Jefferson, whose 13 points Friday weren’t enough to prevent Minnesota from falling for the 14th time in 15 games, hopes to do that with the help of Idan Ravin, a trainer who works with some of the NBA’s elite players. Ravin spent much of this homestand meeting the Wolves, at the request of team president for basketball David Kahn, and found Jefferson an especially eager pupil.

“It’s not stuff we hadn’t been doing. He’s just got a real good workout,” Jefferson said of Ravin. “I’m looking forward to working with him this offseason. He’s going to help me be in absolutely top, top shape.”

That’s what Kahn had in mind when he asked Ravin, best known for his workouts with Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and New Orleans’ Chris Paul, to visit Target Center. “I wanted to see what he was about and allow him to familiarize himself with our players,” said Kahn, who emphasized that he sees Ravin as a complementary approach to the offseason plans of coach Kurt Rambis. “Our organization in the past hasn’t been in the flow with some of these opportunities. We’re trying to figure out how to approach (working with their players) this summer with people that we trust, and if this is an opportunity for our players, let’s take advantage of it.”

Marc Stein/ESPN posts five questions with Jonny Flynn
Q: That seems a little harsh, doesn’t it, considering you’re running the triangle offense for the first time?

A: It’s tough. It’s like learning a foreign language. You sit in class and you think you’ve got it and then there’s one verb you left out or something and you pronounce it the wrong way. It’s definitely difficult. It’s new to all of us, but definitely tough for me because I have to make sure everybody’s on the same page.

Q: What kind of grasp do you have on the triangle at this point?

A: I would say I’m at a C right now. … It’s really tough doing something your whole life and then switching. It’s been a humbling experience. But I think I’m making strides. There’s so many different wrinkles [in the offense]. I don’t think we’ve really even scratched the surface.

From Geoffrey C. Arnold/The Oregonian: NBA: Kevin Love’s frustration grows; news, notes and links
We recently sat down with Timberwolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn to talk about how his life has changed since joining the NBA and it’s a story you won’t want to miss.

Darko is sticking to his plan of leaving the NBA this summer and returning to play in Europe. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been getting decent play out of Darko – he’s averaging 23 minutes a game in his last five games.

The Wolves have said they would be open to re-signing him this summer. Darko says he’s thankful for the Wolves’ interest and support, but the plan is still to head home to Europe which will likely close the door on Darko Milicic in the NBA.

Of course, there are plenty of veteran basketball decision-makers who don’t believe that stats are the only key to success. They’ll tell you the difference in winning percentages has less to do with statistical analysis than with statistical freaks. “If you took LeBron off the Cavaliers, you could give them 10,000 number crunchers, and it wouldn’t make a difference,” says David Kahn, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations.