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On the Ball
The Three-Pointer: Expressway to Apathy
Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Game #18, Road Game #10: New Jersey 113, Minnesota 84
Game #19, Home Game #9: Minnesota 84, Los Angeles Clippers 107
Season Record: 4-15
1. No Identity, No Intensity, No Cohesion, No Clue
I love pro basketball. I absolutely couldn't move through a winter without the fix of watching the world's greatest athletes soar, spin, bang and bustle their way through contests that involve gorgeous, outsized ballet meshed and countered with brute strength and cunningly leveraged sinew and desire. I love the lightning-speed chessboard of rapidly-sifted player matchups, the poke steals and the no-look passes, the blind-side double teams that force the turnovers, the vertical suspension of the pull-up jumper in transition, the italic punctuation of the extra pass during 4-on-2 or 3-on-1 fast breaks. I love watching less athletic players learn how to defend the pick-and-roll, move without the ball on offense, reach out and touch their man as an opponent's shot is going up so they know which way to pivot for the box-out, attune themselves to the synchronicity of ball movement with the simple but efficient pass, and commit the necessary foul that forecloses an easy basket without anyone getting hurt. I love seven-footers extending their hamstrings and shoulder sockets to achieve maximum height for the block, and then watching a floater or finger roll or jump hook nearly graze the tips of their outstretched digits before wafting down through the hoop. I love players understanding what their teammates do best, and rejiggering their own style to facilitate that excellence. I love back-door cuts, drive-and-kicks, matchup zone ambushes and strategically disruptive time-outs. I love the player who hustles downcourt in case his teammate's uncontested layup needs a putback on the break. I love a five-word sentence from an assistant coach to the head coach leading to an on-court adjustment that radically alters the prevailing tenor of the game. And after all the fist-pumps and the hugs, the cliched sideline interviews and the palm-slaps, I love the glow that emanates from a player as he puts his head down and walks off the court after a big win.
But this game I love so much is currently being besmirched by the ballclub I have covered for the past 18 years. An organization that razed its roster 18 months ago and then made major tweaks during the last off-season, both done on the promise of a necessarily painful and protracted but ultimately reliable rebuilding process, is adrift, with no reasonable expectation of significant improvement. Glen Taylor's Timberwolves must hope that its shrinking fan base is mad as hell at what has transpired for this team over the first 19 games of the 2008-09 season. Because the alternative is apathy, and a flight toward Tubby Smith's undefeated Gophers.
Blaming almost everybody for this sorry state of affairs risks spreading the blame too much, avoiding the accountability that better pin-pointing would engender. Yet the list of those culpable is legitimately long, and exempting some to better expose others likewise perverts the accountability process.
Yet the greatest deterrent to sorting through the bullshit-encrusted entrails of the season-to-date is not so much intellectual or analytical as personal. First of all, I'm going to be repeating many things I've already written, an energy-sap for any writer (and reader). Secondly, there is no joy in disparaging real, live folks who possess the full complement of human emotions, people I have seen, and will continue to see, on a regular basis. Suffice to say I would much rather be affixing the names of various Timberwolves to the sentences in my opening paragraph. But there are, ah, credibility issues involved in the search for ways to praise this team.
So let's make this dirty work as succinct as possible.
2. The Braintrust
I won't spend much time dwelling upon the inactions of Glen Taylor. A self-made billionaire presumably has enough business sense to see how the brand-name of his franchise is being eroded, and, moreso than any of the rest of us, any errors in judgment he makes with respect to this team has a direct impact on his own bottom line. Put simply, nobody can punish Taylor more than he can punish himself.
When Kevin McHale fired Dwane Casey two years ago, I wrote that the Wolves' VP of Personnel had run out of scapegoats. At the time, Casey had a .500 record and the 8th seed in the tough Western Conference, both well above preseason predictions for the ballclub that year. McHale claimed Casey lacked consistency, and hired as his replacement Coach Randy Wittman, who has consistently lost--his record is 38-105--since then. Wittman took Casey's 20-20 ballclub and proceeded to go 12-30. Then he finished 22-60 during the first rebuilding year. Now he is 4-15 with the presumed off-season upgrade. So, by now it is fair to assume that Dwane Casey was dispicably scapegoated, and that Kevin McHale was dead wrong about a head coaching change being a net benefit for the fortunes of this ballclub. What's more, if the rumors are accurate (and if I was sure they were I wouldn't call them rumors), McHale preferred PJ Carlesimo over Casey as the replacement for Flip Saunders. Before being dumped by the Oklahoma City Thunder last month, Carlesimo was one of the very few coaches with a worse record than Wittman since the beginning of last season.
So much for acumen is evaluating coaching prowess. McHale's performance in the last four NBA drafts is well-known to embittered Wolves fans. He chose McCants over Grainger in 2005, had Roy in his hands and dealt him for Foye in 2006, went with college experience and a winner's pedigree in taking Floridians Brewer and Richard in 2007, only to find both needed much more refinement to flourish in the NBA, and drafted Mayo but dealt him for Love (and Miller, Collins, and cap relief) in 2008. It is not reasonable to expect a GM to always be right in his personnel choices on draft night--people who posit that Grainger, Roy and Mayo could be playing together, for example (some also include KG), aren't being fair. But any credible GM has got to hit as often as his misses on his personnel judgments, especially when assessing how to utilize the draft to rebuild his ballclub.
Not that long ago, it was easy to chide McHale for being a grumpy old man who always claimed the game was more talent-laden and fundamentally sound back when he was playing. But that guy was less injurious to the ballclub that the current McHale, who frequently states that hand-checking rules and other changes have opened up the floor and made smallball more viable, and the McHale who frequently disdains people trying to define players by specific position skills, claiming players "aren't point guards or power forwards or 2's or 3's or 4's--they're basketball players." Consequently, among the 15 basketball players on the Wolves roster, not a single one of them fits the classic definition of what a center or point guard must do to facilitate team success. The team's best floor general, Sebastian Telfair, couldn't hit the ocean from the beach with his jump shot. The team's best interior defender, Jason Collins, is a past-his-prime journeyman glue guy. The team's most valuable player and franchise cornerstone, Al Jefferson, is routinely abused when trying to guard opposing big men. The second-most valued player on the team, Randy Foye, is a 'tweener combo guard, who, despite ranking 17th in assists per game in the NBA, has increasingly been bumped to off-guard because of his apparent inability to execute the coach's gameplan. Rather than distinguishing themselves as worthy complements, Foye and McCants are becoming increasingly redundant. Ditto Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.
Meanwhile, with the possible exception of Craig Smith (who is redundant to both Jefferson and Love), not a single Timberwolves player is exceeding what were reasonable expectations for their overall caliber of play heading into this season--let alone McHale's own crazy notion that the squad could double its win total of 22 from last year.
Which brings us to Randy Wittman. Regardless of talent level, coaches should be judged on how effectively they define and then foster a team's distinct identity and style of play. Think Popovich. Think D'Antoni. Think Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, or Don Nelson. In addition to their success at motivating their players to buy in to that identity and style, however, coaches must also sometimes be evaluated by how effectively they tweak the formula when the mesh of talent and philosophy is off-kilter, or when they have difficulty generating cohesion and goodwill within the team. Meanwhile, there is the context to consider: Is the coach being asked to emphasis the development of talent or the winning of ballgames?
