The 2009 NBA draft is now in the books, and it was definitely exciting for the Wolves. It was definitely a point guard festival with the Wolves selecting four point guards with their six picks. Thankfully, two of those picks were traded for future consideration.
Wolves fans were pleasantly surprised and extremely excited to land the dynamic Spaniard, Ricky Rubio, with the 5th pick. (I still can't believe it. We could have Ricky Rubio in Minnesota next year!) The excitement quickly turned to confusion when they selected another point guard, Jonny Flynn, with the 6th pick. After that they grabbed Ty Lawson (another point guard) and the confusion level went through the roof before it was quickly announced that Lawson was being traded for a future draft pick. The Wolves also landed a quality shooting guard in Wayne Ellington with their final first round pick. In the second round, the Wolves selected point guard Nick Calathes (and traded him away) and something named Henk Norel (one of Rubio's teammates in Spain who I don't think will ever see an NBA court as a player).
If you buy into Kahn's reasoning that both Rubio and Flynn can be key players on the court at the same time, Wolves fans should be on clould 9, right? Well, we are Wolves fans, so things aren't perfect. Rubio may not play in Minnesota next year or ever. Ugh. More of my thoughts on this later.
Note: I've been busier at work recently so I haven't been able to comment on the recent Wolves news much lately. I hope to have a little more time soon to be able to add some in depth comments on the post-draft roster and the coaching search.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thoughts on the McHale Era
It was a long run. There were some good times. There were a lot of bad times. The ending was a little awkward. That's the three second summation of the Kevin McHale era.
The good times came mostly in the beginning. The McHale Era started roughly when Glen Taylor rescued the team from the swindlers in New Orleans and appointed McHale the Vice President of Basketball Operations. McHale promptly made the genius move of drafting Garnett and what appeared to be a good move in drafting Marbury. Things were looking up for McHale and his promising young squad.
Unfortunately, the plan went very wrong once the team lost Gugliotta and Marbury turned out to be a crazy man. This led to about five years that could be known as the tedium of mediocrity. McHale didn't look so smart but I don't remember many calling for him to be fired at that point.
Then there was the one year blip of greatness that every Wolves fan remembers more fondly than any other year. I still maintain that getting Cassell and Sprewell was a great move. No one knew those two would provide one great year and then complain about everything and become clubhouse cancers.
After that great year, everyone knows how quickly things deteriorated. We have now been stuck with five seasons that have been far too similar to the franchise's first five season. Poor players, mounting losses, and call for McHale to be fired have been the norm.
David Kahn heeded that last point yesterday and pulled the McHale Era off of life support.
It was time for McHale to go. I find that I am not as elated as most fans, but I'm also not disappointed. McHale showed some promise as head coach, but not enough that any would reasonably entertain keeping him employed in this situation. It's a little sad just because McHale was a beloved Minnesota sports figure for so long and he seems like a very nice guy.
Of course, NBA basketball isn't about being a nice guy. It's about winning and giving the fans what they want. McHale certainly couldn't meet those demands so now we get to turn our attention to a new era. Will it be the Kahn era or the insert-new-coach's-name-here era? Only time will tell. For now, I think it is the era of possibility, as in there is a possibility the Wolves could become a good team in a few years.
For the meantime, though, the draft being one week from tonight will put the whole coaching situation on hold. As I mentioned in a post just after the season ended, there is plenty to keep Wolves fans interested this offseason.
The good times came mostly in the beginning. The McHale Era started roughly when Glen Taylor rescued the team from the swindlers in New Orleans and appointed McHale the Vice President of Basketball Operations. McHale promptly made the genius move of drafting Garnett and what appeared to be a good move in drafting Marbury. Things were looking up for McHale and his promising young squad.
Unfortunately, the plan went very wrong once the team lost Gugliotta and Marbury turned out to be a crazy man. This led to about five years that could be known as the tedium of mediocrity. McHale didn't look so smart but I don't remember many calling for him to be fired at that point.
Then there was the one year blip of greatness that every Wolves fan remembers more fondly than any other year. I still maintain that getting Cassell and Sprewell was a great move. No one knew those two would provide one great year and then complain about everything and become clubhouse cancers.
After that great year, everyone knows how quickly things deteriorated. We have now been stuck with five seasons that have been far too similar to the franchise's first five season. Poor players, mounting losses, and call for McHale to be fired have been the norm.
David Kahn heeded that last point yesterday and pulled the McHale Era off of life support.
It was time for McHale to go. I find that I am not as elated as most fans, but I'm also not disappointed. McHale showed some promise as head coach, but not enough that any would reasonably entertain keeping him employed in this situation. It's a little sad just because McHale was a beloved Minnesota sports figure for so long and he seems like a very nice guy.
Of course, NBA basketball isn't about being a nice guy. It's about winning and giving the fans what they want. McHale certainly couldn't meet those demands so now we get to turn our attention to a new era. Will it be the Kahn era or the insert-new-coach's-name-here era? Only time will tell. For now, I think it is the era of possibility, as in there is a possibility the Wolves could become a good team in a few years.
For the meantime, though, the draft being one week from tonight will put the whole coaching situation on hold. As I mentioned in a post just after the season ended, there is plenty to keep Wolves fans interested this offseason.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
McHale Era Over
According to a tweet by Kevin Love, Kevin McHale will not be coming back as head coach of the Timberwolves. That would be what I call news from an authentic source.
It will be interesting what kind of news comes out of Target Center today. I'll have more reaction later after the Wolves make an official announcement. Stay tuned.
