"Times are changing at Target Center.

New Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, for example, vows he will choose lineups and playing time predicated solely upon winning games rather than in the name of developing the team's young, unformed talent.

That's why he is eager for veteran center Brad Miller to return sometime in January from summertime knee surgery.

"I know for a fact if he's healthy and he can play, he can really help us," Adelman said.

But Adelman also considers relying on a 35-year-old center who had knee surgery twice in the past two summers an investment in the future."