It was not his first choice, but right now it looks like the right one.

Rick Rickert will get a chance to play basketball, a lot. He'll face stiff competition every night. He will get a chance to learn, grow stronger, get ready for an anticipated entry into the NBA a year from now.

And here's a bonus: He'll get to see another part of the world.

"I'm excited, I really am," Rickert said Wednesday. "This should be a great experience."

Rickert, the Duluth native taken in the second round of the NBA draft by the Timberwolves this summer, has decided that a trip to Europe could be just the ticket.

"There are a lot of plusses," said the 6-11 forward, who left the University of Minnesota after his sophomore season. "I'll have an opportunity to get a lot of playing time, right away. I will have time to get bigger and stronger."

And so he will leave for Europe, and fairly soon. Rickert said he will rely on his agent, Bill Duffy, to find the right team to play for.

"We'll pick a team sometime in the next three weeks," Rickert said.

The first things you look for, given the whirlwind off-season the Timberwolves have had, are the reunions.

For example: In the Wolves 2003-2004 schedule, which was officially released Tuesday, the Wolves will open the season Oct. 29 at home against Milwaukee. That will enable Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson to open the season against their former team.

Michael Olowokandi, the Wolves' new center will face his old squad, the L.A. Clippers, at Target Center Nov. 22. Latrell Sprewell? The New York Knicks come to Minnesota Nov. 26.

In their 15th season, the Timberwolves will play 20 games on the weekend, including seven home games on Sunday afternoon. They will appear on national television 17 times: ABC will carry a game with Houston Jan. 17; the Wolves will appear on ESPN /ESPN2 10 times, on TNT five times and on TSN once.

"I like our schedule," said Chris Wright, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Wolves. "It's a really, really balanced schedule."

Coming this fall to a basketball arena near you: Mad Dog and the Mayor.

Continuing their blistering offseason pace, the Timberwolves added two role players to their roster Monday. The first is Mark Madsen, a 6-9, 245-pound power forward nicknamed "Mad Dog" for the intensity he brings to the court. The other is Fred Hoiberg, a 6-5 shooting guard who was so popular at Iowa State it was said he could run for mayor.

The two signings -- Madsen for two years, Hoiberg for one -- continue the restructuring of the Wolves roster, one that will bear slight resemblance to last season's. It is possible that when the Wolves go to camp they'll have only three players -- Kevin Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak and Troy Hudson -- from last season.

The Wolves have traded for Sam Cassell, Ervin Johnson and, most recently, Latrell Sprewell. They have signed center Michael Olowakandi.

Monday's signings added grit and intangibles to that new collection of stars, especially in the case of Madsen.

He was a role player for the Lakers on two NBA title teams and established a reputation as a player willing to do a lot of the little things that don't appear in a boxscore.

"He has character and he has toughness," said Kevin McHale, Wolves vice president of basketball operations. In Madsen, McHale has added another player willing to take issue with anyone attempting to drive down the lane. "He'll put a body on you, be aggressive. He's a big, strong guy, which is something we wanted and needed."

Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Kevin McHale today announced the team has agreed to terms with free agent Mark Madsen. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Madsen, a 6-9, 245-pound forward from Stanford University, averaged 3.2 points (.423 FG%), 2.9 rebounds and 14.5 minutes per game in 54 contests (started 22) for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002-03. Madsen posted three games with 10-plus points and 12 contests in which he recorded five or more rebounds. Madsen tallied a season-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting at Milwaukee on March 15 and scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 13 minutes at Memphis on April 4. Additionally, he blocked a career-high four shots and registered nine points versus Houston on Feb. 18.

"Mark improves our interior presence, as he is a physical, hard-nosed basketball player," said McHale. "He can play power forward and some center and is going to improve us every day in practice and give us a physical presence in games."

Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Kevin McHale today announced the team has agreed to terms with free agent Fred Hoiberg. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Hoiberg, a 6-5, 210-pound guard from Iowa State University, averaged 2.3 points (.389 FG%, .820 FT%), 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 12.4 minutes per game in 63 contests for the Chicago Bulls in 2002-03. The eight-year NBA veteran missed 14 games due to illness or injury. Hoiberg tallied a season-high 11 points versus Orlando on March 3 and posted seven points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes at Washington on March 3. Additionally, he registered five-plus rebounds on 11 occasions.

"We felt that we needed another veteran player who will be able to hit some shots, and Fred fits the bill," said McHale. "He will be able to help us both in practice and in games."

Confused by the Kobe Bryant case? You've come to the right place, because I know it all. Every bit of it, inside and out.

There is simply no question about this case that I cannot definitively answer, no nuance that has escaped me. I have watched hours and hours of the coverage, from all the experts, and this is what I have learned:

Kobe is the perfect gentleman who couldn't possibly do something like this to a woman. Kobe, one of the more private players in a public world, might have a dark side he has let few people see.

