Portland Trail Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn, the latest favorite in the month-old search, on Monday became the third candidate to withdraw his name from consideration.

Penn, who had been weighing a contract offer since Friday, pulled out of the running after receiving a raise and promotion to vice president of Basketball operations from the Blazers.

"It was a tough decision, but coming back here is actually quite easy," Penn told the Portland Tribune. "I feel really blessed to have this chance and to keep doing what we're doing."

Penn didn't want to discuss the particulars of his negotiations with the Wolves but said he made the decision to stay in Portland late Sunday night.

Penn's withdrawal leaves former Indiana Pacers general manager David Kahn as one of three known remaining candidates, along with the internal duo of assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg and GM Jim Stack.

So where do the Wolves go from here?

Owner Glen Taylor hasn't returned phone calls for weeks, but he can't be happy about the prospect of having to reopen a search he had hoped to wrap up within two weeks after the season.

In addition to Penn, San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey and former Miami Heat general manager Randy Pfund have withdrawn as candidates, and ESPN.com reported Friday that Taylor has mandated whoever gets the job allow Kevin McHale to decide whether he wants to return as coach.

That is believed to have been a stumbling block with Lindsey and might have factored into Penn's decision, as well.

Further complicating matters, ESPN.com reported that McHale is looking for at least a two-year contract, while Taylor wants to commit for just one year and then re-evaluate.

With the front-office and coaching situations unresolved, rookie forward Kevin Love will represent the team at tonight's draft lottery.

At 24-58, the Wolves had the fifth-worst record in the NBA and have a 7.6 percent chance of winning the top pick in the June 25 draft.

Minnesota never has picked higher than third, but in the 15-year history of the current lottery system, teams with the fifth-best odds actually have won more times (three) than the lottery favorites (two).

Love said in a Friday conference call that he hopes to change the franchise's lottery fortunes.

"I was born on Sept. 7 at 7:07," he said, "so I consider myself pretty lucky."

Love said he doesn't have a good-luck charm and joked that he might take his nail clippers after TMZ's cameras caught him recently getting a manicure in Los Angeles.

"At the end of the day, it's all business," Love said. "We want to move up. We want to have the best pick possible."

Briefly: The lottery pick is one of three first-round choices for the Wolves, who also own No. 18 (from Miami) and No. 28 (from Boston).

Of the 14 lottery teams, Sacramento has the best odds of landing the top pick at 25 percent.

ESPN's live lottery coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.