In the first of many "Let's Build It" interviews, Wolves owner Glen Taylor sat down with broadcaster Tom Hanneman to speak about the state of the team. Taylor talked about his optimism for the future, his belief that the Wolves remain steadfast on the path towards winning and relays his message to fans frustrated with the last few seasons.

Q: On being happy with the early returns from the Boston trade:
Taylor: Very happy. I just think that we wanted to get lots of potential and we have received that. The person that was the most important in the trade for us was Al Jefferson. He’s the person that we saw that had probably the most potential, that we could build around. And everything that we’ve asked from, that we’ve expected from Al has happened and perhaps even more, a little bit sooner, especially on the offensive end. He has been just dominant in scoring and rebounding. We expected him to do that but not necessarily in the first year.

Q: On Sebastian Telfair’s strong season:
Taylor: For Sebastian, it’s interesting in that sometimes opportunity just comes your way. I think that a new home for Sebastian was good. Unfortunately Randy Foye was injured. That opened up the door for him to show his skills and I think get on the floor and learn the game again with a new coach. He really got pushed. I think all of the fans have seen that his progress has been just brilliant from the beginning where he was struggling a little bit until now. He has confidence. His shooting has improved and he’s doing the things that the coach needs him to do.

Q: On what kind of message he’d deliver to Wolves fans regarding the most pressing concerns of the franchise:
Taylor: Ultimately, our fans want us to win, and win in a sense that we have a chance to get in the playoffs. Once in the playoffs that we have a chance to advance each round. That's a goal that we have set. I'm confident that we will get there. I would guess that our fans are going to be in a hurry to get there. So that means that we have to improve next year. We're in a very difficult conference that has become stronger and stronger. Next year we will be better. Will we improve as fast as our fans want us to? I'm not sure. But I think we'll be on our program saying we have a bunch of young guys ... We always said it would probably take us until the third year. So I think that's the most pressing thing is how much we will improve next year in a very difficult conference. I'm not concerned in the long run because many of the trades that have been done during this year have been done to help franchises immediately, and I think they probably will help them. We're on a different path, us and probably Seattle, Portland in our division are probably going a little bit more for the long run. So there are other teams that we have to gear ourselves against. Those are the teams, I'd say them and New Orleans is a young team, that we have to keep up with those young teams making sure that we're improving as fast as they are.

Q: On if the Wolves might benefit in the long run because a lot of teams have spent a great deal of money in the short term, and those bills will be due in the next couple of years as the Wolves have a plan put together.
Taylor: Let me say that another way: Theses deals do not frighten me or concern me in the long run. I don't think they're going to change our plan. I think these are teams that will go through a scenario a lot like us. You bring in aging players to go for the title. At that particular time you recall that injuries and other things got in our way at the end and that's likely to happen to these teams too and we have to take advantage of that opportunity and pass them up sometime and then have a bright future while they go back to rebuilding.

Q: On if this is a season that Taylor measures progress more in development than wins and losses?
Taylor: Absolutely. Right from the very beginning we told Randy (Wittman) that we weren't going to measure this year's team in terms of wins and losses. What we said to him is, ‘Win as many games as you can, because we want to be competitive, because we want to have that pride that when we go out on the floor we're going to try and win every game that we can.’ But I look at it in two types of development. It's team development, playing together, trying to find the right five starters, but it's more than that. It's perhaps about eight or nine players on the team being able to fill roles, some as starters, some as role players, and play effectively together. Then you look at individuals and you want to see individuals improve. I think that's the easiest to do on this team because we have such a young team. You want players to develop their defensive skills, scoring skills, their passing skills. We're watching all of that. I think in that sense is one of the areas where we feel we've made tremendous progress this year and I think we're going to do the same thing next year. I think you're going to see individuals, especially people like Corey Brewer, who came in as a rookie and then coach just threw him out there whether he was having a good night or bad night. I just see him as a player who's going to have many more good nights and very few bad nights in the coming year.

Q: On if he agrees with people who believe Randy Wittman is the perfect fit as a coach and teacher for this young club:
Taylor: Those are the right words: coach and teacher. That's so important for our team right now. Randy's got to do a lot of things and part of them is kind of patting them on the back at times when things don't go so well. But also when thing go well and they think they've just proven themselves, to tell them, 'No, that was a step forward but we want you to take another step.' He can do that effectively. This has been a unique year in the sense that one added element is I happen to be sitting right next to the coach and the team and I hear more than I have in the past when I sat a little farther away. So I have the chance not only to watch his coaching skills in practice, pregame, after the game, but during the game more on a personal level. I see him do all of those things. I see him encourage the players to play harder - he can be tough on them at certain times. But I also see that - I don't know if it's softness, but telling the, 'Don't worry, you did your best. Don't worry, we'll get them next time.' He encourages then when they're down. He's very good at that. He's the right guy for this team. I would guess that Randy will change as the team matures. He will mature in handling the team. He's a very bright person. He's very knowledgeable. I'm confident that he's the right coach for us.

