When Al Jefferson felt his knee pop, the Minnesota Timberwolves were hoping that the result wouldn’t be a torn ACL. Their worst fears became reality when an MRI confirmed that Jefferson tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

This is a gigantic blow for the T’Wolves, who have actually been one of the best teams in the NBA in 2009. With Jefferson become a superstar down low and Randy Foye becoming a legitimate threat on the perimeter, the feature looked bright in Minnesota for the first time in a long while. Now, all that progress has been halted.

For fantasy basketball owners, losing Jefferson is a huge blow. His consistent effort was extremely valuable. In dynasty leagues, this serious injury hurts Jefferson’s stock as it isn’t guaranteed that he’ll fully recover.

As for players who will likely have to step up in Jefferson’s absence, look at Kevin Love, Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith, when he returns from injury.

Al Jefferson of the Minnesota Timberwolves had to leave the game against the New Orleans Hornets prematurely due to a knee injury. While Jefferson hasn’t gotten an x-ray or an MRI yet, the immediate reaction didn’t look good.

After the game, Jefferson said he felt a pop in his knee. If he has any type of serious injury, you can expect the T’Wolves to shut him down for the rest of the season, especially considering Jefferson is their franchise player.

If Jefferson is forced to miss time, the player who could benefit the most is Kevin Love. The rookie out of UCLA who started the season off slowly has played much better as of late. In January, Love averaged 12.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. In February, his numbers are even better. With Jefferson out, Love would have to play more minutes and get more touches.

Ryan Gomes should also see an increase of minutes at the power forward position if Jefferson is to miss action. Scorers such as Randy Foye, Rashad McCants and Mike Miller will also be seeing more touches. Craig Smith is out for another two weeks but he’ll see more minutes as well.

Hopefully, for Minnesota’s sake and the sake of fantasy basketball players around the world, Jefferson will be okay and won’t miss significant time.

David Lee, New York Knicks
A lot of speculation points to David Lee being worth less in fantasy basketball with Mike D’Antoni named head coach. However, with the faster tempo Lee’s stats should rise naturally and he should be able to hoard a lot of rebounds — especially offensive rebounds.

Nene, Denver Nuggets
With Marcus Camby traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the starting job in Denver falls to Nene. Although he’s been more promise than production in his career, he has the ability to be a player who averages close to a double-double with a healthy amount of blocks.

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
If Love is given center eligibility in your fantasy basketball league, consider him a possible sleeper for the 2008 season. At UCLA, Love had a very varied game and could be helpful across the board. He should get time next to Al Jefferson in Minnesota.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
In his rookie season, Joakim Noah wasn’t too impressive. That said, he had spurts of good performance and should get a chance to win a full-time starting gig. If he does, look for him to put up solid numbers in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.

With the news that Dennis Rodman was arrested once again, now is as good a time as any to look at who the best rebounders were in the 2007-08 season. While none of them rebounded at a Dennis Rodman rate, they weren’t shabby in their own right.

1. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
With an average of 14.2 rebounds per game, Dwight Howard was far and away the best rebounder in the NBA. At 22, Howard’s rebounding numbers should continue to rise over the next few years.

2. Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Not only does Marcus Camby block shots, he’s an elite rebounder. He averaged 13.1 rebounds per game and consistently rebounded all season. Camby also stayed healthy, which in itself was very good to see.

3. Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets
This former Baby Bull is now all grown up. As a member of the Hornets, Chandler is now playing great basketball. He can block shots, rebound and shoots for a high percentage offensively.

4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
While Tim Duncan doesn’t play a huge amount of minutes anymore, he still is a great rebounder. Duncan is good at a lot things on the basketball court, however rebounding might be his most dominating aspect in the fantasy world.

5. Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves
When the Wolves traded for Al Jefferson, they knew they were getting a low post scorer and a very capable rebounder. Jefferson didn’t disappoint in either aspect. He has a chance to be a league-leader in rebounds for many years to come.

