As a result, Penn's agent, Warren LeGarie, said discussions with the Wolves have been tabled.

"Obviously, this is a circumstance that no one could have foreseen," LeGarie said. "Everything is really on hold right now."

LeGarie said he doesn't expect talks to resume before Friday, which means the Wolves' search could extend into a fifth week.

Penn is the hot new name on a list that includes former Indiana Pacers general manager David Kahn, two internal candidates in assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg and GM Jim Stack, and possibly former Miami Heat general manager Randy Pfund.

Penn also has an impressive resume that includes eight years with the Memphis Grizzlies and the last two in Portland, where he focused primarily on salary-cap and collective bargaining issues and assisted with personnel decisions.

The Wolves brought him in for an interview one day after they appeared to be nearing a contract offer for Kahn, indicating those negotiations might have hit at least a snag.

Kahn has been unavailable for comment since then, and Wolves owner Glen Taylor stopped returning phone calls weeks ago.

LeGarie's only other comments today concerned another client, San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, who was considered the early favorite for the Minnesota job before withdrawing from consideration a couple of weeks ago.

According to LeGarie, it had nothing to do with Lindsey wanting more control than the Wolves were willing to offer and that the Spurs simply needed him to make a decision, one way or the other.

"There wasn't a power play," LeGarie said. "It just became more of a personal choice. At that point, the Timberwolves weren't ready to make a decision. There was no problem with them. They handled the situation with the utmost professionalism."