Rarely do high school players come into the NBA with as many expectations as did Sebastian Telfair.  Prior to setting foot on an NBA floor, he had a lucrative shoe contract with adidas, he had ESPN camera crews following him around for a documentary, and USA Today columnist Ian Thomsen was documenting his every move for a book he was writing about his journey.

Despite being drafted 13th by the Portland Trailblazers in 2004, Telfair was never able to establish himself as an elite point guard, and they traded him to the Boston Celtics prior to the 2006 NBA draft.  Telfair was asked to share point guard duties with Rajon Rondo, but when Rondo showed more potential, Telfair was expendable once again.  The Celtics traded Telfair along with Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and two future first round draft picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett right before the 2007 NBA Draft

In the 2007-2008 season, Telfair averaged nine points and a career high six assists while starting 51 games. Telfair lost his starting spot at the start of this current season, however he has started the last 19 games of the season, and averaging 10 points and six assists during that span.

As Telfair walked from his pre-game shootaround, back to the locker room, I was able to talk to Telfair about Bill Russell, what he did during the All-Star break, and what can be expected from the Timberwolves now that Al Jefferson is out for the season.

Rashad Mobley: I don’t know if you saw this weekend when the NBA Finals MVP award was given to Bill Russell or not, but what do you think of when you hear the that name, Bill Russell?
Sebastian Telfair: Championships!  That’s the first thing you think about.  You also think about the Boston Celtics and the tradition that he and Red Auerbach made their during their careers.

RM: Do you feel any presure now that Al[Jefferson] went down to step up, or has Coach [McHale] asked everyone to step up their offense?  Or maybe has he told you all to continue to play within the flow of the offense?
ST: I think the competitiveness in all of us definitely..we all decided individually that we have to step up and give more to this team.  Al brought so much to the team, but as a team we all gotta step up and play together and a little better.

RM: Did you go out to Phoenix for the All-Star game?
ST: No, I was going to go out if Al made it or our rookie made the rookie game, but unfortunately, those things didn’t happen.  So I just stayed home with my family.

RM: I was going to ask, what do players who don’t make it, or choose not to go, do?
ST: Uh, get some rest, rest your body, go home to our families.  You know a lot of us don’t get an opportunity to see our families that much, so during that weekend, we definitely go see our youngers brothers, sisters, mamas and dads

RM: What kind of goals do you set now?  The Wizards coach [Ed Tapscott] was saying tht he wanted his team to play .500 ball the rest of the season, given their current record.  What kind of goals did Coach McHale set for you all?
ST: Absolutely, that’s for us also.  I think that’s where we were headed..we were playing better before Big Al got injured.  We was preparing for next season, you know?  And without Big Al, we have to continue to do the same thing, continue to learn how to win games so next season we can be in the playoff race because we’re not far off.

RM: Thank you sir, good luck tonight.
ST: Alright man, thank you.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media