Secrets of the City

[cries]

Kevin McHale hasn’t been doing a crappy job for the T-Wolves. He has been doing a bang up job for the Celtics all along. It seems all so clear now!

Good for Garnett. Bummer that he had to waste his best years with the Wolves.

Danny Ainge of the Celtics is the one GM in the league who is demonstrably worse than McHale. I love KG and admire this tenacity (”criminally intense” as one scribe put it), but given the circumstances and the fact that KG has a ton of mileage on the odometer and an untenable contract, I think McHale has made an excellent trade. Al Jefferson is the real deal @ power forward (he’ll see some minutes @ center), Gerald Green is a tremendous athlete @ the 3 spot (please get rid of Ricky Davis ASAP…maybe package him with Trouble Telfair), Ratliff’s contract has tremendous value vs. the cap, and the 2 draft picks won’t hurt either. Sets them up with a nucleus of young studs (Foye, McCants, Green, Brewer, Jefferson, Gomes, Craig Smith) plus room to get a big name FA.

The Eklund household was a Celtics one when Nateek and I grew up. I even drove a green 1967 VW Beetle around campus with a Boston Celtics bumper sticker on it. If KG’s gotta go, it’s good he went to Boston so I can be a fan again.

Agreed, Andrew…

Do you think he’s going to bring his girlfriend with him too? I wonder how his wife would feel about packing all that extra baggage. I bet he’ll just find a new one there.

I hate the Celtics.

I think McHale has made an excellent trade. Al Jefferson is the real deal @ power forward, Gerald Green is a tremendous athlete @ the 3 spot … Sets them up with a nucleus of young studs (Foye, McCants, Green, Brewer, Jefferson, Gomes, Craig Smith) plus room to get a big name FA.

I totally concur with grote.

I still consider myself a Celtics fan. Wear a Celtics Starter jacket on occasion and a Bird tank with regularity. So for me, this trade is at least a re-connection to my favorite team.

On the flip side, I’m sad to see Garnett go. Being able to watch athletes like Garnett, Puckett, and Hunter has been a privilege for all these years. I’d be hard-pressed to name 3 athletes I’ve truly enjoyed more.

That said, I think the trade is a good one. The only surprising element is I doubt KG got any closer to a title than he was two days ago. If he is, then fantastic. I’d love to see the Celts win #17!

your arms must look really skinny in a Bird jersey.

Grote has it right. It’s a great deal for the Wolves to get them really young, really fast and with plenty of cap room. Hopefully there’s some decent talent available next year. Sad to see the big ticket go though. I’ll still cheer for him and hope the Celts can make it to the finals.

Grote and Bedubbau are right on track. This strategy of trade off the aging superstar and get a few young could-be superstars is exactly what made the Cowboys an NFL powerhouse for so long.

The question is this: Is there the Aikman-Emmit calibre of talent out there to be had in trades or the draft, and do the Wolves have Jimmy Johnson-level coaching talent to get the players to that level?

Actually, that’s not a rhetorical question because I know jack about basketball and would really like an answer.

Unless Gerald Green wakes up to realize how to utilize his physical gifts, the only guy in the deal that’s likely to even approach superstar status is Al Jefferson...big agile 22-year-old low-post scorer which is something they’ve lacked for years…Gerald Green is physically gifted, but seems focused on dunking and not much else. Gomes is a carbon copy of Craig Smith (tweener…slow for a SF and small for a PF). Telfair is a headcase streetball player.

Randy Wittman might be a good NBA coach when all is said and done, but this team is going to spend a year crawling before they even get to stumbling.

The Wolves’ biggest problems on the court now are two-fold…lack of experience, and poor defense. Other than Brewer (rookie) Ricky Davis (when he’s not hung over) and the Ancient Theo Ratliff nobody on this team is known for manning up on defense.

grote, that sorta makes sense. Except, as Bill Simmons noted, Minny is rebuilding around Jefferson, Corey Brewer, Randy Foye, Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes … ironically, the same core (along with Paul Pierce) that Boston could have had if it kept its last two first-round picks. So we get to see how it would have worked out if Boston hadn’t done anything. It’s like watching the Bizarro Celtics.

Screw the Bizarro Celtics. I think I’m going to cheer for the real thing.

Bill Simmons is a Celtics Loving Jock Sniffing Over-Rated Glorrified Blogger Hack.

And Don Shelby has a hair transplant! Did anyone else see that?!

I do believe that the Garnett trade is ok. This team obviously does not have the star power it has had for the past 12 years, but we have more of a balanced team now. That seems to be the shift the NBA has been moving towards lately with teams like Detroit, San Antonio, etc.

