When the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Tuesday that they were firing coach Dwane Casey midway through his second season, they all but guaranteed another frustrating campaign for hoops fans in the Twin Cities. The Timeberwolves have made it past the second round of the playoffs only once, in 2004, but after last season’s 33–49 debacle, they were on pace for an eight- or nine-game improvement.

That’s not the sort of thing that usually gets a coach his walking papers.

In announcing the dismissal and the promotion of assistant coach Randy Wittman to the head job, the team president, Kevin McHale, said he felt the team’s talent level was consistent with the 2004 squad, which won 58 games.

Had McHale’s comment come from any other general manager, it would have sparked derisive guffaws and scorn, but from the Hall of Famer, it’s business as usual. McHale’s litany of errors during his 11-year tenure in Minnesota dwarfs the collective incompetence of Isiah Thomas and Scott Layden.

I’ve harped on point in the past, but for those just tuning in, here are a few lowlights: McHale gave Michael Olowokandi a big contract absent any evidence he could play. He’s given Troy Hudson, Mark Madsen, and Wally Szczerbiak substantial contracts. He passed on drafting Josh Howard, an ACC player of the year, in favor of Ndudi Ebi, who is already out of the league. He also passed on drafting Andrei Kirilenko, instead recruiting William Avery, who played just 142 games in a career that ended five years ago. Moreover, McHale made an illegal deal with journeyman forward Joe Smith that resulted in the Timberwolves’ loss of four first-round picks. As if to prove that he’s still on a roll, McHale is rumored to be offering a long-term deal to Wittman, who has a career winning percentage of .378, and probably wouldn’t be hotly pursued by other teams if he was suddenly made available.

The one move that McHale can be proud of was gambling on lanky, straight-out-of-high school forward Kevin Garnett in 1995. Garnett has rewarded the Timberwolves faithful with a Hall of Fame-caliber career. And even as the franchise has taken on water and begun to sink in recent years, he’s reaffirmed his desire to stay in Minnesota rather than demand a trade to a franchise that knows which way is up.

So if Garnett would like to stay in Minnesota, I have a modest suggestion for him that would cheer fans throughout the northern Midwest: Buy the franchise. Since Garnett arrived in the NBA at a young age, he has been richly rewarded and, according to the salary figures at basketball-reference.com, he’s made $156 million playing pro hoops. He’s earned several million more through endorsement deals (remember the Nike fun police campaign?). The Wolves are a small-market team, so their valuation is only about $303 million. With Garnett’s wealth, which will grow by $50 million during the run of his current contract, he should be able to secure financing for the controlling stake in an offer of between $350 and $375 million to owner Glen Taylor.

What I’m envisioning is Garnett at the helm of a Minnesota sports consortium that could include other Gopher state sports legends like Dave Winfield (a hoops star at the University of Minnesota before his baseball career), former NFL great Chris Carter, and perhaps Twins World Series-era star Kent Hrbek. The idea is that the popularity of these figures would help build public support for the move. Garnett has been increasingly critical of McHale, and this is one way to kick him to the curb and stay in Minnesota.

Despite a track record that suggests that McHale doesn’t know the difference between a basketball player and a beauty queen, Taylor has kept him in his position. A sale of the club would change things — and fast.

The move would parallel the fantasy of all of those who like their jobs but dislike their bosses. And it would prevent Garnett from becoming the tallest martyr in the sports world.

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Tuesday night’s Nuggets-Sonics game offered an excellent view of the Carmelo Anthony-Allen Iverson blend on offense. The game was Denver’s fourth in five days, so fatigue would be an issue and improvisation would probably be at a minimum. In addition, the game was on the road and Ray Allen was nailing shots from Vancouver en route to 44 points. The Nuggets trailed in the fourth quarter before rallying to a 117–112 win. The superstar duo worked well together, each getting about the number of touches commensurate with his seasonal averages. Iverson took 19 shots and assisted on 10 baskets; Anthony took 26 shots and 12 free throws, and led the team with 34 points.

The real key is that their teammates, most notably guard Steve Blake, forward Reggie Evans, and pivotmen Marcus Camby and Nene Hilario were adept at moving without the ball to create passing lanes when the Sonic double teams arrived. Blake hit two three-pointers to spark the late Nugget surge, and both came on passes — one from each star — out of double teams. The key to the success of the Nuggets’ new lineup won’t be Anthony and Iverson, but rather how well their teammates produce in an offense where their touches are going to be few and far between. The early returns are favorable.

mjohnson@nysun.com