Glen Taylor has told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he expects Sam Cassell to be back in Minnesota next season.

"We don't have a plan on trading him. You could go through all the players except probably K.G. (Kevin Garnett), because we're not going to trade K.G," Taylor said. "If we felt we could better our team, we would always look at that."

Sprewell, a free agent who made $14.6 million this season, probably would have to take a significant pay cut to return to the Wolves. Asked if he wants Sprewell to return, Taylor said, "There's just a lot of conditions here. The team is open to everything."

When asked by Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor if he wanted to stay on board, Kevin McHale?s response was brief, "you know I never even thought about quitting."

"I expected he would come back," Taylor said. "What I'm pleased about is the short amount of time he took to decide, that he's so excited and that he has high expectations and goals for next season."

New York Knicks general manager Isiah Thomas will soon meet with former Knick player Phil Jackson to discuss his interest in becoming head coach.

Jackson boasts a .725 winning percentage along with  175 playoff wins is being courted by several NBA teams including Minnesota and Los Angeles to name a few.

Jackson recently attended a Lakers game with Dr. Jerry Buss and Kato Kaelin.

Despite shooting an astonishing 58 percent from the three-point arc in the final 28 games of the season, the Phoenix Suns? Joe Johnson (.478) finished second to the Minnesota Timberwolves? Fred Hoiberg (.483).  

Hoiberg may have been saved by the fact that he sat 4 of the last 6 games, a period where Joe Johnson really came on strong hitting 22 or 34 three-pointers.

Johnson made more threes (177) than Hoiberg attempted (145) this season.

Sam Cassell expects and hopes to be back in Minnesota this coming season.

"I expressed my feelings about some things that went on that I didn't like," said Cassell, who has one season remaining on his contract. "And they expressed their feelings about some things that went on that they didn't like. We came to a mutual agreement. I know for a fact that Kevin Garnett wants me back here."

Cassell also said he does not regret complaining about his contract situation in the preseason.

"It didn't disrupt me," he said. "I didn't want it to get out. That's what I pay my agent for, to make suggestions like that. My job is for me to get ready next year. I'm going to be back. You better believe it."

The New York Post is reporting that Isiah Thomas is planning on making a run for Wally Szczerbiak this summer.  With Allan Houston's future very uncertain, the Knicks could use a player of Szczerbiak's ability.

"It would be appealing," said his father Walter Szczerbiak of playing for the Knicks. "He's always said that. I think he can help the Knicks because you don't know what Allan Houston's going to be doing."

Last August, the Knicks were close to trading Kurt Thomas for Szczerbiak.

The Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Timberwolves by a final score of 109-94, ending Minnesota's dreams of sneaking into the playoffs.

Last season the Wolves had the best record in the Western Conference and were defeated by the Lakers in the conference finals.

This season they will be in the lottery, as they endured injuries, dissent over contracts and a coaching change.

Minnesota took care of what they needed to do on Friday, beating the Utah Jazz 100-84.  

If Minnesota wins out and Memphis loses out, then Minnesota will go to the playoffs, leaving the margin of error at zero.

"We've got three games left. We've got to win. Period," said Kevin Garnett, who led Minnesota with 21 points and nine rebounds. "I'm not going to worry and lose what's left of the hair I do have. Everybody is watching and we are definitely aware of the situation."

Garnett had 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Wally Szczerbiak pitched in 17.

Kevin Garnett posted his first triple-double of a disappointing season, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Minnesota to a 116-100 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night.

With the win and the Grizzlies loss in Houston, the Wolves remain mathematically alive for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We still have a chance," said Troy Hudson, who had 11 points and seven assists.

Mickael Pietrus led the Warriors with 19 points.

First the obvious: If Latrell Sprewell is to return to the Timberwolves lineup next year it will not be at his current salary.  Next, it seems the Timberwolves will also be looking to trade Sam Cassell this off-season.

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has apparently deemed Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell not worth the price paid.  Sprewell will be a unrestricted free agent after this season and Cassell has one year left on his contract.

Said Taylor, "Latrell himself has to decide ... if he even wants to play with us. What we have to look at is, is he the right player on our team next year or not?"

Taylor even went as far as to call the trades for both Sprewell and Cassell a "failed experiment."

Sprewell?s numbers were way down this year and Cassell, even though he came on strong for the Timberwolves failed playoff run, spent most of the season on the bench nursing various injuries.