In 1999, after 6 consecutive losing seasons marked by feeble attempts at contention using over-the-hill veterans like Roberto Kelly, Dave Hollins, Terry Steinbach, Bob Tewksbury, Mike Morgan and Otis Nixon, the Twins finally went with an all-out youth movement.

Although the team finished 63-97 in ‘99, that season marked the arrival of Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, Cristan Guzman, Doug Mientkiewicz, Joe Mays and Eric Milton – players who would become the nucleus of their division championship teams from 2002-2004.

A decade later, the Timberwolves are in the same situation. After winning the Midwest Division Championship and advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2004, the Wolves made a series of ill-conceived moves to bring in overpaid veterans under the illusion they could somehow qualify for the playoffs in a loaded conference. The list of forgettable names includes Ricky Davis, Marko Jaric, Marcus Banks, Mike James, Mark Blount (who’s back for now) and Antoine Walker.

With you-know-who (finally) gone and Rick Kahn and Kurt Rambis running the show, this franchise looks headed in the right direction. Even without their top pick, Rick Rubio, on the continent the Wolves have one to the league’s most exciting and potentially charismatic rookies in Johnny Flynn. The 6-0 point guard scored 18 points in his NBA debut.

Other building blocks include a (hopefully) healthy Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, rookie sharpshooter Wayne Ellington, slashing scorer Ramon Sessions and the versatile Corey Brewer, who like Jefferson is working himself into game shape after tearing an ACL last season.

In a flury of offseason trades Kahn also acquired a few intriguing players in 7-footers Ryan Hollins and Oleksiy Pecherov, and Australian beast Nathan Jawai. Time will tell if any of those guys can play, but if one or two pan out, the Wolves should have solid front court rotation.

When veteran Damien Wilkin’s buzzer beater fell in on Wednesday night, it capped the most memorable Wolves win in years and provided fans a glimmer of hope. While it’s completely unrealistic to expect the team to make a playoff run in the 2009-10 season, this year could prove to be the start of something big.