But, the Garnett trade is not enough…

If you cut McHale, he’s going to bleed Celtic green. I think this deal a) makes him look like he’s doing his job and b) give the Celts a reasonable chance of winning the championshikps.

I thought the Wolves moved to somewhere in North Carolina 6-7 years ago. Oh wait that was just my interest in watching professional basketball moving to the bottom of the drawer I keep underwear that I don’t wear anymore.

The NBA is unusually late in printing the schedule this year (they have bigger refs to fry, apparently). The preliminary schedule shows Boston @ the Target Center on Friday, Jan 25…ought to be a hell of a homecoming.

I’ve not been able to come up with words to describe how sad this makes me.

The Twin Cities have now become as exciting sports-wise as Cincinatti.

This is a good thing, no one wants to see KG leave next year in free agency. I’ll always be a KG fan wherever he plays.

I agree with Drew. I love KG as much as the next guy/girl. But he has already reached the peak of his career and a move needed to be made. The Celtics gave up a lot of young players and two first rounders for a guy with 12 years of intense basketball wearing on his body. In five years, this will look like a steal for the T’wolves. I think this was a shrewd move by a GM who has been on the wrong end of far too many other deals.

In the meantime, hopefully KG can win a championship!

How come nobody’s bitching about the Twins trading Luis Castillo?

Spree (age 33) & Cassell (age 34) year prior to arriving in MN :
Per-game Combined avg.: 87 Minutes, 37 Points, 8 Rebounds, 12 Assists

Allen (age 32) Pierce (age 30) last year:
Per-game Combined avg.: 84 Min, 51 Pts, 11 Rebounds, 8 Assists

KG dropped off only slightly from his MVP year of ‘03-’04 to last year (same MPG, 2 pts. lower, 1 reb & 1 ast. lower per game).

Considering that the supporting casts are / were equally bad, and considering that the Celtics are in a weak East this year, and the Wolves won a tough West in 2003-2004…you have to like KG’s chances of making a title run in the next 2 years. The one thing they now lack is a true point guard. Look for Danny Ainge to sign Brevin Knight this week to share time with 2nd year Rajan Rondo.

I’m disappointed that Castillo’s gone. I really enjoyed watching him play. I just didn’t have 12 years to develop the same kind of attachment to him as I did to KG.

Not bitching about Castillo for 2 reasons:
1) Jason Tyner is clearly a stud in the leadoff position.
2) I’m a Detroit Tiger fan.

Actually, the fact of the matter is that Ryan knew it was get something for Castillo now or get nothing for him in the off season. He just wasn’t part of their medium or long-term plans. Here’s ESPN.com’s trade analyist guy’s take: “Castillo is a one-dimensional player whose game revolves around his speed. He’s a classic slap hitter who can’t even turn on average fastballs but who hits the ball on the ground and tries to slap harder stuff the other way and beat balls out with his speed. His speed has already started to decline; his range at second base, never great, is now poor, and he hasn’t been an effective basestealer since 2004″

Terry Ryan got 2 so-so prospects in exchange for what amounts to a 3 month rental of castillo…pretty good deal if you ask me.

Holy crap. Grote, you’re a wonk! When does KFAN give you your own show?

I love Tyner too. I’m sad to see Castillo go, but I’m glad we got something for him, I don’t see this as a white flag moment, and I think we’ll fill his void with relative ease.

The stretch run is all in the arms of Garza, Baker, and Santana. And the bats of Morneau, Hunter, Mauer, and Cuddy.

If Cuddy and Punto can wake up at the plate, I think something grand could be in the wings. Anyone else going to the afternoon game on Thursday?

One more note: I think Telfaire will get a house in Eden Prairie, where he’ll struggle to find trouble, and his career will finally take off. Mark my words, within four years he will not only be an All-Star but also a leading contender for Greatest Player Since Jesus.

Didn’t Kirby Puckett have a house in EP…right by RedStone if memory serves.

I’m routinely disappointed by the sports coverage in this town…KFAN is a joke of a sports talk station. And the strib suffers from Senioritis. Sid and Reusse take up valuable space with nothing in particular, and Souhan (who’s actually a decent writer) has been re-writing the same “Terry Ryan Better Do Something Quick” piece for the last 3 months. Anyone know if Britt Robson has published an opinion on the KG thing yet?

Also…why haven’t the Twins been dangling Joe Nathan…they could steal a few infield prospects from a dumb front runner like the Cubs

One more one more thing, since we’re on the sports tip here.