By all these yardsticks, Randy Wittman is having a terrible year. What is the current identity of the Minnesota Timberwolves? Are they an offensive-oriented team or a defensive-oriented team? Do they prefer an uptempo pace or more half-court? Do they pound it inside or promote ball movement for midrange and long range jumpers? What is their substitution rotation? What players do they regard as most integral to their current success and how much does it overlap with the players they are most trying to develop? Bottom line, this is a team with absolutely no identity. And that makes them very difficult for fans to embrace. Even last year's square-one rebuilding push, when Jefferson was more dominant in the team's personality makeup, was more coherent than this year's.
Psychologically, the team is a wreck. Wittman's use of the carrot and the stick has been bewilderingly erratic, both in his punitive substitutions and his postgame tongue-lashings. By their lack of confidence, tendency to choke in crunchtime, and frequent bouts of listless, shoddy exertion, it seems as if the players have internalized the negativity and tuned out instructive and strategic exhortation. And no wonder: Wittman rarely puts his players in a position to succeed. The latest example was his response to the temporary loss of Mike Miller due to injury. Facing up against New Jersey, Witt decided to slide Foye (the erstwhile point guard of the future) over to off-guard in Miller's stead. At the point, he chose Kevin Ollie, the classy but deservedly obscure guard who has now started 82 NBA games over the past eleven years while bouncing around the league. Wittman's stated rationale was that Ollie would be best equipped to defend New Jersey point guard Devin Harris, who is enjoying a career year and is one of the quickest players in the NBA. Two minutes into the game, Ollie almost pulled Harris's shorts off trying to stop him curling around a pick. By the end of the Nets' 113-84 laugher, the 35-year old warhorse had committed four fouls while playing a grand total of 7:04, a stint in which his only other statistics were a turnover and a missed shot while the Wolves were minus -10.
Ollie's inability to stay with Harris allowed Sebastian Telfair to play 40:56 by default. Unlike the situation with Ollie, the Wolves' braintrust invested $4.8 million in a new two-year deal for Telfair (with an option for a third). A trip to Jersey obviously enabled the legion of New York City locals who thrilled to his storied prep school career to come watch him perform. Thus, Wittman's choice of Ollie over Bassy was not only a strategic error in basketball terms, but a potentially personal embarrassment for his young backup point guard. Those kinds of considerations obviously can't dictate decision-making, but the Jersey game happened to come less than 48 hours after Wittman had publicly apologized to Telfair for not playing him more in the second half of the Wolves' loss to Orlando the previous game. I wish I could say this kind of thing is an isolated example.
3. The Players
Not surprisingly, there has been heightened speculation in recent days that Wittman's job is in jeopardy (it is to Taylor's discredit that similar heat isn't being placed on McHale). McHale's proclamation at the end of last season that the club could double their win total (and this before Miller was acquired in the Love deal), plus McHale's attendance on the club's most recent road trip, plus two embarrassing losses in a row, the latest at home to a 3-16 Clippers team, have the daily beat writers smelling blood. Saturday night they went into the locker room to ask the players about the tenor of the team in general and Wittman's lack of job security in particular.
No doubt this is a thankless situation for the players. Most of them went with the tried-and-true response, battle-tested over the decades in the locker rooms of putrid teams: It isn't the coach's fault; the responsibility rests with us. Team leader and thus primary spokesperson Al Jefferson delivered the most quotable line: "It starts right here in the locker room. They could have Jesus Christ himself come down and coach us, but if we don't go out and play hard and play together, it won't mean nothing." A gold star, then, on Jefferson's forehead for appearing to hold himself and his teammates accountable.
Except he really wasn't. Earlier he had opined that "I just feel like the worst teams have their best nights against us...we were playing great D [against New Jersey]." First, to give him his due, Jefferson is correct in saying that the Nets hit more than the usual share of tough shots versus the Wolves. But that by itself doesn't explain the 113-84 pasting. New Jersey emptied its bench in the 4th quarter against the Wolves, a period in which Jefferson logged 7:06 worth of action, and the Nets shot 11-14 FG to bump the lead from 17 to 29. The Wolves just gave up. Meanwhile, "great D" doesn't exactly describe Jefferson's play when relative offensive mediocrities such as Chris Wilcox and Emeka Okafor routinely overwhelmed "Big Al" in the low block during crunchtime over the past month. If Jefferson is a religious man, Jesus Christ might tell him that it isn't divine province or some fickle finger of fate that is allowing even lousy opponents to score with impunity against the Wolves. A better explanation might begin with the guy leading the squad in minutes-played and dollars-earned.
And so it goes, right down the roster. Randy Foye pretends he popped out of the womb as a prototype point guard, minimizing the difficulty of the details required for the position and linking himself with Steve Nash. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 5.6-2.37 in his third year in the league, and the team is openly exploring the notion of giving him more and more minutes off the ball. Mike Miller simultaneously had the best shooting percentage and the lowest shots-per-minute total of the team's five starters, and proudly proclaimed to the media that he didn't take "bad shots." Everybody with two eyes could see for themselves that he sometimes didn't take "good shots" either, and was hurting the team with his ostentatious passing--not to mention his matador defense, which sent his plus/minus totals plummeting whenever he was matched up with a decent shooter of average quickness. McCants is scripting his own private soap opera, the one where he's martyred on the cross while getting the phrase "I told you so!" tattooed across his forehead.
Jefferson--and Foye and Gomes, and everyone else who said you have to blame the players as well if not more than the coaches--are right, but that doesn't make them sincere. Just as the evidence of McHale's personnel blunders and Wittman's deaf tone-setting are there for all to see, so are the indifferent defensive rotations, the half-tilt effort toward loose balls, the lousy shot selection and literally stupid passes, the inability to learn from and avoid repeating recent mistakes, and the dozens of other big and little things that determine whether or not you create an enjoyable, cohesive, synergistic and successful NBA team. This is a team-wide underachievement and it is not entertaining for anyone to witness.
As the Wolves have fallen into disrepair over the past couple of years, many critics, especially die-hard Kevin Garnett fans, have been predicting doom for the franchise unless some massive housecleaning and culture change takes place. But that shouldn't bother Glen Taylor as much as the fact that if and when such a transformation occurs, precious few of those people will still be around to have the last laugh.
67 Reader Comments
Sunday. December 7th. Sunken ships.
The flight to Tubby is a given, I'm there too. I refuse to watch my home town pro team unless there is a 50/50 shot at winning. It is now 20/80 and dropping.
All the talk of waiting until the 2010 free agency to see if we will return to respectability. Why does Taylor & Co. think all the other clubs are clearing their deadwood and scrubbing their payrolls to open cap space?
The 2010 free agency is still a long way away. Does Taylor seriously think he will have a Wolves fan left by then? And, how smart is it to set your strategy behind a 2010 bidding war where star athletes will own the market?
Wow. As a spectator for the entire KG era and its aftermath, I think you've described this fairly accurately.
I was ready for rebuilding, too; after watching the desperation in personnel moves during KG's final seasons, it seemed like an appropriate time to let some young guys play and grow. That's not happening.
I don't want to go back to the Flip years, either. The team was successful, but they relied on cycling through role players to provide the energy and urgency that allowed to win. It meant not having at least some focus on developing the young talent that could've made the post-Flip teams more competitive. The Wolves were always good, but most people realized their potential was limited.
