Henderson plays for Timberwolves — briefly

A cruel joke?

Maybe Larry Brown hates Duke guys after all.

The Charlotte Bobcats decided not to participate in any summer league activities this year. But they wanted Gerald Henderson, their first-round draft pick, to get some NBA seasoning before training camp.

So Brown called David Kahn, the Timberwolves president of basketball operations, and asked if the Wolves would let Henderson play for them in Las Vegas.

Kahn said, “Sure,” and Henderson was on the floor with Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington (more on that in a moment) and the rest of the Wolves against Houston.

Henderson might want to ask for his release after he played 18 minutes and failed to score in Minnesota’s 79-65 loss to the Rockets. He didn’t necessarily look lost out there, not any more than anyone else, but he sure didn’t seem very comfortable.

As for Ellington, the former North Carolina Tar Heel found himself with a Dookie for a teammate. How weird was that?

“We were teammates in high school so it was cool to be on the same team again,” Ellington said. “I wasn’t expecting it but it’s a nice surprise.”

Next year, maybe the Bobcats shouldn’t be so cheap and field their own summer league team. I’m sure they can get a good hotel rate at Terrible’s or the South Point.

The Big Guy cometh

All eyes are going to be focused on 7-foot-3-inch Hasheem Thabeet as the Memphis Grizzlies rookie center makes his debut at 5 p.m. against Oklahoma City in game three.

As a bonus, fans will get to see Greg Stiemsma, the 6-11 center from Wisconsin who is also on the Griz’s summer league roster.

Love those (Brooklyn) Dodgers

Kevin Love may have had a Spike Lee moment as he was sporting a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey while sitting on the T-Wolves bench today.

“Gotta support my team,” said Love, who was joined by Rafer Alston, who actually is from New York (Queens, to be precise) and Ryan Gomes on the bench.

Love will be back in town July 21 for the USA Basketball minicamp.