7 Minnesota Timberwolves

Point guard Terrell Brandon talked last preseason about relinquishing his starting role to a younger player in the not-so-distant future—a notion that seemed absurd once the season started. Brandon handed out a league-best 6.14 assists per turnover and missed only one of his 84 free throw attempts, but even those stats don't convey his importance. He didn't just contribute to the Timberwolves' offense; he also ran it almost every time down the floor.

So when Brandon had surgery to repair his left knee last February, Minnesota stumbled and never recovered, bowing in three straight to the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Brandon, 32, is still on the mend, and though he hasn't been officially shelved for this season, coach Flip Saunders is preparing to be without him. "We've opened our offense up a lot," says Saunders. "No one guy's going to be so depended on."

While Brandon is hurting, Saunders is likely to hand the point to Troy Hudson, 26, a wiry bundle of energy who was one of the league's streakiest scorers last season. Though the 6'1" Hudson has started only 11 games in the past two seasons, he is eager to take charge of the T-Wolves' wide-open attack. "They fit my style," he says. "Up and down."

That's also an apt description of Hudson's career. Undrafted out of Southern Illinois, he has been waived three times and served two tours of duty in the CBA. Last season he blossomed under Doc Rivers in Orlando, and in August, Minnesota signed him to a three-year, $7.4 million deal. With the Magic, Hudson excelled as a Vinny Johnson type—an explosive player who can come off the bench and ignite a team. Will he be able to pace himself as a starter? Saunders hopes not. "Troy always plays with a lot of energy, so we'll incorporate that into what we do," he says. "We like to push things. He has the ability to do that, and it frees up [Kevin] Garnett and [Wally] Szczerbiak in the open floor."

Aside from those two All-Stars, the Timberwolves' lineup is filled with question marks. Center Rasho Nesterovic will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and small forward Joe Smith, who faded at the end of last season, came to camp 15 pounds underweight. "We're going to have to be greater as a whole than we are as parts," says Saunders. New offense or not, achieving that goal will depend on how well Hudson can pull those parts together.

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