Sadly, I don't see a huge change coming. Minnesota teams don't do sweeping changes in their decision-making departments very often, which can be good (Terry Ryan needed some time to build the farm system that revitalized the Twins) and bad (McHale). I'm not sure if a McHale-less apparatus would continue the "country club" atmosphere coined by S-n-P, but whatever they're doing now isn't working.
As a fan, I want to see progress or, ultimately, a team that proves it's capable of consistently contending for a title. That's happened for maybe 5 of the past 20 years. Even though coaching and running an NBA is tougher than doing so in other pro leagues because there's no farm system and most players have guaranteed contracts, teams from all climates and all market sizes have shown they can build and sustain winning teams. There's no reason why it can't happen here.
Bullseye.
Considering what a thankless job writing this column was, you hit it out of the park.
This should be engraved on the tombstone of the last 14 years.
Do you hear the voices sing?
Singing the songs of angry men?
I hope Mr. Taylor is a regular reader of your blog. Your reporting, for as long as I can remember (City Pages, The Rake, Rake and Secrets online) has been the best in this city. Keep up the good work, please.
If Mr. Taylor reads this blog, and (even less likely) if he reads the comments left here by some of the most committed fans of the team, I hope he understands that the franchise is losing us. My wife and I buy a partial season ticket package every year (a 10+1 this year), and usually add a handful of other games as well.
Right now, we've got tickets to eight more games this season, and neither one of us will see another game coached by Randy Wittman. We're done.
I don't know Mr. Wittman. He may be a heckuva guy. He may be a heckuva an assistant coach. But he's no head coach. I think he's proved this (I won't attempt here to list the reasons I believe that this is so, but anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time can find more than enough evidence). It's time he is let go.
I think that Kevin McHale has done a very poor job over the past ten years with this team. I do think, however, that starting with the KG trade (recognizing that at the time, it had to be done), he has made some moves that give this team a glimmer of hope for the future. I think he's accumulated some assets (players and picks) that might be used to build a winner. But I'm far from convinced that he is the guy to build it. I think that at this point, Mr. Taylor should consider two options:
1) Dismiss Randy Wittman as coach immediately. Appoint Kevin McHale as interim coach and give him the rest of the year to show us that this team has a core worth building around. Then he can resign as coach and G.M., leaving the team in better shape than it has been in for some time. Perhaps Fred Hoiberg is ready to step up as G.M. Perhaps, with McHale stepping aside, it would be possible to attract an experienced coach and/or G.M. from outside of the organization.
2) Dismiss Randy Wittman as coach immediately, and accept Kevin McHale's resignation at the same time. I'm afraid it would be difficult to hire a coach at this stage of the season--and for this team--who might be a viable long-term option. Perhaps Sam Mitchell? But in all likelihood, one of the assistants would be tapped as a lame-duck interim coach.
I like option #1. But, as a fan, there is no option #3. I'm done with this team until a significant change is made to what has been called "the country club." Please, Mr. Taylor (I wish I believed you were reading this), it's time for business not-as-usual at the Target Center.
Schadenfreude is a German word that means taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. Well the only pleasure I am getting from watching the Wolves is when I think of how Taylor, McHale and Wittman must feel when they are watching. Now this is not a healthy attitude and I have concluded that I am watching only out of habit. And its a bad habit. Since its traditional to give up bad habits at the new year, I am watching them the rest of December and if they don't improve a lot I am done with the Wolves until both McHale and Wittman are gone.
I have even thought of a way to get rid of Taylor. Every home game, he sits next to the Wolves bench and his wife sits next to him. This must be excruciatingly embarrassing for her. Maybe this constitutes spousal abuse and he will be arrested. Then one of the other owners will take over.
At about 7 pm on October 29 just before tipoff for the Wolves' opener, I stopped on the way to my seats to exchange a few words with Britt and Aschy . I distinctly remember words of hope coming out of my mouth. Five weeks have passed and every ounce of hope regarding this team has been sucked from my body.
Thanks for simultaneously reminding me about why I love the pro game and expressing my disappointment and disdain so eloquently.
Here's where I'll take issue with the statement "nobody can nobody can punish Taylor more than he can punish himself." That assumes a value system created out of a middle class ethic. I would contend that the rich and privileged class have a much different way of looking failure (and success) than us folks.
The evidence?
Glen Taylor will one day sell this team at a break even or profit amount when his accountants tell him to do so. He may be hemorrhaging money right now, and maybe has for the last few years, but as you say, he's a self-made billionaire, so there will be a ledger sheet of no return at some time. Meanwhile he immerses himself in the prestige of owning a professional basketball franchise, with all it's trappings. What we've seen from him is when the time is right, he acknowledges a little blame, but spends a lot of time throwing other people under the bus.
We've seen this a lot lately from the capitalist class; rather than really hold themselves accountable, they simply cash out and move on, not unlike someone at one of our fine casino establishments. Among the ones who would be left holding the bag are the city of Minneapolis who own--by NBA standards--an aging arena, Warehouse District local businesses, and of course the fans, who are STILL willing to put up with a hell of a lot just to see a competitive club now and then, but who are now on their third cycle of BS from the current brain trust.
If Taylor Corp can't turn this around and kills the franchise, he would get up in front of the press and a Minnesota audience, be contrite and express a fair amount of remorse over lost opportunities, but in the end, he'll be fine. I suppose there would be some short term punishment in the embarrassment of some truly God awful moves over his tenure, but time (and a decent cash flow) has a way of healing those wounds, and I would imagine that over the years the history of this Glen Taylor run franchise would attempt to be rewritten. Almost all the social classes share in that particular aspect of human behavior.
But really, I don't want Glen Taylor to punish himself, I want him to step further back, gain some perspective and understand that it's way over due to try something fundamentally different, while there's still an opportunity.
It's the fans who've been punished enough.
Apparently, it's on the verge of being official. Wittman out, if Mchale will agree to coach.
As for my story...I am not a native Minnesotan, and in fact have never even visited the state. I started paying attention to the Wolves tangentially in 1996 when Stephon Marbury, the erstwhile star of Georgia Tech (and in theory my "classmate" since we both stepped on campus in '95), joined the team. I became a fan of the team as I watched Marbury and KG appear to build something. By the time Marbury left KG was my favorite basketball player, and I was a Timberwolves fan.
For much of the next decade, I lived and died with the Wolves. With the rise of the internet and message boards, I invested much more time and emotion on this franchise than I ever did for any other sports team. But when KG was traded, I had a dilemma...did I follow my favorite player to the previously hated Celtics? Or did I stick with what had become my adopted franchise?
Initially, my plan was to pull for KG (not the Celtics) to win titles in the short term, but to keep the Wolves as my favorite team. I had invested a lot of energy into the team, and I was also pretty invested into youngsters like McCants and Foye. I had gone to Vegas the past few years and watched the youngsters in the summer league...I even got to interview Foye and Richard, and they both seemed like good guys. I figured, I'd stay on to watch the kids grow up, then by the time KG was fading out I'd still have my Wolves.
It started going wrong almost immediately. I was completely turned off by how the Wolves front office threw KG under the bus to try to minimize their own incompetence. And on the various message boards that I frequent, I was similarly turned off by many of my fellow posters as they likewise diminished KG's accomplishments. I incredulously watched Al Jefferson being held up as the new, improved KG...the "true post presence" that KG "never was", that would be easier to build around. I read many a person talk about how good of a deal the Wolves got, and how they were now better off. The environment on many boards became divided...either you were a "KG fan" or a "Wolves fan", but you couldn't be both. Just took some of the fun out of the experience, which was a big part of what tied me to the team.