Q: On if he’s enjoying things this season, with the different mindset with the young group, watching them grow and watching them come together:
Taylor: I would guess if people watching my face are going to say, 'Gosh, Glen is really enjoying the team this year and we're not winning as much.' I am enjoying it. The truth is I enjoy the progress. I enjoy the competitiveness. The last two years were very difficult for me. I had one of the highest-paid teams as far as payroll in the league and yet I didn't think we performed as well as we should. That was difficult to watch and to see that happen. This year, I know that the fellows always work hard, they're together. At the beginning of the year we lost a lot of games and yet there was no negative one player towards another. They were encouraging each other. I enjoy that. I love to see young people grow, both in their individual abilities and as a team. And that's what I see this year and that brings me not only pride, but happiness as being part of this team.

Q: On if it’s a fair assessment for people to focus on Kevin McHale as a target for some mistakes and for lack of success:
Taylor: Kevin and I have talked about it a lot. I think it comes with the job if it's fair or not fair. When I'm the owner and Kevin as the leader of the team in the sense that he puts the team together, he puts then identity on it. So when it goes bad, he's going to get criticized, whether it's fair or not. I understand that. My thoughts are when I look back at when we first started this team and Kevin and I and some others put together a plan and for eight years we went with that plan and we got better and better each year. We got in the playoffs five years. We did everything we said we would and then we had a couple really bad years that did not meet my expectation, nor Kevin's expectations, and we get criticized for that. But when I look at Kevin McHale, I look at all the good things he does and how he was helped young players, how he's willing to do things to help this team and he'll be out on the floor if that's what it takes. I just think he's a very good influence on this team. But on the other hand I would say we've changed some things. We have added staff around Kevin to give him more scouting, more people to help in that area. Probably Kevin didn't ask for it before and maybe that's my fault. I probably should have given him some more help to do that job better. We've been doing that this year. We have a lot more scouting. We're over in Europe more. We're out watching all kinds of college games. That makes Kevin's job easier because he has more information.

Q: On what he’d say to the fans who are discouraged about the lack of success, the non-playoffs years ... Who maybe aren’t optimistic about the future of the Timberwolves:
Taylor: First of all I would just say come to a game and watch the team and make a re-evaluation of our team. I have made lots of investments of time and money into businesses and situations where things have been down. It’s the best time to get involved. It’s the best investment. Especially to fans who are looking at tickets to watch the Timberwolves. There’s not a better time to get good tickets as right now as we build this team. I’ve done that personally with the other sports franchises in town because I’m a fan of all sports. I personally am so involved in the team and so encouraged about where we are going with this team, that maybe I just have to ask the fans to believe in my enthusiasm, my knowledge to make sure that we not only continue to build this team, but we keep our core players together for a long time.

Q: On his belief that reaching the NBA Finals and beyond is within reach and on line with what has been started in Minnesota:
Taylor: Yes, what we’re doing is not unusual in the sense that you try to put as group of young people together. They will grow together individually and as a team and then try to get them to their top skills. That has a lot to do with their age and maturity. For us that’s a few years away because we started out with such a young group of players who are in their early 20s. As players play now a days, they can get into their 30s and still be very good players. So I just think we have a long time opportunity building here and keeping a good team here. I would tell our fans that we are not done. We’ve just started. We put nine young men together with a few seasoned veterans, which we will always have. My guess is that in the coming year, maybe only six or seven of those guys will still be here. We never expected all of them to make it. We will pick out the players that work out the best. I’m confident that we will have good draft choices next year. We will have one near the top of the first round and we should have two near the top of the second round. From that we should get a couple more good young players. I have high expectations of improvement among our returning players. In particular, I’d like to talk a bit about Randy Foye. Randy was going to be key to our team this year leadership as the guard, his shooting ability to complement Jefferson. But he was injured the first half of the year. He’s just coming back. What a difference that would have made if he was here all year. We’ve done many good things this year and overcome a number of injuries. I suppose that’s going to happen every year and that’s why we want to have more than five really good players on the team. I’m confident we’re going to be there next year.

Q: On if fans took the time to come to Target Center and give the Wolves a try, they should stop by and say hi to the owner and realize how much he’s enjoying the growth process:
Taylor: I have lots of feedback from our fans, not only at the game, but as I’m out in the community, people talk to me and quite frankly, I’ve received almost all compliments from people who have come to the games, saying, ‘I like this team better than what we had here the last couple of years. They’re more exciting, enjoyable to watch and I can see the potential of where we’re going with this.’ I like to have feedback. I certainly received a lot of negative feedback in the last couple of years. That doesn't bother me personally. I’m responsible as the owner to put the best product on the floor as I can. But I do appreciate compliments too when we are moving ahead.

Q: On if there was a word to pick right now and the next year, is that word patience?
Taylor: We’re building this together, the team and the fans. We’re in a project, and this is a project of success, and it’s going to take working together. In anything that you build that is going to be good and have a good foundation, it takes patience in building that together. Patience is one of the products needed to find the success we’re looking for. I think the important thing is the enjoyment of watching a team build and grow. And I hope to keep these personalities around here for a long time. I think it’s one of the really nice things that we did with KG. We had this young man come out of high school and kept him here for 12 years. We built fan loyalty around that. We know have some individuals who are just in the early years of their careers and I think that the same thing will happen with these individuals.