By the time that day arrives, Minnesota may be pretty good. But at the moment the Timberwolves should not be mistaken for contenders. "We've made some big improvements, but we're going to have to improve a lot more," says general manager Kevin McHale. "Until you can win 55, 60 games every year, you're just another team."

For Minnesota, being just another team is a big step up from being just a really bad team, which is what it was for the first seven years of its existence, when it averaged 60 losses a season. Last year the T-Wolves went a franchise-best 40-42 and made their first trip to the playoffs, where they were swept by Houston. "Going to the playoffs changed the outlook of this team," says shooting guard Doug West, the only player who has been with Minnesota throughout its history. "We expect more from ourselves now. And that expectation, that pressure, should make playing more fun."

If expectation makes games more fun, Garnett should have the time of his life this year. After stunning Timberwolves fans twice in the space of two months, first by rejecting Minnesota's $103.5 million, six-year contract extension in August and then by signing the $125 million, six-year deal on Oct. 1, the 6'11" small forward has a lot to live up to, and he knows it. "I want to be the best at what I do, not only as a player but as a person," says Garnett. "There's plenty of room for me to grow in both places."

Garnett may be the richest player on the T-Wolves, but he's not yet the best. That honor belongs to Tom Gugliotta, a tough and versatile power forward whose 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last year eclipsed Garnett's 17.0 points and 8.0 boards last year. Not far behind Garnett in points was his buddy Stephon Marbury, a rookie point guard who averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists and finished second to the 76ers' Allen Iverson in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

This year Minnesota is expecting even greater things from Marbury, who roared into training camp bigger, stronger and, if his incredulous teammates are to be believed, quicker than he was last season. Marbury has two important dates on his playing calendar: the All-Star game on Feb. 8 at Madison Square Garden—just a subway ride away for his large Coney Island-based family and ample circle of Big Apple friends—and a big payday on July 1, when he's eligible for a contract extension. McHale says that the size of Garnett's deal won't compromise the Timberwolves' ability to keep Marbury and Gugliotta, whose contract has an out clause he could activate after this season. "We wouldn't have signed Kevin if it did," says McHale. "What's the use of having one without the others? I haven't seen one guy win a championship yet."

Beyond that powerful nucleus, which coach Flip Saunders calls the "three-headed monster," the T-Wolves have some nagging concerns. Chief among them is finding a replacement for center Dean Garrett, who signed as a free agent with the Nuggets. The perpetually injured Stanley Roberts, who has brought his weight under 300 pounds since coming to the Timberwolves from the Clippers this summer, is already nursing a high ankle sprain. Paul Grant, the 7-foot, first-round draft choice out of Wisconsin, runs the floor well but has yet to show zest for boosting Minnesota where it needs help the most, off the boards. Forward Cherokee Parks will add some rebounds and guard Chris Carr some points off the bench, but beyond that, there's little depth.

Even so, the T-Wolves will be a disappointment if they don't achieve their first winning season and return to the playoffs. As West would say, the pressure is on. Let the fun begin.

—Kelli Anderson