But despite all of that, I still tried to sell myself on a young and up-and-coming team that might take some lumps but at least was building towards something. A team of young talent, built on several lottery talents surrounding a young 20/10 player...maybe a rebuild really wouldn't be so bad, despite the fact that I will never agree that trading KG was the right thing to do.
But watching these Wolves is PAINFUL. For all of the reasons that Britt pointed out so well, it just feels like beating my head against the wall to follow this team. I find myself MAKING myself tune in, struggling not to switch channels or fall asleep, and not protesting nearly as strenuously if my wife wants to change channels. I hardly ever post on any Wolves boards anymore, and in fact find myself on Celtics boards instead. If not for this blog, I sometimes fear that I'd lose touch with the Wolves completely.
So I hope something changes...something gets better...give me some hope. I WANT this to be my team. There's no future in the Celtics, as I really HATE the organization. Come on, Taylor, give me something to work with. It wouldn't take much...just something more than NOTHING.
Option 3: Hire Mitchell as interim GM and a 3 year guaranteed coach.
I'm thinking that would be the only way to get him here before next year if at all. Other teams would be happy to hire a coach of the year and he's probably content to sit and collect Toronto's money while spending some quality holiday vacation time with his family.
I'd still be willing to hold on McHale because he did make adjustments this year that, unlike Wittman, showed he was listening, learning, and changing. But, as Britt pointed out and SI reinforces, if not disparages, with this article on Roy being a thinking man's star, the pups would be better off finding a thinking man's GM.
Someone earlier praised Britt's writing as he has been passed from company to company like a baton. Now we see him at yet another spot. It is hard for fans or sports lovers to get attached to a writer when the spot keeps changing or when these little online magazines keep thinking up new clever names to use. It is like a college band. They keep thinking up new "awesome" names and changing their identity, therefore preventing anyone from attaching and investing in the product. What I don't understand is why Britt even needs to be associated with these half-assed publications. Just make your own site. Use your name. Have a couple sports writer friends contribute once in a while and get 100% of the money instead of paying these people for the privilege of advertising for them. That makes no sense.
As for the Wolves, it is an interesting shipwreck. I tune in to see if McHale is fired yet or if the Wolves are moving to Seattle. But the idea posited here of following a real coach in Tubby is one that is happening to me as well as many others. It is nice to see a competent professional group. And I honestly think that the Gophers could beat the Wolves in a game. Or it might at least be competitive. Unlike the games the Wolves play in the NBA.
At this point the Wolves might be past the point of no return. Just tie them in a plastic bag and throw them in the river. They're done, and so are we the fans.
I am mystified by Mr. Taylor. If he had an employee that consistently misspelled words on his company's wedding invitations and business cards, that person would be gone. But in the world of non-quantifiable business errors, he seems to be either blind or too generous.
I am sure it is easy to dismiss message boarders as bitchers. And any of us in any public capacity learn to close our ears to mean-spirited people who know nothing about us or the complexity of the decisions we have to make.
But this is different, and this board is different. In fact, this series of comments is the most overtly emotional I've ever seen on this board. The smart fans, the good fans, are rejecting this team, this regime, this owner. That is not good, and Mr. Taylor should take the time to listen.
As to Mr. McHale, anyone who says they don't want to do part of a job (in his case, travel) is either a prima donna or simply lazy. You are hired to do a job, not to disparage the job's obligations. I think he should be made to coach this team; after all, he built it, so he knows what it was he saw in terms of talent and potential chemistry.
I know I have stopped watching, except as a channel surfer. And I have watched local teams since the Lakers were here. In fact, I used to scrimmage against some of the Lakers when I was in high school, and I used to caddy for Max Winter and some of the other early participants.
Right now I am filled with sadness and shame for what we've become. Matt Millen is truly not a bad comparison for Kevin McHale, and Mr. Taylor is, for unknown reasons, proving that a good man can do harm by his kind nature.
We need to change this culture somehow. Perhaps Fred Hoiberg can do it; perhaps someone else can. But someone must.
Simply put, I know no one other than me who even watches the team at all. I'm currently on a trip to Portland, and the laughter from the ball fans I speak to hear should be able to be heard all the way back in Minneapolis.
Britt,
I've been a long-time follower of your work here. I've never felt the need or desire to post. The reasons are varied, but it mostly comes down to the fact that you write almost exactly what I'm thinking and the other posters here (Stop N Pop, Andy, and other regulars) find a way to get in my thoughts without having to say anything. I firmly believe that the best and brightest NBA minds find this home.
The reason I post tonight is that I can't sit by and watch this any longer. Something needs to be said and something needs to be done. That Clippers game was absolutely the worst display of professional basketball I've seen here since the days of Scott Roth and Adrian Branch. It was all I could do to not throw things at the TV. The reasons you cite are the exact same that I tried to explain (between swearing and getting up to grab another beer) to my girlfriend and her first-grade daughter. I'll just say this.... I'll be showing her Gopher and Linx game tape to teach her the game before I ever let her watch this team once she starts playing (Off note, 6 foot 7 father and a 6 foot mother...... Tartan will have a monster on their hands in 10 years :-)
I'm of the belief that everything needs to change in this organization. That includes all of upper management including Fred Hoiberg. Right now, you have McHale and Babcock who arguably made two of the dumbest trades this league has seen in the last 20 years (Babcock trading Vince Carter in Toronto and McHale's KG move for the pu-pu platter). Everyone needs to go and Taylor needs to pony up the money for a GM with a record or a junior who's observed a legacy of success and is ready to take the next step. That GM should then be allowed to hire their coach. As of right now, nobody should be considered safe and that include Al Jefferson.
Again, thank you Britt for your work covering this team. It's really only through you and others who have more freedom through the Net (and editors who don't care about PC) that the truth about this can be told. This cancer needs to be removed from our local sports scene and if it keeps up this way, the fans won't be just bolting for the Gohpers..... they'll be following hockey.
when the clippers tv team feels comfortable denigrating your team and organization for 48 minutes, you've hit rock bottom.
Now that the news has officially leaked that the only thing holding up Wittman's ouster is McHale's willingness to move to the bench. Obvioulsy, under these circumstances, there is no way they can let Wittman coach the team Tuesday. Now what needs to happen is an ultimatum to McHale, coach this team or you're out too. If he refuses, throw the interim tag on one of the assistants or Jim Stack. Promote Hoiberg to interim GM and bring in a new President in April.
It is time for McHale to quit and retire. We need to clean house. Stack and Babcock have to take their share of the blame for the mismatch of inferior talent that we have accumulated. Wittman needs to go. I was at the embarrassing Clippers defeat and this franchise is losing its fan base in a competitive sports market. Firing Wittman is just a band-aid. The front office needs to be completely overhauled. With the potential of 4 first round draft picks coming up, I don't trust this "braintrust" to make those picks. The future of the franchise is at stake and this front office has to leave before those picks are made.
Great stuff, Britt.
