Will it be the late entry, Portland Trail Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn, who reportedly has received a contract offer?

Or will the Wolves go back to last week's apparent favorite, former Indiana Pacers general manager David Kahn?

Or will owner Glen Taylor, after all the top-secret interviews and psychological testing, end up staying in-house and promote assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg to the top job?

Taylor stopped returning phone calls weeks ago, and the candidates have had little or nothing to say, but ESPN.com reported Friday that the Wolves are focusing strictly on Penn and have mandated that whoever gets the job allow Kevin McHale to decide whether he wants to return as coach.

That supposedly isn't a deal breaker for Penn, who has an impressive r?sum? that includes eight years with the Memphis Grizzlies and the past two in Portland, where he focused primarily on salary-cap and collective bargaining issues.

What isn't known is whether the Wolves' offer is enough to persuade Penn to leave a talented, up-and-coming young team such as Portland or how far the Blazers might go to prevent that from happening.

Penn's agent, Warren LeGarie, isn't likely to do a low-ball deal, and it is worth noting that he also represents San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, who was considered the early favorite for the Minnesota job before withdrawing a couple of weeks ago.

If Penn isn't the one, Kahn and Hoiberg could be the best remaining options.

One thing for certain: It won't be Randy Pfund.

The former Miami Heat general manager, considered a long shot because of his high price tag, withdrew from the running Friday.

"I'm moving on from the Wolves situation," Pfund said. "I've got a couple other things out there that maybe intrigue me a little more, either this year or next year."

Pfund has one year remaining on his Heat contract and was said to be looking for $3.5 million a year.

That is nearly six times more than the $600,000 average annual salary the Wolves reportedly were ready to offer Kahn and a lot more than they would have to pay Hoiberg, who could end up running the personnel side if Penn gets the top job.

Beyond that, there still are more questions than answers when it comes to the Wolves and their front-office search, but one thing seems clear.

With a coaching decision hanging in the balance and the draft clock ticking, it can't go on much longer.

Can it?

Briefly: At the suggestion of GM Jim Stack, rookie forward Kevin Love will represent the Wolves at Tuesday's draft lottery in New York.

Asked during a conference call Friday if he ever had won anything by chance, Love said: "Not that I can remember. ... All the T-Wolves' media guys are trying to get me to bring a lucky charm, but it didn't work for Hoiberg last year, so I'm trying to figure something else out."