The alleged victim is happy, innocent and well-adjusted. The alleged victim is depressed, calculating and tormented.

Friends of the alleged victim insist she is not capable of making up such a serious charge. Acquaintances of the alleged victim say she was at a party bragging about her evening with Bryant.

Kobe runs the risk of losing a bunch of his endorsements. Kobe's street credibility -- the kids call it "street cred" -- will be enhanced now that he has his own police mug shot to rival Allen Iverson's.

The alleged victim suffered injuries to a private part of her body, proof of Bryant's guilt. Kobe might be a large man who was having consensual sex with a small woman. He might be an average-sized man having consensual rough sex with an average-sized woman. (Good luck to parents who might have to explain all this to inquisitive 8-year-old Kobe fans during the trial.)

The alleged victim has no injuries; her feelings were hurt when Kobe, who suddenly remembered he was having knee surgery in the morning, threw her out of the hotel room after consensual sex.

Kobe will be acquitted because he is a celebrity. Kobe will be convicted because he is a celebrity.

When Billy King, the 76ers' president and general manager, flew to Boston for the Reebok Pro Summer League two weeks ago, he had more on his mind than evaluating young players.

Finally out from under the imposing shadow of Larry Brown, King was thinking trade from the moment he set foot in the gym at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

And 10 days later, late Wednesday night, he turned that thought - and hard work - into results.

Thanks to inside knowledge of what his fellow general managers wanted and his ability to organize complex negotiations, King engineered a four-team deal that involved the Sixers, the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Sixers got forward Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson and a 2006 second-round pick from the Hawks, plus center Marc Jackson from the Timberwolves.

King sent forward Keith Van Horn to the Knicks and a future No. 1 pick, plus forward Randy Holcomb and cash, to the Hawks.

The Timberwolves got the shooting guard they were looking for in the Knicks' Latrell Sprewell, and the Hawks received salary-cap relief by taking on the contract of Terrell Brandon, the Minnesota point guard who had not played in nearly two years and is expected to retire without playing again.

Everybody, it seemed, got what they wanted. Thanks to King.

The Hawks weren't the only team that wanted Terrell Brandon's contract. It really was a "hot commodity," as Hawks director of basketball operations and interim general manager Billy Knight said. They were just the only team that had what it took --- namely 20-point scorer Glenn Robinson --- to get a deal done.

Indiana, Portland and Miami all were seeking the cap relief Brandon's $11.1 million contract would provide. The Pacers were one of two teams --- Portland was the other --- that reportedly held up the blockbuster, four-team trade Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to get it. The plan was to use the available cap space and re-sign center Brad Miller. And, according to the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis, they reportedly had talks about a deal with Minnesota, but they were unwilling to trade Al Harrington or Ron Artest.

That left Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale to find another taker. The Wolves did not want Robinson, but when 76ers president Billy King said he did, that meant the New York Knicks could get their wish --- Keith Van Horn --- and the Wolves could get desired swingman Latrell Sprewell.

After Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh lost out to his protege Knight, who was vice president of basketball operations in Indiana three years ago, he settled on a three-team trade that landed Scot Pollard and sent Miller to Sacramento.

"Everyone looks at it and says it's such an ideal situation and such a good deal," Knight said after he moved the Hawks out of luxury-tax territory and about $2.42 million under the salary cap. "But it's a sad situation for Terrell. The greater preponderance of players would rather be playing than not playing. As an athlete, I have empathy for him. It's a difficult situation."

Brandon missed all of last season and likely will retire soon. Since he hasn't played since February 2002, his salary will be off the cap next February. This recently happened with the New York Knicks, who didn't have to pay a tax on Luc Longley's $6.9 million this season because he suffered a career-ending injury in 2001.

Kevin McHale hasn't been fishing yet, not once.

Golf? His short game is a mess, though he has tried to hit a few at a range on the way home from work a few times.

"My handicap is beyond bad," he reported.

Here it is, the end of July and all McHale has done is a revamping of his team's roster.

McHale, the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Timberwolves, had a few moments to talk late this week. There was still work to do -- deals that would fill out the bottom end of the roster -- but the big moves were done. They came, fast and furious, starting with a trade for Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson the day after the draft. Free agent center Michael Olowokandi was signed on July 16, in the wake of Rasho Nesterovic's departure.

Last week the Wolves held down one corner in a four-team trade that sent Terrell Brandon's contract to Atlanta and shipped Marc Jackson to Philadelphia and brought swingman Latrell Sprewell to the Wolves.

It has given the Wolves a blend of experience and athletic ability that, on paper, could be the best in team history. All in the space of one month.