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Temporarily perched between the Olympic Peninsula and a campsite in eastern Oregon, I was graciously afforded an opportunityby the Wolves' staff to participate in the out-of-town media's conference call with new Wolves' coach Kurt Rambis late this afternoon. Yes, the healthy LA contingent in the crowd wanted to know more about why Rambis didn't keep waiting around for Phil Jackson to keel over so he could snag the Laker job, but there was some decent info unearthed overall--even on the Laker front, where Rambis obliquely conceded that if he'd had an inclination that Jackson was stepping down soon he might have stayed put.

The most important information divulged--and it may have already been stated in the initial press conference back home for all I know--was Rambis's statement, in answer to a perceptive question by True Hoop's Henry Abbott, that if the season were to commence tomorrow and he had both players in camp, he'd start Ricky Rubio at the point. Specifically, Rambis said, "My gut feeling right now is that Ricky would be the starter." and that "the speed and nastiness as a defender" that Jonny Flynn possesses would make him "good off the bench."

Rambis didn't foreclose the possibility of playing both in the backcourt for limited minutes, saying they could prove him wrong in training camp by playing really well without the ball--but also threw water on the idea on them playing together very often, saying that would be "rough to do, given the quality of the guards in the Western Conference." But of course he also noted that "the two point guards need as much time and playing experience as possible...they need to be on the floor."

In other words, he did the relatively happy dance of all newly hired coaches at their opening media gauntlet. We're not going to get the irreverence of Kevin McHale or the plainspoken assessments of Flip Saunders, I'm afraid; more Dwane Casey and Randy Wittman-style caution (the unpissed-off Randy Wittman anyway).

I'm not going to pretend to have an informed opinion on Rambis. He is clearly stung by caustic references to his relatively woeful record (24-13, isn't it?) with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers as interim coach, claiming that he "lost my power forward and best defender" during that period. But the best defense was simply naming who those players were--the forward was Eldon Campbell, the defender Eddie Jones--and then throwing around Glen Rice and the distraction of Dennis Rodman for good measure. Plus, it was way back during the lockout season, another distraction. Bottom line, Rambis got less than half a season on a talented but transitional team a long long time ago. Presumably, his seat next to Zen Master has enlightened him some since then.

I asked Rambis three questions during the half hour session, which was marred by a copious amounts of echo and occasional feedback spray. When no one would go first at the outset, I asked the introductory staple about how his philosophy matched up with David Kahn's, particularly in the realm of running a point-guard-centric ballclub, which was an early Kahn catechism I pulled out of my, uh, memory. Rambis proceeeded to mention most every point guard he'd played with, beginning in junior high (no joke) and on through Magic Johnson. (Maybe he was nervous, or simply tired of the gauntlet.) He finished by saying that players like Rubio and Flynn were "invaluable" and that it would be exciting for the fans.

My second question a little while later revolved around this whole idea of a "running team" and where that left someone like Al Jefferson, who obviously isn't a run-first guy. Rambis gave a predictible but thorough answer, from the importance of rebounding to initiate the fast break to the importance of Jefferson as a factor on the secondary break to inevitable ace-in-hole aspect of having Jefferson if the break doesn't deliver immediate dividends. "He will not be neglected by any means," Rambis pledged of Jefferson, adding that Big Al will actually have "more fun" because the pace will presumably afford him more catch-and-shoot opportunities without an established double or triple team in his lap.

Toward the end the happy talk aspect began to grow a tad too rote even for the occasion, so I asked Rambis about the downsides to this job--what things made him think twice about taking it and what liabilities faced his tenure with the club. I specifically mentioned the difficulty of luring free agents to Minnesota and the franchise's chronic inability to defend, especially before and after KG. He, again predictibly, mentioned youth, saying for the second time that 26-year old Ryan Gomes was the elder statesman on the roster. As to defense, he cited his bona fides as a Pat Riley disciple and then did say something worthwhile when he noted that he'd already told his players to get in shape, especially in the legs, because you can't play defense without it. He neglected the free agency reference, saying on that there are weaknesses on the team "that will be rectified."

Other quick points, unearthed by the other reporters on the call:

* Jefferson and Love can play together (better than Rubio and Flynn). Love's outlet passing is a great component for the running game.

* He saw himself as a viable successor to Jackson--"above many and equal to most"--but was pleased by the assurances he was given by Kahn that he would be an equal partner in building the ballclub here in Minnesota.

* Will change culture from losing culture to winning culture by getting players to sacrifice. Went to recent Laker examples, including Odom willing to come off bench and Pau Gasol toughening up in the paint between 08 playoffs and 09 playoffs. Says players need to cover for each other, only way to play quality D.

* Called Jefferson and Love cornerstones, but--significant or merely what rolled off a tired tongue?--mentioned Love first. Mentioned Rubio before Flynn whenever he talked of the two point guards. Put Ryan Gomes in the mix between Love/Jefferson and Rubio/Flynn in listing personnel, then mentioned Corey Brewer and called him quality defender.

* Said he hasn't talked to Rubio but will right after finishing "my 400th interview" of the day. Said it is absolutely clear that Rubio wants to come and play for Wolves and that glitch is totally on buyout.

* Firmly (and shrewdly) eschewed any talk of a timeline for winning, saying it wouldn't be fair to place those kinds of expectations on the players.

Okay folks. As always I heartily appreciate the way you have both handled yourself and expressed yourself in the comments section. I'll be home in the middle of next week to prompt more discussion. Thanks again for checking in.

First of all, thanks for coming by. It's been nearly a month since I posted, and I'm not sure how often I'll be chiming in before training camp starts in October. But rest assured that however it is structured and wherever I land, I fully intend to provide the kind of coverage and maintain the lively forum longtime readers have seen in previous seasons. So, if possible, be patient and be loyal. Thanks.

