As far as Minnesota Timberwolves basketball boss Kevin McHale is concerned, any trade talk involving Kevin Garnett so far has been just that - talk.

"Who knows what’s going to happen?" McHale said yesterday after the Wolves worked out college stars Jeff Green and Al Horford in preparation for next week’s draft. "But we’re not out there actively shopping Kevin Garnett around the NBA. I can tell you that much."

McHale was pressed on the topic a day after Danny Ainge told The Boston Herald that he has talked to McHale about Garnett.

But McHale dismissed that news as the typical chatter that happens between team executives in the days leading up to the NBA draft.

"At this time of year, all the teams are talking to each other," McHale said. "Everybody phones each other saying, ‘Hey what are you looking at? What are you doing?’

"We talk about a lot of different stuff, and, unfortunately, some of that stuff seems to creep out or get speculated or, the best thing I like, things you haven’t even discussed are out there."

Garnett can opt out of his contract after next season, meaning the Timberwolves run the risk of losing him without compensation if they don’t trade him before then and he tires of not playing on a competitive team.

That has ramped up speculation that he could be on the move, and the possible destinations - many of them completely baseless and unsourced - are popping up all over the place as they always do this time of year.

One thing that appears to be different this off-season is McHale’s acknowledgment of conversations involving his star player. Where in the past, he has completely dismissed questions of Garnett’s availability - including after last season when he said emphatically, "We’re not going to trade Kevin Garnett" - McHale is now qualifying those remarks.

But he said Friday that he has always listened to proposals from other teams.

"What, do you think I hung up on them when they called?" McHale quipped in his typical tone. "Nothing has changed. You always listen. You listen, and it doesn’t go very far, and it hasn’t gone very far now."

● PLEA AGREEMENT: Stephen Jackson pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club last fall and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.

Misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct were dismissed as part of the agreement with prosecutors, and a judge added a year of probation to Jackson’s sentence.

Jackson, whom the Indiana Pacers traded to the Golden State Warriors in January, said after the brief court appearance that he would have done the community service anyway.

● A SHOE-IN: The Portland Trail Blazers introduced former Nike executive Larry Miller as their team president.

Miller spent the last 10 years at Nike, most recently as vice president and general manager for basketball.

Portland finished 32-50 last season, 11 more wins than in the previous season. The Trail Blazers have the first pick in the June 28 draft, when Greg Oden or Kevin Durant is expected to be the top pick.

● FEMALE PRESIDENT LEAVING WIZARDS: Susan O’Malley, the first and only female president of an NBA franchise, is leaving the Washington Wizards.

O’Malley became president of the Wizards in 1991 and quickly earned a league-wide reputation for a marketing savvy that helped draw new fans to a team that had been struggling at the gate. She also oversaw the business operations of the NHL’s Washington Capitals from 1995-99.

O’Malley’s contract expires June 30, but she said she will remain an adviser with the team through the 10th anniversary celebration of the Verizon Center in December.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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