3 Shades Of Blue hosts LeBron James Naismith Project, the second edition of the Bloguin Basketball Roundtable.

Wolves forward Corey Brewer underwent what the team said was “successful” surgery Wednesday to repair the anterior cruciate knee ligament he tore Nov. 29 against Denver. The surgery was scheduled nearly three weeks later to allow all the swelling in his knee to subside. He will miss the rest of the season.

McHale said he wants Brewer to remain around the team while he rehabilitates his knee “as much as he’s comfortable with.”

“After you have surgery, those first few weeks are always hard,” McHale said. “It’s a time where mentally you’ve got to get yourself wrapped around it. It’s hard to do.”

The procedure was performed by Dr. David Fischer at TRIA Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Pssst: It won’t be surprising if Flip Saunders is back coaching the Timberwolves next season.
You can thank — or blame — KOOL 108. The radio station has pulled together a roster of well-known local personalities from TV news anchors to professional sports players and even one mega celebrity to record its adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol.”
Narrated by Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress and starring KOOL 108 DJ Dan “The Geezer” Donovan as Ebe-Geezer Scrooge, the station’s version of the story has Vikings running back Adrian Peterson as Tiny Tim, while fellow Viking Chad Greenway and former North Star player and manager Lou Nanne play ghosts…

There are also cameos from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and the Timberwolves’ Kevin Love. Throw in a few TV news anchors — Mark Rosen and Amelia Santaniello of WCCO and KARE’s Mike Pomeranz — and you have a uniquely Minnesotan take on the tale.
From Matt Snyders/City Pages– Hey Mike Miller, put some South Dakota back in your game

Luke Byrnes/Hoopsworld grades the Western Conference teams:
Nobody expected the T-Wolves to contend following the trade of superstar Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics prior to the 2007-08 season but, somehow, the teams has seemingly continued to regress. On December 8th, Coach Randy Whitman was fired and replaced by Kevin McHale upon leaving his post as the club’s vice president of basketball operations. Minnesota (4-20) is on pace to win just 13 games this season and this humble writer sees no light at the end of the tunnel. Grade: F
Mary Schmitt Boyer/Plain Dealer conducts a Q&A with Al Jefferson:
Q: Do you ever let yourself think what might have happened if you were still in Boston?
A: No.
Q: Did you cheer for the Celtics last season even after they traded you in the Kevin Garnett deal?
A: Yes.
Q: So you were happy they won?
A: Well, if I cheered for them, I’m pretty sure I was happy.
On paper, this shouldn’t be the worst team in Timberwolves history. But nobody cares any more — and that truly makes it the saddest season of all.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in his 10th season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and recently became the team’s all-time leading rebounder, but his career could have gone much differently.

Wolves coach Kevin McHale said before tonight’s game that the team was prepared to select the 7-foot-3 center in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft until he broke his foot during a workout.
“Tough kid,” McHale said. “I’m a big fan of Zydrunas. He broke his foot and he was still practicing. He was working out and he said, ‘My foot hurts a little bit.’ … After seeing it was a broken foot, I said that’s a pretty tough dude.”