Okay, on to my take on yesterday's trade, which sent Bassy Telfair, Mark Madsen and Craig Smith to the Clippers for Quentin Richardson. Frankly, I've been swamped with other stuff and haven't had an opportunity to read anybody's reaction, so forgive me if this is either redundant or I've missed a nuance pointed out elsewhere.

If the deal was simply about talent, the Wolves got screwed. The best player among the quartet is Telfair, who happened to be the most seasoned floor general on the team and still in his early 20s. Yes, Telfair can't shoot. Yes, the Wolves just spent both of their most recent lottery picks on point guards. And yes, David Kahn seems bound and determined to have a top 3 pick in next year's lottery with the way he's taking this taking this roster apart down to the studs.

Telfair could have been useful to Flynn and (if he comes over) Rubio this season, but Kahn is obviously more concerned about chemistry issues, and the caution is justified. Bassy has worked long and hard to become something more than a fringe commodity, and he's competitive enough to chafe at the disadvantage of being a remnant--albeit a young and improving one--on a team in the midst of a massive overhaul. Even if Rubio doesn't show up, it wasn't hard to envision the team splitting into various camps in support of different point guards with Bassy around. To pick one perfectly viable scenario, consider if Al Jefferson embraced Bassy, the floor general most familiar with his game and the one most closely tied to a past style and pecking order that clearly anointed Big Al the Alpha Dog. Since Kahn came in, he's fired the guy who traded for Jefferson and praised him to the high heavens (McHale), has stated that sooner or later Al will be #2 (more specifically, he said Al is the second best player on a championship contender and the sole aim of his tenure is to win a championship); and that the Wolves need to run more. Moving Bassy ensures that Jefferson doesn't have that particular passive-aggressive card to play in opposition to the new regime, which would have been an easy gambit, given that Bassy would almost certainly have run the ballclub with better skill than what Flynn will be able to muster as a rookie. Meanwhile, Bassy himself would have welcomed Jefferson's support and would have been justified in believing that he deserved a crack at leading the rebuilding effort rather than mentoring his replacement(s). Instead of waiting to put out these fires during the course of next season, Kahn is fireproofing with this trade.

But just because I understand Kahn's motivation doesn't necessarily mean I endorse it. Perhaps Telfair wasn't the best mentor for Flynn (and perhaps Rubio) circumstantially, but he is better than nothing. If Kahn plans on making Mark Jackson the point guard teacher, that's a tall order to add on to the duties of a first-time head coach in the NBA; if he's the hire as head coach, Jackson is going to have enough to contend with just getting acclimated to the normal demands of the job. No, the best case scenario now is for the Wolves to go out and acquire a solid veteran backup. (Who knows, the return of Kevin Ollie may be in the works.)  But however the teaching process is conducted, the Wolves will likely win fewer games--maybe three or four fewer, maybe more--without Telfair on the roster.

The guy Minnesota got in return, Quentin Richardson, better be a salary dump, because the evidence is that he lacks the attitude and commitment to slide into this ballclub smoothly. Anyone who witnessed Q's whale-like physique last year had to be stunned by the transformation--it was a beluga sighting akin to a baby Stanley Roberts or Oliver Miller, no exaggeration. I assume he's here because he's got nearly $10 million in expiring money on his contract, but if he sticks around it could be problematical, unless he goes the Antoine Walker route and tries to entice other ballclubs to acquire him through selfless, dedicated play. But even 'Toine kept himself in better condition than Q. Unless the dude is at least 40-50 pounds lighter than he was at the end of last season, this trade should be viewed strictly as anticipated addition by subtraction.

As for the other subtractions, it was easy to make fun of Mark Madsen, but Mad Dog's biggest critics were always those who neglected to notice how important it is for players to recognize rotations on defense, and hustle every play, and understand the dynamics and flow of the game enough to get out of the way, keep moving to create good spacing on offense, set the right picks, commit the justified hard foul, etc. Madsen knew and did all of these things, which is why his plus/minus always seemed better than casual observers had any right to expect. Without question he was overpaid at more than $2 million per year, but he did everything in his power to earn every penny. The lone negative--aside from the obvious lack of physical skill--was his good-soldier performance in the tanking of the season finale against Memphis a few years back, a blot of his integrity and the honor of everyone associated with the franchise, including coach Dwane Casey.

Unlike Madsen, Craig Smith always looked better than he was in terms of team effectiveness. McHale loved the fact that he was a matchup nightmare for opponents, and I concede that the Rhino and McHale proved that point consistently enough last season to blunt a little of his bias. But the matchup nightmare was equally horrid at the other end of the court, where Smith was too small to guard 4's (on the occasions when McHale got really silly, 5's), and too slow to handle almost all small forwards. In many respects he is like Randy Foye; a beguiling 'tweener who can hang up a few 30 point games that will draw people's attention but ultimately should be no more than an 8-minute man drawing the 8th or 9th spot in the rotation of a good team--and that's the best case scenario. (To make the Foye comparison more accurate, substitute 6th or 7th man and 15-20 minutes.)

So, ultimately what we have out of this deal is a cleaner slate for Kahn to use. Like the Foye-Miller deal, we can't judge this trade unless a few more shoes drop. Foye-Miller clearly looks better in light of the Rubio drafting. Kahn is going to need similarly prominent additions with the salary cap and personnel space he is clearing to justify kissing Telfair goodbye. I'll miss Madsen too. Bottom line, Kahn better hope all that cap space isn't left dangling on the vine because folks don't want to come to the tundra--and that Jefferson and Love keep an open mind as the overhaul continues.