The Timberwolves are being cool. The Celtics are playing in Minnesota Friday night, but Kevin Garnett is almost definitely still out injured and not able to play. So the Wolves, just for the heck of it, are hooking attending fans up with a free ticket for a future game. Here’s the press release:

In response to the likelihood of former Timberwolves player Kevin Garnett not being able to participate in tomorrow night’s game between Minnesota and Boston, the Timberwolves announced today that all fans in attendance will receive a voucher redeemable for one ticket to an upcoming Wolves game. The gesture is in recognition of the special circumstance of Garnett’s return to Minnesota, the fan sentiment surrounding this game and also serves as a thank you to loyal Wolves fans in attendance.

“While injuries are a part of the game and there is never a guarantee that any player will be in uniform, we recognize that this is a very special circumstance and share our fans’ disappointment at the prospect of Kevin not being able to participate,” Timberwolves President Chris Wright said. “Just as we know our fans are eager to thank Kevin for his immense contributions to this team and this community, we want to thank the fans for their continued loyalty to our franchise.”

Ticket vouchers will be distributed to all fans as they enter Target Center for tomorrow’s game. The vouchers are redeemable for one ticket to one of the following Wolves home games: Sunday, Feb. 10 vs. Toronto, Tuesday, Feb. 19 vs. Philadelphia, or Tuesday, Feb. 26 vs. Utah.

The Chicago Bulls announced today that they have waived forward Viktor Khryapa and came to a settlement on the remaining portion of his contract, should he clear waivers.

In his one-plus seasons with Chicago, Khryapa appeared in 42 games and averaged 2.5 ppg and 1.8 rpg in 5.6 mpg.

The Bulls roster now stands at 14.

Team Detroit will defend its Haier Shooting Stars title against Team Chicago, Team Phoenix and Team San Antonio in this year’s competition, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena.

The Detroit team, which captured the title last year in Las Vegas with a time of 50.5 seconds, consists of All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer. Cash and Laimbeer were key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.

Team Chicago, last year’s runner-up, is comprised of Bulls guard and Slidell, La. native Chris Duhon, two-time WNBA All-Star and Sky forward Candice Dupree and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong. Representing Phoenix, the 2005 winner, are All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, two-time WNBA All-Star and 2007 WNBA Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Suns great Eddie Johnson. Team San Antonio, which dominated the competition in the 2006 Shooting Stars challenge with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds, consists of 10-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, four-time WNBA All-Star and Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and David Robinson, a two-time NBA champion and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Team Los Angeles won the inaugural competition in 2004.
The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.

Rockets guard Steve Francis will undergo season-ending surgery in order to repair a torn quadriceps tendon in his right knee.  Francis has been sidelined with the injury since 12/19/07.  The surgery will be performed during the week of 2/25 by Dr. Walter Lowe.

After battling through increasing knee discomfort in mid-December, Francis immediately began a rehabilitation program focused on reducing the pain in the joint.  An MRI performed on 1/3/08 at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center revealed additional damage.  The decision to proceed with a surgical repair of the tendon was reached after consulting with a variety of medical specialists that include: Rockets Team Physician Tom Clanton, Dr. Richard Steadman and Dr. Ben Shaffer.