When Tom Hammonds puts his foot to the floor now, the jolt that rushes through his body is exhilaration laced with adrenaline, not the shooting pain of chronic arthritis.

Hammonds' ankles feel fine now, freed from pounding the courts of the NBA. The pain that limited him to seven appearances and 30 minutes last season forced him to withdraw from the Timberwolves' training camp this fall before it ever opened.

A buyout of Hammonds' $1.8 million salary for 2001-02 should be completed this week, he said, with both sides already agreeing on a slightly reduced amount.