I agree wholeheartedly with the (lack of) identity crisis on this team. To me, it began with the Mayo Trade. We passed on a traditional backcourt-frontcourt combo of sorts, and opted instead for a peculiar combination of offensively skilled, athletically deficient big men, whose skill-sets overlapped much more than they complemented one another. Does anyone know whether Wittman was on board for this trade? I suspect that he was not a big part of this decision, as it seems McHale was going to do this, no matter what. So, I guess I feel for Wittman, in this regard. He took on a rebuilding team, kept them playing hard for (almost) 82 games, and then was expecting a player with the 3rd overall pick that could fill a big need. Instead of keeping the consensus #3 talent that would match up at least reasonably well with the Chaunceys and the Barons, we stayed pat with Telfair and Foye, and added depth to our power foward spot. Witt has juggled the frontcourt lineup about as much as possible--(the only thing he hasn't done enough of is the Love-Jefferson tandem, which ironically is what was sold by McHale on Draft Night)--to no avail. Add to that the HORRIBLE play of Rashad McCants, and I'm afraid this team is actually worse than last year. There were times, last season, when Shaddy looked like a future 20 ppg scorer. Thus far in '08, he's played like one of the worst players in the entire league, and I say that without any exaggeration. Shaddy has so much more game than he's shown, I can't help but wonder what's going on behind the scenes. I'm not sure how much of this can be blamed on Wittman, but perhaps his coaching style has never been a good one for YBG, who is dying to be loved a lot more than get screamed at by his coach. Who knows.
Anyway, I fully support a coaching change since Wittman has lost this team and it's not going to be pretty without a shakeup or two. But, we also need a new front office that places greater emphasis on athleticism and upside with draft picks, and doesn't have the mistaken idea that the league has gotten smaller. What a crock of shit that is, and both McHale and Wittman have repeated it so, so many times. Twenty-year old, seven-footer, DeAndre Jordan took the floor at Target Center on Saturday night, in a Clipper uniform. Yes, his game is non-existent at this point. Next to Al Jefferson, however, he would just need to be big and pull down 5 boards per 9 minutes, the way he did against us. 34th pick in the draft, sold to Miami... DeAndre goes 35th.
How could they have gotten worse?
That's the question I have. I mean, I was never really bothered by McHale's predection for doubling the number of wins. I was much more bothered by Wittman's insistence upon accepting reality and more modest improvement. But, how does a team that is in the process of rebuilding actually get worse?
I have been a McHale apologist only because I really do want to see him succeed, but even I realize he has to either go to the bench or go home. Wittman is gone. By every measure he is not cut out to be an NBA coach. But, what does Taylor do in the long term.
In every interview I've ever read of Taylor he has placed great emphasis upon the loyalty he has with his management team through the ups and downs of the business. Taylor needs to make a change, but he is not going to do a complete overhaul. I think Hoiberg's status will be elevated and McHale's role as a GM will either end or his influence in player development will be sharply reduced. Glen has to bring someone new into the front office between now and next year's draft. The two obvious possibilities are Sam-I-Am and Flip.
I would not have a problem with Flip, because I think he fits in with Britt's list of coaches above who foster an identity and distinct style of play. I don't care if the identity can't make it past the conference finals, getting the team to be competitive and also having someone who can make evaluations on talent in the draft and free agent market who can challenge McHale, Hoiberg Stack and others should improve the prospect for success down the road.
Bringing Sam-I-Am in will not shake up the country club enough. HE won't have enough influence and will be too grateful to the Papa Glen and the organization for another chance to coach challenge the brain trust in draft and free agent decisions. It will be like Casey prefering Roy to Foye. In the end, his opinion won't count. But, for player development, Sam will be an improvement on Witt.
THe other options is to bring someone from outside to coach and also have GM responsibilities shared with Hoiberg and Stack and maybe a much watered down McHale too. Eric Musselman, Avery Johnson or Van Gundy are a few names that come to mind. Again, the idea of establishing an identity and also someone to really challenge the current front office on personnel decisions should be Taylor's main objective.
But, back to my original question, how could they have gotten worse? Kevin Love, Mike Miller and Collins were added to last year's team. Randy Foye was fully recovered from his injury. All the young FA were resigned to new contracts. What happened? hmm. We lost Walker, Buckner and Jaric. Could it be Marko? Are we missing Marko? Someone who could hit a three point shot if he caught it on the wing. Someone who could play defense. Someone who could help Randy Foye handle the ball and set up the offense in the backcourt. Marko Jaric? He's doing nothing for Memphis right now and he came no where near achieving the level of play we expected of him when we trade Sam Cassell for him to be the point guard fof KG.
He averaged 30 minutes last year for the Wolves and his presence on the court was similar to Brewers (who also has now out of the lineup) in creating a sense of chaos on the court with his ability to get in passing lanes and deflect passes. The Wolves got worse because we traded those thirty minutes of Jaric for thirty minutes of Miller. Is that possible?
Maybe? I never would have thought it before the draft day trade, but it seems obvious now. Especially, now that Brewer is out too.
Thanks Danny B.
I myself am eagerly preparing myself for Minnesota Swarm fanhood. I'll piggyback on Peter's capitalist class sentiment and add that McHale will, in the end, be granted his golden parachute and Papa Glen, a Minnesotan through and through, will express *just enough* contrition to still be viewed as a guy who feels "just terrible" about the way things have went, knowing full well that us chumps won't have access to the balance sheet, insider details, and other assorted pieces of evidence that would unequivocally show the noble captain to be nothing more than a know-nothing hobby boat enthusiast who made the wrong decision at each and every step of the way...all under the fake mantle of "businessman". And no, at this point in the game I'm not too worried about crossing all sorts of metaphors.
Taylor will take the Hank Paulson approach to bailing out the franchise. He'll work out sweet deals for his departing friends and bring in a new crop of cronies to be the new smartest guys in the room. There will be no accountability, no transparency, and no actual change of course. Rob Babcock will get to one-up his training camp attempt at a Rafael Araujo do-over by bringing in Sam Mitchell and then urging the team to draft Victor Claver (I'm locking in my bets on this one). Fred Hoiberg is...well, he is from Iowa and he ended his career as a T-Wolf. This is called "gold" in terms of Taylor Corp resume building.
This can't be an inside job. It's always been an inside job. Casey was the only time they looked outside of the country club. He was fired for going 20-20 with a lottery-bound team.
As for personnel, Ryan Gomes and Kevin Love are literally the only players on this club who have an inkling of how to play on both ends of the court. The Foye-at-point pick worked out so well that he (and the guy they signed in the off-season to be a back up point, and who started a bunch of games at point last year) were banished from the starting 1 with less than 20 games into the season. McCants has gone close to certifiably crazy. The Rhino was eaten by Dwight Howard in Orlando and can only be trotted out against a very specific class of opponent and he is next to useless at the defensive end of the court. Mike Miller is working hard on becoming a "complete player"...which in his case means not shooting. I can only guess that this is to impress the young ballers of South Dakota who will populate his upcoming basketball camps. Big Al is 20/10 and nothing else. I asked it over at Hoopus, but what would fans rather have at this point: 20/10 with less than zero defense, no passing, no help defense, and a bunch of yelling at the point, or 14/10 with help defense, passing, lots of pressure on the offensive glass, and boatloads of intangibles? Big Al got the cornerstone pass because he was the best part of the KG trade. Now that that luster has worn off he's Zach Randolph with a brain and some class. Great scorer but nothing else. Both he and Miller are not luxuries a team without a real #1 perimeter player can afford. He is literally useless on 1/2 of the court and no amount of J-Pete sloppy kisses on the home broadcast can freshen it up.