It will be interesting what kind of news comes out of Target Center today. I'll have more reaction later after the Wolves make an official announcement. Stay tuned.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Finally Official
Although, the 2008-09 season has been over for months now as far as Timberwolves fans are concerned, the greater NBA season finally ended tonight as the Lakers captured another championship. The Lakers were the best team all year long and they got what they deserved. Of course, they may only have been that good because Memphis gave them Pau Gasol for $24 worth of beads a while back, but that's a different topic altogether.
As much as I don't like the Lakers, I am glad they won this year as it gave Phil Jackson his 10th championship. I've always been a fan of Jackson's coaching philosophy, and the fact that he is a fellow UND alumnus just adds to my appreciation. As a bonus to Jackson getting his 10th championship I no longer find any redeeming qualities in the Lakers. For the foreseeable future, there is no team in the NBA that I would actually like the Lakers to defeat.
Congratulations, Lakers, there is now yet another basketball fan who will blindly adopt the "Beat L.A." mantra.
As much as I don't like the Lakers, I am glad they won this year as it gave Phil Jackson his 10th championship. I've always been a fan of Jackson's coaching philosophy, and the fact that he is a fellow UND alumnus just adds to my appreciation. As a bonus to Jackson getting his 10th championship I no longer find any redeeming qualities in the Lakers. For the foreseeable future, there is no team in the NBA that I would actually like the Lakers to defeat.
Congratulations, Lakers, there is now yet another basketball fan who will blindly adopt the "Beat L.A." mantra.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Who to Draft At Number 6?
This year's draft is setting up to be a huge crap shoot. Outside of the top few picks, there are a lot of players who could as high as 4th or as low as 10th (maybe even lower). That means there are a lot of players for the Wolves to consider at number 6.
There are four players that I view as acceptable at number 6. These four are James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, and DeMar DeRozan. All of these guys fill a huge need as either point guard, shooting guard, or combo guard. Harden is still my top pick out of these four, but I think he'll be gone before the Wolves pick. I think Evans is the most likely choice.
Whoever they pick at 6 will be a quality player, but not a franchise cornerstone. The only player (besides Griffin) with potential to be a cornerstone is Ricky Rubio. Kahn has said the Wolves still need a big time star. Could the Wolves trade up to get Rubio in hopes that he will become a star? I don't really think so. It would require a pretty hefty price to trade up for Rubio and there is always a chance he could turn out to be the next Darko Milicic.
So can the Wolves get a cornerstone player this year? It's not going to happen with the 6th pick, but Kahn could have something up his sleave for a trade to bring one in. I could see a scenario where the Wolves target Chris Paul. The combination of multiple draft picks, a poor financial situation in New Orleans, and the willingness to give up Foye/Love and expiring contracts (think Mike Miller) might make a deal like that happen.
A future with Jefferson, Chris Paul, and a solid pick at number 6 looks pretty bright. We'll see what happens starting with that number 6 pick coming up in less than two weeks.
There are four players that I view as acceptable at number 6. These four are James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, and DeMar DeRozan. All of these guys fill a huge need as either point guard, shooting guard, or combo guard. Harden is still my top pick out of these four, but I think he'll be gone before the Wolves pick. I think Evans is the most likely choice.
Whoever they pick at 6 will be a quality player, but not a franchise cornerstone. The only player (besides Griffin) with potential to be a cornerstone is Ricky Rubio. Kahn has said the Wolves still need a big time star. Could the Wolves trade up to get Rubio in hopes that he will become a star? I don't really think so. It would require a pretty hefty price to trade up for Rubio and there is always a chance he could turn out to be the next Darko Milicic.
So can the Wolves get a cornerstone player this year? It's not going to happen with the 6th pick, but Kahn could have something up his sleave for a trade to bring one in. I could see a scenario where the Wolves target Chris Paul. The combination of multiple draft picks, a poor financial situation in New Orleans, and the willingness to give up Foye/Love and expiring contracts (think Mike Miller) might make a deal like that happen.
A future with Jefferson, Chris Paul, and a solid pick at number 6 looks pretty bright. We'll see what happens starting with that number 6 pick coming up in less than two weeks.
Friday, June 5, 2009
What's Going On?
"Not too much" would be the proper answer at this very moment. I think we've hit a bit of a boring period between the roller coaster ride of a GM search and the hard core analysis of the top talent that will be available in the draft.
There's no big Wolves news right now. The initial buzz and/or disappointment over the David Kahn hiring has died down. Rick Rickert-esque talent was paraded through the catacombs of Target Center this week. (Potential players available at the #6 pick won't come in until next week.) The only thing we know about McHale's head coach status is that he and Kahn have met and have consumed some combination of pork chop, cod, and pizza in their time together. The news just isn't very juicy.
I'd say there will be about another week of relative calm before serious draft rumors really start to take shape. Maybe we'll even get to find out that McHale and Kahn will get together for a nice steak dinner. Until then, I'll be settling for editorial nuggets like this article from TWolves Blog. It's a good little Timberwolves read for a slow Friday afternoon.
There's no big Wolves news right now. The initial buzz and/or disappointment over the David Kahn hiring has died down. Rick Rickert-esque talent was paraded through the catacombs of Target Center this week. (Potential players available at the #6 pick won't come in until next week.) The only thing we know about McHale's head coach status is that he and Kahn have met and have consumed some combination of pork chop, cod, and pizza in their time together. The news just isn't very juicy.
I'd say there will be about another week of relative calm before serious draft rumors really start to take shape. Maybe we'll even get to find out that McHale and Kahn will get together for a nice steak dinner. Until then, I'll be settling for editorial nuggets like this article from TWolves Blog. It's a good little Timberwolves read for a slow Friday afternoon.
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