnny Davis will be involved, his role unclear since Wittman's return --

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