The most recent was one of the most maddening to take - an 0-6 slide by the Timberwolves early this season that the team finally broke last Saturday with a win over Charlotte, another poor sister.

But at least the forward had a memory chip for quick reference.

He had the image of how Paul Pierce, before rediscovering his sense of hope a year later, was able to push aside all the despair and become a leader during that 18-loss slide.

As a result Big Al, who at the age of 23 is also still Young Al, is attempting to use Pierce's example as his guide.

Jefferson now refers to himself as a leader, and truly hopes that the label sticks.

``I learned a lot from Paul, man,'' he said. ``He taught me an awful lot about how to stay positive when something like this happens.''

Jefferson isn't just tossing a bouquet in the direction of his former captain.

He once dressed next to Mark Blount, one of the more bizarre, mercurial characters in recent Celtics history. By the time Blount was shipped to Minnesota as part of a big trade for Wally Szczerbiak, Jefferson had enough. He talked of how grateful he was not to be dressing next to such a negative influence anymore.

He at least understands how to avoid that negative path now.

``He had to pick up something from playing with Paul,'' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who wags a finger of caution when the leadership issue is raised. ``The leadership thing is going to come out at the end of the day only if the other guys are willing to follow. There aren't many young guys who can step into that kind of role in this league.

``The only one I can think of is Brandon Roy,'' Rivers said of the third-year Portland guard who has led a youthful Blazers revival. ``He's the exception, it seems to me. But he's a very rare player.''

Jefferson is also rare, in terms of his skills.

Post offense has become a dying art in the NBA, with increasing amounts of big men finding the Euro style of perimeter offense preferable to mixing it up under the basket.

Jefferson has the footwork and skill to score with the best of them in the lane. The only question is whether his emergence as a regular double-double producer is enough to lead a team.

Unlike Roy, Big Al is not the vocal type.

``Sure, I'm quiet,'' he said. ``But they're all my teammates, and I have to be vocal. Then I have to go out and play hard to show them. Play the right way.''

That's a tall order, for the right way of playing the game is often sabotaged by youth and inconsistency in Minnesota. Though not the worst team in the declining Western Conference, the T-Wolves were 3-10 as of Thanksgiving.

Jefferson has his own issues of youth to handle, including the kind of emotional challenge that emerges each time his old team comes into the picture.

``Last year that was a little more emotional for me,'' he said. ``I just understand the game a lot better now - I know the kind of player I am a lot better.

``I have to be smarter with the ball. But as you get older you're going to learn more and more.

``But what it's about, at least for me, is being a leader.''

In retrospect that 18-game Celtics losing streak - the rotten middle of a 24-win season - now pays Jefferson a dividend. The Celtics rebounded from that debacle.

His own team can rebound, too.

``When you think of all of the stuff we went through in Boston, keeping it positive now is the only thing that we can do,'' he said.

A mass exodus

Maybe you're Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry, or Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo or Miami president Pat Riley.

Maybe even Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, who is about to watch Kobe Bryant enter a free agent market next summer that could set bidding records from both sides of the Atlantic.

LeBron James (Cleveland), Chris Bosh (Toronto) and Dwyane Wade (Miami) will follow Bryant's path a summer later, and other general managers aren't making a secret of their intentions.

Donnie Walsh has cut back the Knicks payroll with a scythe.

The Nets, who have co-owner Jay Z in full-out recruiting mode - even if the carrot of a new arena complex in Brooklyn has been set back - have been planning for the 2010 market even longer than the Knicks.

The Cavaliers' hopes are likely kaput. After several years of catering to James' every whim, only to hear him talk repeatedly about his love of the New York market (most recently he called NYC ``Basketball's mecca''), there can't be much chance of re-signing King James.

But there is still time in Toronto and Miami. No wonder that Toronto types are already attempting to talk Bosh off the ledge.

Though he has been on an early-season tear, and despite the addition of Jermaine O'Neal, the Raptors forward has allowed his dejection to show on the floor.

Coach Sam Mitchell, who normally has little tolerance for such frailties, admits that he's been talking to Bosh about the up-side in Toronto.

There's good reason for it.

``You could see that he was kind of down out there,'' Kevin Garnett said of Bosh after the Celtics beat the Raptors badly for the second straight time on Nov. 23 in Toronto.

Bosh, who slammed the ball off the floor during a timeout, can only hope it gets better.

``Sometimes it gets maddening when I know what we're capable of,'' he said. ``That's the hardest part. It has nothing to do about where we're at now, but what we're capable of.''

Two years from now, Bosh should be ready to apply that measure. . . .

One final note on Garnett's return to Minnesota: the Celtics forward's terse responses to all questions about his old team didn't do anything to detract from the impression that he harbors a great sense of hurt where owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale are concerned.

The feeling appears to be mutual, too.

Though McHale doesn't attend every home game, his absence that night seemed to speak volumes.

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com