The 1997–98 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 9th season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Timberwolves acquired Stanley Roberts from the Los Angeles Clippers, and later on signed free agent Tom Hammonds in November. In October, All-Star forward Kevin Garnett signed a six-year contract extension with the Timberwolves, which was worth more than $121 million. After a 4–1 start to the season, the team played around .500 before posting a seven-game winning streak in January. However, they would lose Tom Gugliotta for the remainder of the season to an ankle injury after 41 games. Chris Carr, who became the team's starting shooting guard this season, also went down with an ankle injury, only playing 51 games. At midseason, the team traded long-time guard Doug West