It was also the 31st game since the large trade with Boston that was supposed to create an improved nucleus for the second half of this season and the future.
Those of us who figured getting rid of Wally Szczerbiak and his inflated contract for four players with a chance to contribute was a wise move have been proven incorrect.
When we endorsed the deal, it was based on the belief Ricky Davis was a better all-around player than Szczerbiak. He's not. Ricky's not an outside shooter, he doesn't get to the basket often, and, shockingly, he's not much better defensively than Szczerbiak.
Marcus Banks has gotten what amounts to a 30-game shot at point guard -- and the mistakes he makes in late March come with the same frequency as they did in late January.
Mark Blount is what the Boston people said he was: a 7-foot jump shooter, with many more years of contract left than Michael Olowokandi. The only guy better than advertised is forward Justin Reed, and that's as a 10-minute reserve.
It gets worse: If the Wolves want to bet that Banks will get better, they will have to use much of their mid-level exception on him, since he's a free agent. And there would go the best chance to bring in one of those veterans Kevin Garnett wants as a teammate for next season.
What Kevin McHale's big trade has done is create more dead wood on a dead team.
An NBA coach familiar with the Wolves' situation (no more hints) looked at all those contracts when the trade was made and said: "This is their team for the next four years."
He goes on to say that if the choice is to trade for Starbury or use a KG trade to nuke the roster and start over, he'd rather trade for Starbury. But he sure doesn't sound happy about it.
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