Suns-Timberwolves Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN

(AP) -- Kevin Garnett developed into one of the NBA's best players during his first 12 seasons in the league with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the former face of the franchise is returning to where it all began.

Garnett, though, is not expected to be available Friday night against the visiting Phoenix Suns, who are set to kick off the season's second half with a very different roster.

The Western Conference-worst Timberwolves (11-42) gave their fan base plenty to be excited about after sending Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn in exchange for Garnett on Thursday. The 15-time All-Star leads the franchise in almost every statistical category, including points (19,041), rebounds (10,542) and assists (4,146).

"When you think of the Timberwolves, you think of Kevin Garnett. That's the first thing that comes up," star rookie Andrew Wiggins said. "I'm excited to just get the chance to work with him, be on the same team with him and see how he carries himself."

While his best days are behind him, Minnesota is hoping Garnett can help mentor its talented young core featuring Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng. Garnett is averaging just 6.6 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last two seasons.

"I'm going to be here with my notebook," Rubio said. "Whatever he says, we're going to do it. He's going to have the voice in the locker room. We're going to learn a lot from him. It's great. Not just because he did great things over here. He's been one of the greatest ever in this sport and I'm happy to be his teammate."

The Suns (29-25) were among the busiest teams before the deadline, shipping the disgruntled Goran Dragic to Miami in a three-team trade with New Orleans and fellow point guard Isaiah Thomas to Boston. They also sent little-used rookie Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee to Milwaukee as part of a three-team trade with Philadelphia in exchange for Brandon Knight, by far their best addition.

Phoenix also acquired Marcus Thornton from the Celtics, John Salmons from the Pelicans, Danny Granger from the Heat and Kendall Marshall from the Bucks, though Salmons and Marshall are expected to be waived. It's unclear if Granger will remain with the team.

Knight was averaging a team-leading 17.8 points for Milwaukee, and he figures to take on some of the scoring load lost by Dragic (16.2) and Thomas (15.2).

The moves come as a bit of a surprise with Phoenix in the thick of the playoff race. The Suns are tied with Oklahoma City for the West's eighth and final playoff spot despite dropping five of six heading into the break.

It was a notable All-Star weekend for the Timberwolves, who saw Wiggins earn MVP honors in the Rising Stars Challenge last Friday. He and LaVine scored 22 points apiece while Dieng and Muhammad also appeared in the game.

"It was great seeing all my teammates on the court," Wiggins told the team's official website. "I loved every second of it. It shows the promise and success that our organization will have in the future."

LaVine went on to win the slam dunk contest the following night, becoming the first Timberwolves player to do so since Isaiah Rider in 1994.

The Timberwolves had won a season-best three in a row before closing the first half with back-to-back defeats, 117-105 to Atlanta on Feb. 9 and 94-91 to Golden State on Feb. 11.

Minnesota is looking to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to Phoenix.