The REAL big news in the sporting world is the soccer phenom Freddy Adu is headed to play professionally in Portugal, the upside of which is that he’ll be better prepared to win the US’s first World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. Anyone want to go with me?

Not a big soccer fan, but I watched the U-20 World Cup last month…holy crap is Freddy Adu an amazing playmaker (and Josmer Altidore is a great finisher)…Adu makes other top-flight players look like fools when he gets them in the open field. We’re talking Pele / Maradonna good…if you think the rest of the world hates American Cultural Imperialism now, wait until we start to dominate “The Beautiful Game” in World Cup competition.

Adu’s performance in the U20 World Cup was so ridiculous that the rest of the world is buzzing about him. He was crazy. Check out the first of his 3 goals vs. Poland.

American Cultural Imperialism will be made all the worse by the fact that we’ll win the World Cup and the US STILL won’t care! There will be global gnashing of teeth. BTW – I wasn’t kidding about going to South African in 2010 for the WC. Seriously. You should go.

Here’s the link to Britt Robson’s home at the Rake…

http://www.rakemag.com/today/sports/

Hopefully, you’ll find http://minnesotabasketball.blogspot.com, as well as Minnesota Basketball Talk at http://minnesotabasketballtalk.ning.com enjoyable, as well as my work at Downtown Journal.

I am not much of a basketball fan. I prefer baseball or football. I do respect those who like the game if its their thing. I am glad to here that they finally made a decision about Garnett. I know he was a valuable player for Minnesota for a long time, but maybe now that the trade is about done, we can here about something else on the TV sports. I was getting awfully sick of hearing about it all the time.

It’s official. KG is gone. The Celtic PR machine didn’t take long to warm up…as Bill Sharman’s #21 is a retired number, they show KG as wearing #5. Won’t be 24 hours before you see kids waiting @ the 7th Street & Nicollet bus stop with the new KG game jerseys on.

I like that KG jersey. I was a C’s fan pre-Wolves back in the Basketball Jesus days. I like Simmons’ flip-flop on the trade (Ray Allen is great again). I really do think it helps both teams though.

What number is Big Al gonna wear?

You would be a Celtic fan. predictable.

The first b-ball game I remember watching was the ‘79 NCAA Final and I was and am a huge MSU fan, which led to my early distaste for Bird and love of Magic. It was cemented in Game 5 of the ‘87 Eastern Conference Finals when he tore the hearts out of Piston Nation. I’ve hated Celtic green ever since.

Simmons contradicts himself every time he writes an article. It’s gotta be the booze.

When I was real small I would watch basketball with my dad and I was always a little unsure of who to root for with Celtics-Lakers. My catholic boyheart was tempted by the flash, the smile, the goggles, the Forum. But my racisttruckdrivingdad would lie on the couch, murmuring incantations over the din of a Showtime blowout, Lakers up by 25, “Just wait, Stevie, the Celtics will cut it to 10. They will.” And they would. It seemed to be morally right to root for the Celtics. I suppressed the shame of rooting for he Lakers for years until finally, we got our own team. Here. In the Wilderness. Those early years, the procession of saints.: Musselman. Corbin. Sam I Am. T.C. And then the holy trinity of KG, Googs, and Stephon. And then my heart hardened with cynicism. No serviam.

Fuck K.G. He ain’t no saint.

It’s starting to sting. Maybe I should schedule a trip to Boston this fall. Watch Randy and KG. Thing about old times. Sexytimes.

Just wait until the Red Sox sign Johan 18 months from now…that one will really sting.

I never got too caught up in the Lakers v. Celtics drama…I got to root for the Pistons as they built towards the juggernaut that steamrolled the Celts and Lakers and smashed David Stern’s dream of a kinder, gentler NBA.

“I hate the Celtics.”

What is wrong with you?

I realized that God was dead when I was 16 and this happened.

Johnny Most! Sick. I still can’t believe that really happened. I think that happened on a Sunday actually. At least that’s how I remember it. God I hated Isiah. HATED the Pistons. The only black kid in WBL was from Detroit–his daddy was a Stroh’s executive–and he sat behind me in homeroom in 9th and 10th grade (Steve Marsh, Cedric Martin). He used to wear his terrible back-to-back champions team caricature t-shirt to taunt me. The only player I liked was The Microwave. And kinda Dumars. Hated Isiah. Hated Rodman. Hated Laimbeer. Was a little excited when the Wolves selected Mahorn in the expansion draft though. A little. Never worked out.

Buh-bye.

Now, when does the Wild start playing?