"It's time for us to take responsibility now, isn't it?" Taylor said. "This is the group that Kevin [McHale] and Flip [Saunders] and obviously myself -- because I stand behind these guys -- have put together. If it goes good, we'll take the credit. If it goes bad, well, I'll be right there when we take the blame. The question is, how fast can we get going with this young group?"

Through it all, though, there have been four constants: Taylor, McHale, Saunders and Garnett. Those four men came together shortly after Taylor bought the team in March 1995. In May of that year, McHale assumed responsibility for all basketball matters. A month later, he drafted Garnett, gambling and winning big on the first high school player in 20 years to step directly into the NBA. By December 1995, Saunders, the coach in waiting, had replaced Bill Blair on the team's bench, and the foundation was set.

It still is set. Maybe too set. The Wolves open the 2001-02 regular season facing greater expectations than ever, coming off a season that even McHale admitted was "stagnant." In a Twin Cities market that has grown more competitive for fans' enthusiasm and dollars, the Wolves no longer can stir Target Center crowds simply by reaching the playoffs. They know it, too.