"I think a mistake that CJ made, this summer he fell behind," general manager Kevin O'Connor said Saturday, reiterating comments made recently by Sloan. "If you look at what he did coming into training camp, and through our exhibition season when he had an opportunity to play a lot, I think that affected him. He shot 19 percent from the floor during the exhibition season. I think there was progress (his first two years), and I think it stalled."

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Ex-Jazz guard Kirk Snyder has started 12 of 15 games and averaged 8.7 points in 27 minutes per game since getting traded from Houston to Minnesota last month.

Snyder will be a free agent this offseason, but recently told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that — while he's still getting accustomed to living in Minnesota — he remains open to the notion of returning to the Timberwolves.

"I like it here," said Snyder, one of Utah's first-round picks in 2004. "It's a nice place. I've got to get used to the cold. It's snowing here and there. I'm looking outside and it's like, OK, it's Christmas every day."

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Contributing: Linda Hamilton
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com