There is no plan. There is no blueprint. It's a bunch of unaccountable jokers flying by the seat of their pants who will all make out in the end...whether by buyout or sellout. Meanwhile, fans trickle away by heartbreak one by one...with no bailout in sight. Hank Paulson and his cronies don't pay for shit and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill and the tough choices. Ditto for Glen, the Iron Ranger, Witt, Freddie Iowa, Ron Toronto, and whoever else they have at 600 first avenue. It's the fans who pay the price. We don't have golden parachutes. We have Lacrosse.
The Minnesota Swarm begin their season on January 3rd. Their team blog is located here:
http://boards.mnswarm.com/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=1&
They averaged over 11k per home game last year. Here's a link to Lacrosse 101:
BTW: Andy G, Deandre Jordan has played in a grand total of 5 games this year. In one game, he didn't even log a single minute. He's scored 4 points with 7 rebounds. His play time against the Wolves wasn't an "oh look what got away" it was a poke in the eye. It was Dunleavy saying "My God, these guys are so bad I can get this joker some minutes." I do agree that trading a top 2nd round pick for a box of trading cards (or whatever the hell else they got for the trade) was a bad idea. There were plenty of guys to choose from.
He's exceeded my expectations, since he's not playing in the D-League.
Andrew Bynum's rookie numbers (on a team with less frontcourt talent than the current Clippers):
46 games played
1.6 points
1.7 rebounds
0.5 blocks
Since DeAndre is the same size as Bynum, more athletic than Bynum, and wouldn't have to become as good as Bynum has, in order to help the Wolves, I thought it was well-worth the 34th pick.
OK, if he turns into Bynum I will eat my hat. Seriously. I will provide pictures. ;) He may be the same size with a decent amount of athleticism, but lordy...he looked like he hadn't even played high school ball out there.
Also, if exceeding expectations on a 3 win club means not being in a league where Chris Richard was the #1 pick, then...well, my God it's frustrating to be a Wolves fan right now.
I know he might be terrible, and a bust (if you can be a 2nd Round "bust") but there aren't many strong, athletic, 7-footers on the planet, and they hardly ever survive the 1st Round of the NBA Draft. The fact that Dunleavy is willing to throw him out there at all, makes me think he's at least putting the work in.
Jordan didn't survive the 1st round for what I can only imagine are some pretty solid reasons...shared by the majority of the teams in the NBA. He last played on November 26th. He slid to the 2nd round when he was at one point projected as a lotto pick. Again, we'll disagree on this one but I'll eat my hat if he comes close to Bynum production in 3 years and I'm seriously considering amending my bet to include him even being in the league.
Wittman should read this blog instead of saying "Bloggers? Aren't that the guys in their basements?".
I hope McHale accepts the coaching. There would be a good chance he either gets a respectable record (maybe he knows better how to use the pieces he brought in, though I doubt it) OR he finally sees the light and understands that it's not just the coaching and he quits alltogether.
I'm not convinced he would be a bad coach, just like I'm still convinced Isiah would have been a great scout.
Andy G and SnP,
I think you both agree on one thing. The Wolves should not have needlessly traded away the second round pick. If I remember right, before the draft, Andy G was asking for the Wolves to use their second round picks to trade up to the late 1st pick to take a chance on the raw but athletic Jordan and SnP was arguing that the WOlves do the same to get either CDR or Chalmers.
When draft day came and all three were still available for the second of the Wolves two second round picks, you both were justifiably peeved that the Wolves passed on the players you targeted for late first round picks. Is that right?
What cannot be denied is that it can be argued that all three players "didn't survive the 1st round for what I can only imagine are some pretty solid reasons...shared by the majority of the teams in the NBA."
It's rare that second round picks have an impact in the NBA for longer than a year or two. But, it does happen. Many people could argue that the WOlves have done better than most teams in their three most recent 2nd round picks, Smith, Richards and the Euro guy. But, The WOlves took Smith ahead of Utah's Milsap and Richards is out of the league now and we don't have the Euro guy yet, so who knows.
Regardless of the odds for winning a bet that a second rounder will have more than a fleeting impact in the NBA being very small and the fact that even betting that CDR, Chalmers and Jordan will likely not have any greater success than Craig Smith and might more likely follow in the footsteps of Chris Richards, the fact remains that there are Gilber Arenas out there and the Wolves should not have passed on an opportunity to get very lucky with that pick with either Chalmers, CDR or Jordan especially given their need for a point guard and a long athletic center next to Big Al.
You both agree on that much.
whitmann in the strib today said something like "well, you get hired so you can get fired". the wolves, top-down, have a self-fulfilling, self-defeating attitude. you never get a sense of joy out of their coaches, ever, even when winning. same with management - it never seems like they enjoy being involved with pro basketball and you (or at least i) don't get the sense that they are committed to really winning a championship.
i mean, you have you scowling coaches out there who aren't showing enthusiasm and joy all the time (popovich, sloan, etc), but you get the sense that those coaches, the good ones, want their players to succeed. i get the feeling watching whitmann and mchale that they are looking for the next thing to shake their head about and the next move where they can "free up cap space" or "make us more versatile" when they should be thinking about how to get the best out of their current roster and current season.
it's like they're just piling up information for the "let me tell you about the screwed-up nba" stories they'll be telling from their bar stools in the near future. and what fan wants to pay to be a part of that?
Very well put.
SnP: Don't forget that we also have a bet going on whether DeAndre or CDR ends up having the better career. Right now neither is doing anything.
I agree that when a guy with Dwight Howard's size and athleticism falls to you in the second round and you have multiple second around picks, you take him. It's bad business not to do that gamble. But you're also right to say that he's very underdeveloped at this point. An implicit part of any gamble like that is that you can develop the guy into a player. McHale should be able to do that, but his track record isn't great.
Anyway, I'm excited to see what McHale has in mind for his own golden boy, Love. I was screaming for Mayo on draft night and have been lamenting the trade ever since, and this will be a unique glimpse into the mind of the crazed architect - a chance to figure out what he meant when he said "I think Kevin and Al will make each other better." I want to see it in action.
I haven't forgotten about the CDR bit.
Perhaps McHale didn't draft Jordan because Loukas Mavrokefalidis has a reserved roster spot.
AP just in:
http://www.canishoopus.com/2008/12/8/684888/ap-reports-decision-has-be
I was wondering how long it would take before a commenter brought up the possibility of Sam Mitchell running this show. I always thought he was the kind of coach that McHale would prefer - truly a smashmouth-type of coach. Pound the ball inside, physical defense, etc. How well he can handle ego is questionable, as it appears that players like Bosh (who by all accounts is a stand-up guy) had tuned him out. I'm lukewarm on Mitchell overall, but if McHale is going to stay, I'd like to have a "proven" coach like Mitchell to see what this team is capable of. I do not want McHale coaching.
Of course, like many here I'd rather just close the book on the McHale era altogether, but I don't see that option as very realistic.
Per Zgoda, Wittman is out, McHale is in...
What's the over-under on the number of times Taylor plays the "OK, then YOU coach them" card before he realizes where the problem truly is? Perhaps McHale should add "Interim Coach-in-Waiting" to his job title.
