Instead of looking ahead to brighter days, the T-Wolves spent their summer break worrying about the prospect that the '97-98 season would be their last with their 21-year-old star, Kevin Garnett. Over the summer the 6'11", 220-pound small forward—who was an instant success after he jumped to the NBA straight out of high school in 1995—turned down a six-year, $103.5 million offer from Minnesota. When the failure of the negotiations became public, a once-warm relationship between Garnett and the team turned contentious. But fall brought a resolution to the crisis when Garnett signed a six-year, $125 million contract. Consider the negotiations a minor bump on this team's road to perennial playoff contender.

Garnett will be carrying a bigger load in his wallet and also on the court because Dean Garrett, last season's starting center, signed with Denver as a free agent. As a 30-year-old rookie, Garrett came out of nowhere (well, Europe) to fill a chasm in the middle, and his loss is a blow to the Timberwolves, since it leaves them with lumbering Stanley Roberts, who has played in only 83 games over the past four years because of injuries, and rookie center Paul Grant, a seven-footer out of Wisconsin who works hard but has some defensive shortcomings.

The T-Wolves and coach Flip Saunders will have a difficult time matching last year's franchise-best 40 wins. And teams will no longer be looking past them. "We're going to have to be a different team because we had success," backup point guard Terry Porter said before the defection of Garrett. "Our opponents are going to look at us differently. Our days of sneaking up on people are over. I don't think it will be 'We got Minnesota, it's going to be an easy game' anymore."

But the T-Wolves weren't exactly giant-killers last season. They won only 8 of 38 games against teams that finished .500 or better, compared with a 32-12 record against sub-.500 teams. That mastery over the league's weaklings—including division rivals Denver, Dallas and Vancouver—will continue, thanks to the Big Three: Garnett, a spectacular talent, point guard Stephon Marbury and power forward Tom Gugliotta.

Marbury, who finished second in rookie of the year balloting, had a marvelous debut season. He explodes into the paint with a devastating jump stop, all the while looking to pass first, shoot second. Marbury's shooting percentage and defense need to improve, but he has a certain swagger about him, a fearlessness in attacking the lane and taking big shots in the closing minutes. Now that his friend Garnett is re-signed, Marbury is more likely to re-up with the T-Wolves, preserving Minnesota's talented core.

Gugliotta, a first-time All-Star last season, finally found his all-around game and joined Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Karl Malone in an exclusive club: They're the only NBA players who averaged more than 20 points per game, hauled down more than 700 rebounds and had more than 300 assists last year. If Gugliotta can take a little better care of the ball (his turnover total of 293 was fourth highest in the league and worst among nonguards) and stop being so hard on himself when he's having a tough night, he'll improve even more.

The Big Three's supporting cast is ordinary, and not just in the pivot. Shooting guard Doug West is a terrific defender, but he hasn't contributed much to the offense the last two seasons. And the T-Wolves have a weaker perimeter game now that backup guard James Robinson, who hit 102 three-pointers last season to tie Marbury for the team lead, has signed with the Clippers as a free agent. Marbury, Porter and backup guard Chris Carr are the team's chief long-range threats.

The T-Wolves have the talent to make the playoffs again,and afte h Gnett scare, perhaps more resolve than ever to ensure it's an annual occurrence. but as they're finding out, success brings new problems. "We've got to carry the energy from last year into this year," says Carr. One thing is for certain: The coming Minnesota winter will be more enjoyable than the past summer.

—Tim Kurkjian