If Karl Malone hadn't spent his entire Hall of Fame-worthy career with the Utah Jazz, he would have been a natural for the Timberwolves.

Given his love of the outdoors, flannel shirts, ball caps and open roads, the Jazz's chiseled, no-nonsense power forward might have fit comfortably into the Minnesota lifestyle.

Of course, the Wolves weren't even a glimmer in Marv Wolfenson's and Harvey Ratner's eyes when Malone was drafted No. 13 in 1985 -- after Benoit Benjamin, Jon Koncak, Ed Pinckney and Kenny Green, among others -- out of Louisiana Tech. Now, almost 18 years later, the native of Summerfield, La., has scored more points in the NBA than any player except Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Malone has won two Most Valuable Player awards, has been an All-Star 14 times, helped the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 and, six years ago, was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.