Nice form, Britt. That first paragraph reads like the softcore porn romance paperbacks I used to nick from my teen babysitter's purse when I was a kid.
SNP,
I agree with everything you say, except that the Rhino is useless on D. He is short and stocky, and thus limited defensively. But, I think he's probably a better defender than Big Al, despite his limitations. The effort is certainly much better.
He's truly one of the keepers on the squad. A dirty work, strongman who only takes very make-able shots, who has gotten better every year, and who by all appearances seems to be a very good teammate and non-bitcher.
I think the Rhino could be valuable in any system. On a dollar for dollar basis, I'd take him over Big Al any day. Even if he can't defend Dwight Howard, Jefferson makes four times as much money and can't defend Howard either.
Let's focus the criticism on the guys making the decisions and the big bucks. Craig Smith is doing everything he's being paid to do. And unlike every other guy on this team...maybe even a little bit more.
Here is the release - it is a full-time move and McHale has stepped down as VP B-Ball ops. The team has simultaneously improvesd at both chairs with this move.
For Immediate Release
Monday, Dec. 8, 2008
Timberwolves Relieve Randy Wittman of Coaching Duties;
Kevin McHale Takes Over as Head Coach
Press Conference Scheduled for 2 p.m. Today at Target Center
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has relieved head coach Randy Wittman of his coaching duties. Kevin McHale will take over the head coaching responsibilities of the team on a full-time basis from this point forward. McHale, who has served as vice president of basketball operations since May 11, 1995, will step down from that role with the team in order to concentrate on his coaching duties.
The Timberwolves will hold a press conference today with owner Glen Taylor and head coach Kevin McHale starting at 2 p.m. in the Timberwolves Media Room at Target Center. Media should enter Target Center at the corner of 2nd Ave. and 6th St. There will be no media availability after practice today.
"There were certain goals and expectations that we had for this team at the start of the season, and we have not lived up to them," said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. "I am disappointed in our record and believe that we have more talent than our record indicates. A change had to be made and with three-fourths of the season remaining, there is still time to make substantial progress this year. I want to thank Randy for all of his contributions to the Timberwolves through the years as both a head coach and an assistant coach, and wish him the best in the future."
"Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level," Taylor said. "It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach. He has been involved in the NBA game for almost 30 years, is a tremendous teacher and has a wealth of basketball knowledge. I am confident that our players will respond to the new voice and perspective that Kevin will provide."
"I truly believe that we have a talented group of players in our locker room who have a great amount of potential," said McHale. "I'm confident that we can get this turned around and get back to playing a brand of basketball that our fans can be proud of."
This will be McHale's second stint as an NBA head coach, the first coming on an interim basis for the final 31 games of the 2004-05 season. McHale guided the Wolves to a 19-12 record during that stint. He started with the Timberwolves front office in 1993-94 as a special assistant before moving to assistant general manager for the 1994-95 season.
Prior to joining the Wolves, McHale played 13 seasons for the Boston Celtics, helping lead the team to three NBA Championships (1981, 1984 and 1986), five Eastern Conference titles and eight Atlantic Division crowns. A first-round pick (third overall) of the NBA Draft by Boston, McHale averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in 971 career regular-season games. On Oct. 1, 1999, McHale was recognized for his achievements with the Celtics by being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, he was recognized as one of the NBA's Top 50 Players for the league's first half-century.
A native of Hibbing, Minn., McHale averaged 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds during his four seasons at the University of Minnesota, where he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1979 and 1980. On Feb. 18, 1995, he was honored as the top player in University of Minnesota's men's basketball history, as the school celebrated its 100th anniversary in the sport.
Wittman was named head coach of the Timberwolves on Jan. 23, 2007, after taking over for Dwane Casey. In that time, he posted a 38-105 record with the team, including a 4-15 mark this season. Prior to becoming head coach, Wittman spent 10+ seasons in three separate stints as an assistant coach for the Wolves (1994-95 - 1998-99, 2001-02 - 2004-05 and 2006-07). He also served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-01), compiling a 62-102 record.
Contact information:
Mike Cristaldi, Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-8405, cristaldi@timberwolves.com
Mark Rosenberg, Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-1607, rosenberg@timberwolves.com
Ben Hande, Minnesota Timberwolves, (612) 673-8404, hande@timberwolves.com
MIKE CRISTALDI
Director of Public Relations
Minnesota Timberwolves | Lynx
600 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Direct: 612 673 8405
cristaldi@timberwolves.com
Yuck, I think part of the problem with Rhino is that he seems to be destined to never, ever receive the benefit of the whistle. I do agree with your last paragraph. The guy is the only overperformer on the team. I also like the dollar for dollar comparison with Big Al. At this point in the game, if this team gets blown up, Jefferson is the most valuable asset the Wolves have and I also think he would be one of the easiest players to absorb the loss of. There isn't exactly a lot of room below their current level of play to fall to.
This is like Christmas come early. I assumed that Taylor would let McHale keep his Vp of Ops title until the end of the year and then relieve him of both positions. I only wish that Taylor would’ve relieved McHale of his personnel duties before McHale traded away Mayo. But Taylor has given McHale plenty of rope, and now he’s letting McHale tie his own noose. It’s only a matter of time before McHale is extricated from the organization altogether. Let's hope he does his homework and finds the right basketball man (not Jim Stack or Fred Hoiberg) to turn around the franchise. They have a ton of draft picks, and if we find someone who can evaluate talent, we can begin to come back from years and years of draft day mistakes made by McHale.
stop-n-pop,
if you eat your hat, it should be filmed, not photographed. it'll be an "nba draft bust" version of "werner herzog eats his shoe"!!
Britt wrote: "But this game I love so much is currently being besmirched by the ballclub I have covered for the past 18 years."
I'm right there on the same page Britt. However, I probably would have chosen to use the word "desecrated" (or defiled) over "besmirched" -- though perhaps that's just my subconcious link to the similar sounding "smirk".
Smirking, I wonder if the entire roster of "The Washington Generals" might be available to stand in for the collection of players currently known as the Timberwolves.
Let's all hope and pray that this is the beginning of the end for McFail. He'll probably fail as badly (if not worse) than Wittman, and we can get a new FO and coach to head into the upcoming draft.
SNP- I agree, Rhino gets jobbed by the refs way too much. Hopefully that turns around as he transitions to veteran status. And hopefully the Wolves keep him to back up Love, once we trade Al.
NBA in Buffalo, I was thinking of something more like this:
Yuck - I'm sorry I can't join you in your hopes and prayers. I will keep a dose of reality along with my hopes that McHale can get the collection of players he assembled on some sort of track for improvement and then I hope he can gracefully resign from the organization at the end of the year and a new era can begin with a new front office that has some sort of clue, plan and luck with the upcoming draft picks and free agent signings.
I'm tired of losing and at this point, I want Mchale to have more success than WIttman. I'm not expecting 40 wins for the year, but at this point 30 wins would be nice and I'd consider that the bar McHale should attempt to reach with this club.
I don't expect he will continue to coach beyond this year (does anyone?).
If there is such a thing as karma, McHale will turn out to be the cat's meow as coach and the team will improve just enough to lose its 1st rounder to the Clips. Mission. Accomplished.
