Kirk Hinrich was very nearly traded to Minnesota ahead of February's trade deadline in a cost-saving move, but the Chicago guard is fortunate he remains the longest tenured member of the club.

"Once a trade didn't happen, I tried to forget about it and stay in the moment here," Hinrich said. "No question, the more you advance in your career, the more you appreciate the playoffs. You recognize that's where you make a name for yourself and where the fun is. The regular season is great, but the playoffs are special. And it's just great to be a part of it again with the Bulls."

Timberwolves rookie forward Kevin Love made his displeasure with the Rookie of the Year voting public on Wednesday night.

Love didn't have a problem with Chicago's Derrick Rose winning the award, but he didn't feel as though there were five rookies better than him this past season.

"Pardon my French, but it's the second time I've gotten screwed," Love told the Pioneer Press. "I definitely thought I would finish higher, but after the rookie-sophomore snub, I guess anything can happen."

Love led rookies in rebounding and double-doubles, but five players still finished above him in the voting.

"I guess I just needed to play a little better," Love said. "Maybe a 30th double-double would have made a difference.

" ... I'll take care of my business this summer, either here in Los Angeles or in Minnesota, and come back a better player and try to help my team win. Hopefully, 15 years from now I'll be able to look back on this and laugh."

The Timberwolves have asked for permission to interview assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey for their vacant head of basketball operations position.

Cleveland assistant general manager Lance Blanks is believed to be on the team's list of candidates as well.

Minnesota owner Glen Taylor says that he would like to fill the front-office position with the next week or two.

Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale refused to shed any light on his status after the team's season-ending loss to the Kings on Wednesday night.

"We'll see," McHale told the Associated Press of his future.

McHale is in the midst of his second coaching stint with Minnesota, having moved from the front office this season to replace Randy Wittman.

"If it is, it is, if it's not, it's not," McHale said of the possibilty that the finale was his final game as the team's coach. "All things change and come to an end and stuff like that. We do different things. Life's a fun journey. You do different stuff and try to enjoy whatever you're doing and move on from there."

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and the team's players believe he will return, but Kevin McHale hasn't officially announced that he'll return as coach next season.

"We'll see," McHale said on Monday night. "Sometimes you've had enough. It's a crazy business. It's something that is consuming; it takes a ton of time; everything is screwy. It's like being a player, but you don't get to play, which was the only fun part of being a player. It's like all of that without the fun."

McHale has made his distaste for travel and late nights known since he replaced Randy Wittman as coach on Dec. 8.

Kevin Love said in an interview with 790 The Zone recently that he would have likely tested the draft waters out of high school had the NBA not required that players go to college for at least one season.

"I probably would have tested the waters but like I've been saying, I wouldn't have traded in that UCLA experience for anything," Love said. "There's so many things that went in to it: we had the sunshine out there in Westwood, the beaches, good looking girls, and the basketball of course..."

At 47-33 with just two games left in the season, the Jazz cannot finish with one of the NBA's eight best records, meaning that they'll keep their top-22 protected pick.

If the selection was any lower than 22nd, Utah would have had to ship the pick to Minnesota as part of a previous trade.

The Timberwolves will now automatically get the Jazz's 2010 first-rounder, which might figure into their plans since they already have three first-round picks in this June's NBA Draft.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle hopes to see Kevin McHale, his former Celtics teammate, remain on as the coach of the Timberwolves past this season.

"I hope he comes back," said Carlisle.

McHale is in his second stint as Minnesota's coach, having coached 31 games during the 2004-05 season.

"I hope Kevin does, because having legendary players around the game, teaching the game is great," Carlisle said. "Especially in this situation, where they have so many good, young players, it's a great positive for their franchise and for our game in general."

McHale isn't likely to reveal his decision until after the regular season officially comes to a close.

Former Timberwolves and Pistons coach Flip Saunders believes that he'll be coaching in the NBA next season.

"I'm confident I will coach someplace next year," Saunders told the Star-Tribune.

If Kevin McHale doesn't return to the bench for Minnesota, it seems possible that the team could look at Saunders as a possible coaching candidate.

The Timberwolves will hire a general manager after the regular season ends, according to owner Glen Taylor.

Taylor also said that he expects Kevin McHale to return as head coach next season, but that McHale hasn't told him he would.

"We're going to have one person that will be at the top," said Taylor, who is looking to end the committee approach they have used in recent years. "We've interviewed quite a few people."