If the Timberwolves make a trade before the NBA’s Feb. 18 trade deadline, Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn said the deal would be “modest” and would not involve any of the team’s “core players.”

Based on playing time and productivity, the Wolves’ core players are forwards Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Ryan Gomes and Damien Wilkins, and guards Jonny Flynn, Corey Brewer, Ramon Sessions and Wayne Ellington.

A modest deal, according to Kahn, would be a move that gives the Wolves more talent off the bench at forward or center.

Timberwolves point guard Ramon Sessions said a deal was so close with the Knicks last July, he went to bed thinking the next morning it would be done.

“There were plenty of nights I went to sleep thinking it will be done in the morning,” Sessions said. “There were a lot of different calls back and forth between Donnie [Walsh] and my agent. At the end of the day, it didn’t work out.”

Sources have indicated the Timberwolves will trade Sessions this summer if they reach an agreement with draft pick Ricky Rubio.

From Benjamin Polk/City Pages: Timberwolves move toward the light
At Monday’s practice session, the players regained their swagger after notching back-to-back wins for the second time this season. Jonny Flynn reiterated this point, “The good thing about it is we are really playing good basketball right now and that is all you can ask for. I think over these last two games we have really exerted a lot of energy on both ends of the court and it turned into W’s.”

With four days to practice in preparation for a matchup against Dallas, the Wolves are utilizing the time to rest and work.

“Just continue to focus on the things that we’ve been doing to get wins as a team,” Wayne Ellington said. “Continue to defend as hard as possible, plays as hard as we can and leave it on the floor. I think we have done a great job of that, bringing the effort early in ball games and the result we’ve been getting is wins.”
When it comes to his individual performance, though, the reviews have been mixed. While Rubio ranks among the leaders in assists and steals in both the domestic and European competition, he’s averaging a rather pedestrian 6.4 ppg in the Euroleague, which ties him with journeyman Daniel Santiago. He has not been shooting very well – 39.0 percent from the field – and has not been shooting much either – just 3.7 attempts per game.

Nikola Loncar, an NBA analyst for Spanish TV, went as far as to question whether Rubio would have been worthy of a first-round pick in 2010 given his play early in the season. That said, even Loncar, who won gold medals with Yugoslavia in the European and World Championsip playing with the likes of Zeljko Rebraca and Dejan Bodiroga, recognizes Rubio has been making some strides lately.