I don't think McHale wants to coach at all, so no, I don't think he'll last beyond this year. That said, the man did go 19-12 when he took over for Flip, and we only missed the playoffs by one game. I'm just saying I'm willing to give him a chance - this team has more of his fingerprints all over it (as opposed to KG's).
APB-
It is an unpleasant situation to be rooting for my team to fail, but to me it is clear....this mess needs to be blown up.
A full house cleaning is the only way we can possibly save pro hoops in MN (if we are not already beyond the point of saving it). We need Glen Taylors moronic hand forced into a full scale cleansing and complete failure is the only way it is going to come about.
McFail doesn't deserve a graceful exit. The guy should be tossed into an icy river off a steep bridge.
But, I'll settle for the coaching failure that his conflicted player assessment and poor work ethic are certain to produce.
Let's remember, that 19-12 team had a player named Kevin Garnett on it. In fact, let's take it a step further, the guy had KG, and couldn't even get us into the playoffs. That is the equivalent of 9-22 with this squad.
I wonder if McHale's new position will create a sense of urgency to finalize that Wallace for Shaddy, Collins, and change deal that has been rumored. The rumor won't go away, and the Charlotte beat writers report that the Bobcats brass won't deny it. I don't think McHale (or whoever is making decisions now) could get away with that kind of larceny, even against MJ, who is as bad as McHale WAS (it feels good to write about him in the past tense), but I'd sweeten the offer with one of our first round picks that we've acquired from another team. Wallace would be an excellent three for us, a huge upgrade over Gomes, and a nice guy to have now that Brewer is out for the year.
You can never refer to McHale in the past tense until he's out of the organization, period.
Anybody really think he's going to be out of the loop on any trade?
McHale is going to ensure that Al gets 30 shots a night. Watch and see how the rest of the team responds to that. I am sure they'll be real pleased with their new roles of propping up the stats of a guy who doesn't pass and consistently puts them in bad situations on defense.
With a little luck McFail will be gone by February. (fingers crossed)
Great, great article Britt. You've encapsulated my feelings about the team almost perfectly.
Now let me ask the assembled masses something....any ideas for a replacement GM? I don't have much confidence in the rest of the Stack/Babcock/Hoiberg brain trust. I've seen a lot of comments about getting "a good GM" without specifying who that might be. Anyone got any names?
Jerry West
Re: the second round give-away, didn't we actually select Chalmers and then trade to Miami for future 2nd rounders and cash? He's now playing over 30 minutes a night on a winning team, and the Wolves are starting Kevin Ollie at the one.
Jackdaw,
In all seriousness, Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons would be an upgrade right now. Heck, you could just consult this site here and get a better idea then the thinking that is taking place at Target Center Country Club.
I don't have any names as of right now, but I'd do something similar to what Toronto did when they hired Bryan Colangelo.
You get together a list of names of people who are working as assistant GM's in successful NBA organizations. My list would look like: Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Miami, Portland, and Utah. You then interview those people and find somebody that you believe has the appropriate vision to rebuild the team. You could also check with other GM's, both current and retired to see if they have any interest (Elgin Baylor (I'd tread lightly), Jerry West, etc). What the goal should be is to end up with somebody ready to be a GM who comes from a franchise that has had success.
You then let that person come in and clean house. You say goodbye to McHale, Stack, Babcock, and Hoiberg. Fred may be a nice guy, but I'm not convinced he's ready right now. You let that new GM hire their coach and they together proceed to rebuild the team.
I'd look at Dennis Lindsey (assistant GM with the Spurs, spent a decade with the Rockets before that), Scott Perry (assistant GM with Pistons), and Walt Perrin (director of player personnel with the Jazz) for starters.
I'd consider Isaiah Thomas...wait...this isn't 1995. No, no I wouldn't.
What about mortgaging the farm and making a run at Kevin Pritchard? I know this is a dream scenario, but he'd be worth overpaying, and by overpaying I mean making him a ridiculous offer that he couldn't refuse (that would be the only kind that MIGHT be able to lure him out of Portland).
You or I could do what Kevin Pritchard has done. It's not difficult to GM when your team gets offered a lotto pick for Bassy Telfair, your owner co-founded Microsoft and lets you buy other teams' draft picks (this is how they got Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez), and you move up 5 spots in the lottery to get the #1 in a two-superstar draft. The Blazers' GM job is the easiest in the league.
It would've been easy to have drafted Granger or Monta Ellis and kept Roy or Mayo, too, but McHale didn't. The difference between McHale and Pritchard is that KP is the best in the business and McHale is the worst. I seriously doubt McHale or many other GMs would've been able to assemble that team with the skill KP has. There's no doubt that he has access to great resources, but he makes the most of every opportunity.
Speaking of Portland, I'd like to see us try to make a trade for their Finnish point guard, Koponen. He's really athletic, tall, and has a nice feel for the game. I was very impressed with him in multiple summer league games I saw. He's stashed in Europe right now, but he could be our point guard of the future if we don't win the Rubio sweepstakes.
Don't forget about the no-big-deal trade for Nic Batum.
Don't forget Pritchard had McHale hand him Roy and a coin flip with the Wolves gave him Oden. It's 1/2 luck 1/2 competency. Pritchard has been smart enough to take advantage of the good fortune that came his way. McHale...not so much.
I'm not comparing Pritchard to McHale; the comparison is between Pritchard and the other GM's in the league. In that category, Pritchard's not the best. He's better than guys like Joe Dumars and John Paxson, but other guys (Kevin O'Connor in Utah, Popovich/Buford in San Antonio) draft consistently well and assemble championship teams without having their owner buy draft picks. Those teams have gotten starters out of second-round picks; Pritchard doesn't have to worry about that, because he could have 2 first-rounders every year if he wanted. I didn't say he was a bad GM, but he's not the best.
Fair points. To be sure, KP did turn Dorsey, this year's second rounder, into Batum, who is a starter. You might be right that there are others who're better than KP, but I bet if you took a poll asking a reasonable sample who they'd want in charge of assembling a team, Pritchard would come out on top.
But really, if you're comparing the Spurs GM, the Utah GM, and KP, you're comparing ice cream, pie, and cake - they're all good, and I think any of us Wolves fans would be happy to get our hands on any of them. What I was suggesting was that KP would be a HUGE upgrade over McHale as our next decision-maker, and I stand by that.
Agreed on that.
To clarify, Batum was traded for Dorsey and Darrell Arthur; Arthur was traded for Donte Greene; and Greene was included in the deal for Ron Artest.
It's Kool-Aid By The Gallon Day:
"There's still time to rally and get going." - Kevin McHale
Unfortunately for those that want McHale banished, improvement over Wittman is going to be much easier than improvement over Flip. With or without KG, it's all relative to how the team was performing before/after.
Compared to the coaching change in Toronto, the Pups will see a bigger improvement than the Raps (who will not see improvement). East is simply a lot tougher this year.
The Wolves have taken a first step, because Wittman was clearly killing the confidence of the kids he was supposed to be developing, by his bad coaching (it sure pays to be tall and white in the NBA when it comes to opportunities.) Hopefully Taylor will start listening to Bill Popp and some of his other co-owners who have been encouraging him for years to dump McHale.
I'm still pretty happy I gave up my season tickets after 19 seasons. The Wolves won't be successful until they get tough defensively, and none of their rebuilding moves has been a step in that direction, with the exception of drafting Corey Brewer. Defense wins championships, as Boston proved last year.
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