Trade talks continued Monday between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lakers after a four-team proposal that would have sent All-Star forward Kevin Garnett to the Lakers collapsed.
Minnesota owner Glen Taylor was expected to be in the Timberwolves' offices this morning before departing for a honeymoon in China. His appearance at team headquarters suggested a quick resolution on the Lakers' proposal, which includes forward Lamar Odom and center Andrew Bynum.
However, sources said that Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves' vice president of basketball operations, wasn't keen on the Lakers' offer.
Another topsy-turvy day -- a phrase used often to describe daily happenings during the Lakers' off-season -- began Monday with prospects of a four-team trade and ended with the Lakers and Timberwolves still having the same rosters.
Taylor and Lakers owner Jerry Buss began the groundwork for trade talks with a 20-minute chat on Friday. That conversation expanded Monday into discussions about a deal involving the Lakers, Minnesota, Indiana and Boston, in which the Lakers would have received Garnett. However, the deal broke down, reportedly because the Celtics didn't like what they would have gotten, ending the four-way negotiations.
The Lakers are now back to direct talks with the Timberwolves. Although the 19-year-old Bynum would satisfy one need, the fact that the Lakers have the 19th pick in Thursday's draft isn't high enough for the Timberwolves' tastes.
In another scenario, the Lakers could include center Kwame Brown in the deal and also acquire Troy Hudson or Marko Jaric to address a need for a ballhandling guard while lifting an unfavorable contract off the Timberwolves' books.
Lakers officials declined to comment Monday.
Acquiring Garnett could address the concerns of Kobe Bryant, who demanded to be traded four weeks ago.
Bryant met with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak for about an hour on Friday, a day after Garnett rejected a trade that would have sent him to Boston.
Bryant did not step down from his desire to be traded at that meeting, although Kupchak, Buss and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson met later that day to discuss options based on the assumption they would still have Bryant, The Times has learned.
Garnett, 31, has never formally asked for a trade while signaling his distress in recent years as the Timberwolves fell from top-notch status. The No. 1-seeded team in the Western Conference in 2004, they lost to the Lakers in the conference finals and haven't made the playoffs since then.
