to be the biggest star on a team and subsequently forced an in-season trade by refusing a contract extension. In the three-team mid-season deal that sent Marbury to the New Jersey Nets, the Wolves got Terrell Brandon in return and a first-round draft pick in the 1999 draft (which turned out to be the sixth pick). The Wolves made the playoffs for the third straight season by finishing in fourth place with a 25–25 record. In the playoffs, the Timberwolves were beaten by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in four games. In 1999, the Timberwolves drafted Wally Szczerbiak with the sixth pick in the draft. He had a solid season, finishing third on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game. Led by Kevin Garnett, who averaged 22.9 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game, the Timberwolves had their first 50-win season and finished in 3rd place with a record of 50–32. However, in the playoffs the Wolves again fell in the first round, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in four games. The Wolves opened the 1999–2000 regular season with two home games against the Sacramento Kings at the Tokyo Dome on November 6 and 7. In the summer of 2000, guard Malik Sealy was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Sealy's number has since been retired: the number 2 jersey memorialized with Sealy's name on a banner hanging from the rafters of Target Center. It remains the only number retired by the team. Also in that season, a free agent deal signed by Joe Smith was voided by the NBA, who ruled that the Timberwolves violated proper procedure in signing the contract. The league stripped the Timberwolves of five draft picks (first round 2001–05), but it was eventually reduced to three first-round picks (2001, 2002, and 2004). The league also fined the Timberwolves $3.5 million and suspended general manager Kevin McHale for one year. Smith eventually signed with the Detroit Pistons before re-signing with the Timberwolves in 2001. Despite those setbacks, the Timberwolves made the playoffs for the fifth straight season with a 47–35 record. In the playoffs, the Timberwolves were eliminated in the first round again by the San Antonio Spurs in four games in the spring of 2001. A number of newcomers arrived prior to the start of the next season, including Gary Trent, Loren Woods and Maurice Evans and