Lakers reportedly in talks with Wolves to get Garnett

Lakers center Kwame Brown, owed $9.1 next season in the final year of his contract, also could be involved, as could Minnesota guards Troy Hudson and/or Marko Jaric. Hudson has three years left on his contract and Jaric four.

Kupchak has said the Lakers are looking for a veteran ball-handling guard.

Odom and Brown both underwent surgery last month, but Kupchak believes both will be ready to go when training camp begins in October.

McHale said last week he has always listened to trade proposals involving Garnett, adding: "Nothing has changed. You always listen. You listen, and it doesn't go very far and it hasn't gone very far now."

That was last week. Perhaps that's changed.

Bird said it might be time for Garnett to go.

"Kevin Garnett's been with Minnesota for years," he said. "There comes a time where both parties might want to just separate."

Bird said it would be hard for him to part with Jermaine O'Neal, the Pacers player most often mentioned in trade rumors, but he would do so if it would improve the team.

"He's an awful good player," Bird said, "and anytime you've got a player of his caliber, you've got to be careful. If you do trade him, you have to get something back. It's all speculation. Hopefully we can do something that makes our team better, whether it's Jermaine or whoever, I just hate to give up on a guy with that much talent."

The Lakers and Timberwolves were Western Conference finalists following the 2003-04 season, but neither has been close in the last three years.

The Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to Miami after that season, and after missing the playoffs in 2005, they were eliminated in the first round by Phoenix each of the last two years. The Timberwolves haven't made the playoffs since 2004.

While he's expressed the hope of improving the Lakers, Kupchak knows how difficult making a major trade can be for several reasons.

"I can't say that until a deal is made," he said. "They change on a hairpin."

Bird said several factors make a major trade difficult.

"What's happening in the last few years is a lot of these so-called superstars, highly paid players get these extensions, and once they get their extensions, if they're not going to have a good team, they always want out," he said.

"It's hard to trade a player that makes a third of your cap because other teams can't take on the salaries. But they demand to be traded, and it puts a lot of pressure on the franchise," he said.