SAN ANTONIO - The Timberwolves sent away never-used backup point guard Jason Hart to Phoenix on Tuesday in yet another deal all about acquiring an "asset."
In this case, it was a 2010 second-round pick obtained along with unproven forward Alando Tucker and cash to pay for Tucker's salary the rest of this season.
"When you have an opportunity to acquire a pick basically for free, it's hard not to do," Wolves basketball boss David Kahn said before Tuesday's game against the Spurs.
The Wolves discussed a deal with New Orleans that would have brought veteran guard Devin Brown and had trade talks with other teams about an aging, journeyman reserve who had played five minutes this season.
Hart was sought by teams seeking to reduce their NBA salary-cap luxury tax obligation because of his nonguaranteed contract. The Suns immediately waived Hart after dealing Tucker's guaranteed $1 million contract.
"As I said to Jason, he was one of the most popular players in the league the last several days," Kahn said as the NBA deadline for all contracts to become guaranteed approaches in early January. "We received only calls about Jason on our team."
Analyzing AlandoIn return for Hart, the Wolves receive Tucker, an undersized third-year small forward out of Wisconsin who was the 2007 Big Ten Player of the Year but never could find playing time with the Suns. He doesn't know the triangle offense his new teammates have spent the past three months learning and he will be searching for minutes at positions already occupied by Corey Brewer, Ryan Gomes, Damien Wilkins, Wayne Ellington and Sasha Pavlovic.
"He was a high draft pick, but nobody really knows if he can play at this level," Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said of the 29th player taken in the 2007 draft. "We'll have to see how he assimilates in practice. That [shooting guard/small forward] position is fairly full. He'll have to earn time. We'll see what we've got."
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