GM Jim Stack just chatted about the trade and here are a couple pertinent things:

As it appears, it’s basically a low-risk swap of expiring contracts that gives the Wolves a backup point guard for next season at “a very low salary number,” whether the Wolves decide to keep him to backup Telfair or Foye or use him as a palatable piece in a summertime trade.

Shelden Williams looks like a rent-a-player for two months at that power forward/center spot now that Big Al is out, unless he shows something he hasn’t in stops at Atlanta and Sacramento.

McCants became a permanent fixture on the bench and Rodney Carney emerged right at the turn of the new year. Funny, that also coincidenced with Rashad traveling on a day off and before a noon practice the next day to Vegas for a New Year’s Eve party with then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.

I asked Stack if it was just a coincidence, if that trip was an issue with the team. After a pause, he said, “I think all those things play into where a guy is in his career. It wasn’t a be-all, end-all situation. We wish Rashad nothing but the best. He’s a Sacramento King now. It’s a good opportunity for him to show what he can do.”

The Kirk Hinrich thing, of course, never came to be. Stack gave the impression that the Wolves looked hard to turn some of what they’ve already acquired — cap room, those additional first-round picks — into real, breathing assets (Hinrich or others) but nothing was finalized.

“I had conversations with every single team in the league,” Stack said. “We looked at stuff, combinations. We want to maintain flexibility, but you also want to turn it into players who can play for your team. Some guys we looked at really hard. This is what we ended up doing at least for right now. Flexibility is important. It gives you options. At a a certain point in time, you have to pick an option that addresses your needs.”

Don’t expect either new Timberwolf to be in uniform for tomorrow night’s game against Indiana at Target Center. Not by the time Brown and Williams fly out of Sacramento Friday morning, lose two hours in transit, land and get a mandatory physical exam while McCants and Booth are doing the same thing in California.

Also today, a team doctor gave veteran Kevin Ollie clearance to resume practicing with the team starting tomorrow. Ollie hasn’t played since sufferering a dislocated/fractured elbow on Jan. 3 at Chicago. Kevin McHale said the other day he expects it’ll take Ollie a week to 10 days to get into game shape, but Ollie said he “sure hopes” it doesn’t take that long.

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