Photo: Newscom

1. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Paul is the best player in all of fantasy basketball this season. His game is perfectly built for him to be a fantasy basketball stud for a long time.

2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Perhaps the best player in all of the NBA, James is also great in the fantasy world. The scary part is he’s still getting better.

3. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Bosh is an underrated bigman superstar – in both the NBA and in fantasy basketball. His skill level seems to rise each month he’s in the league.

4. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks
Smith is an athletic freak and he’s also blessed with a lot of natural ability. He’s as explosive as anyone in the league.

5. Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies
Although the Grizzlies are having another down year, Gay is emerging as a star. In fantasy basketball, he’s been fantastic in recent weeks.

6. Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
Bynum is only 20-years-old but he’s already achieved fantasy greatness. His potential going forward is limitless.

7. Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves
While it was definitely tough to trade away Kevin Garnett, Jefferson will dull some of that pain. This kid can play.

8. Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings
Martin is a largely unknown player due to him playing at a small college and now on the struggling Kings. However, Martin is simply an amazing scorer.

9. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
While his game isn’t completely fantasy friendly, his domination in real life still translates over to the fantasy world.

10. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Williams is point guard who will only get better as he ages. Right now, he’s already arguably a top five point guard in the league.

Funny Deron Williams commercial …

After the Timberwolves traded away Kevin Garnett and entered full throttle rebuilding mode, everything you used to know about that team has to go out the window. Without Garnett, this Minnesota squad is a totally different team with different goals.

No longer will the T’Wolves be thinking championship, instead their main goal will be to locate and grow their young core players. It’s going to be another two or three years until people in Minnesota seriously consider the T’Wolves a playoff team.

What makes this situation tough is there are so many players on the T’Wolves who may or may not be fantasy factors. The only real fantasy stud on their team is Al Jefferson. Aside from him, it’ll depend on which players are getting minutes.

Here’s a look at the Timberwolves’ players and their possibly fantasy impact:

Al Jefferson – Jefferson was the crowning piece of the Garnett deal. He’s a stud in the making that should be ready to produce this year. He’s a very good low post scorer who can rebound at a fantastic rate. His feel for the game is phenomenal and he still has room to get a lot better.

Ricky Davis – Davis is getting a lot of fantasy love but his situation is shaky. He doesn’t exactly fit with the youth movement and could easily find himself behind younger players. However, he’s also a likely candidate to be traded to a contending team in need of a scorer. Davis’ fantasy appeal is completely dependant on whether or not he’s starting and playing big minutes.

Randy Foye – Foye showed good promise last year in his rookie season. He can play both guard positions and has a good knack for scoring the ball. He’s not going to average a lot of assists because he’s not a pure point guard, but he should find himself starting at point guard at some point this season.

Craig Smith – After a fine rookie season, Smith is going to look to expand his game. Although he’s undersized, he can rebound and is a beast down low.

Gerald Green – Green is a guy who looks to score. Fantasy wise, his upside is somewhat limited as it stands because he doesn’t rebound or get many assists.

Corey Brewer – Brewer is a rookie with a good deal of potential. He could become a very good fantasy player if he gets minutes because he’s a threat to rack up steals, blocks and rebounds in bunches.

Rashad McCants – McCants has struggled with injuries but he’s another shooting guard option that can score the ball for Minnesota.

Ryan Gomes – Gomes had big games with the Celtics over the last couple seasons. He’s an all around player who can put up fantasy stats at nearly every category.

Sebastian Telfair – Telfair is a very talented point guard. Problem is he’s undisciplined and not very strong. If he could slow down and attempt to learn the game, he has the potential to one day be a starter.

Marko Jaric, Mark Blount, Greg Buckner, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff – These five guys could have solid fantasy value or they could have absolutely no value. It’s tough to tell because they are veteran players on a team trying to rebuild. If any of these players earns a starting spot or gets traded, that’s when they’ll enter the fantasy equation.