When the ball goes up tonight at KeyArena, Terrell Brandon, Wally Szczerbiak and Rasho Nesterovic will be playing for Minnesota.

They could have been starting for the Sonics if a summertime deal had gone down, the one that would have turned Gary Payton into a Timberwolves point guard and sudden Seattle nemesis.

This is a trade that was talked about but never happened. Both teams are delighted that it didn't.

The Timberwolves arrive with a 10-2 record and lead the Midwest Division. The Sonics are 7-8, but have won three of their past four games as Payton flourishes in his new role as goodwill ambassador.

Payton, 33, is averaging 23.5 points and 9.4 assists, showing a willingness to share his thoughts as well as the ball, helping to groom his younger teammates. He is working within the system, patiently enduring short-term setbacks for the betterment of the team's future.

Given his volatile past, it is a startling development, but one that is showing more signs of being permanent than temporary, as November gives way to December. Skeptics insist the other shoe will drop.

"It's so unfair that so much of the conversation about Gary right now is not about how well he's playing, or how well he's leading, but whether or not there's going to be some kind of eruption," said Sonics majority owner Howard Schultz.