--Third-year guard Randy Foye missed the season's final nine games because of a hip injury that bothered him all of March.
He injured it March 3 when he fell on Kevin Love during practice and tried to play with both that and then a sprained ankle most of the rest of the month. Forward Craig Smith suffered a strained calf about the same time. Smith returned to play the season's final five games. Foye never did.
"His hip was bothering him a lot more than he was telling anyone," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said. "Same thing with Craig. You've got to rip those guys out of the lineup. They'll both play when they shouldn't. I appreciate that.
"They have character and character will take you a long way in this league. You had to say to them, 'I'm not playing either one of you until you're healthy.' It took Randy three weeks and he still wasn't right."
--Six months ago, third-year forward Rodney Carney wondered if he had a future in the league.
Now he is anticipating July 1, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
He might have benefited more than any other Timberwolf from the December coaching change that swapped Randy Wittman for Kevin McHale. He went from lost on the bench to valuable contributor and occasional starter because of his three-point shooting and athleticism and because he might have been the team's best perimeter defender after Corey Brewer was lost to a season-ending knee injury in November.
"We'll see what the Timberwolves do with their (three) draft picks," Carney said. "It's just going to be exciting to see what happens. I've never been in this position. My options are a lot better now than what I thought they'd be. The beginning of the season didn't look too good. I think I did a great job showing this team what I can do. Other teams have seen it, too. I've even got a nickname now."
Carney's teammates and McHale called him "Hot Rod."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "They were great. It's just to say thank you for all they've done. They've helped the young guys. They've stayed in there. The NBA is tough. If you can't shake off a defeat and keep fighting you're going to get overwhelmed. They kept fighting. You spend some time around them and you see what great people they are. Even if they didn't play a minute, they'd be valuable." -- Wolves coach Kevin McHale, on why he started veterans Kevin Ollie, Mike Miller, Mark Madsen, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins in the season finale. Consider it the NBA's version of college's Senior Night. That starting five has 42 years of NBA experience.
