The Search Rambles On

The Wolves search for a new GM continues to ramble on longer than most people thought it would. Over the last few days several names have looked to be front runners only to fall back behind. Speculation is running rampant. Many people claim to be "in the know" but the Wolves haven't made any sort of statement. Let's review the status of all the candidates for the job:

• Dennis Lindsey - withdrew from consideration, was fan favorite
• David Kahn - was rumored to be the guy a few days ago, Wolves have apparently cooled to the idea of hiring him, fans HATE the idea of hiring him
• Randy Pfund - he is interested, no good reports on his chances
• Tom Penn - new name that popped up last night, currently assistant GM with Portland
• Jim Stack - internal candidate, not believed to be strongly considered
• Fred Hoiberg - internal candidate, could end up being new GM's right-hand man
• Lance Blanks - no evidence he was actually interviewed
• Bill Simmons - entertaining sportswriter who volunteered for the job, fans are so desperate for change that they have been flooding the email of Wolves personnel begging them to seriously consider him

That is up to eight candidates. Maybe four of them (Kahn, Pfund, Penn, and Hoiberg) could be under serious consideration at this point. I actually wouldn't be opposed to Bill Simmons as things could be very interesting with him, but there is no way the Wolves seriously consider him.

At this point it is one big crap shoot. I wouldn't be surprised if the Wolves are leaking small amounts of info saying that one candidate is leading just so they can gauge public reaction. That could be why Kahn was the front runner for two days and now they are continuing their search. I don't think I can even make a guess anymore as to who the final choice will be.

GM Search

The Wolves are well into their process of selecting a new GM. (At least they had better be well into it by now.) I was hoping to do a good post of possible candidates, but I quickly realized that is a tough task for someone who does not have good contacts with personal knowledge of the candidates. One can scour the internet for the names that have been mentioned, but there is only so much out there. It's not like searching for draft prospects or even head coaches. The GM often does so much behind the scenes that there is not a lot of public information on these guys. Plus, even if there were more information, it would not be very interesting.

So instead of an in depth post, I'll just give a quick summary of my thoughts on the four candidates that have been mentioned the most.

First, we have the two internal candidates in Jim Stack and Fred Hoiberg. Stack has been in the Wolves front office for a while now and has surely at least been consulted in personnel decisions. I think he has been too tied into the organization to be "the" guy to make all the upcoming personnel decisions. Hoiberg is a likable guy and has supposedly been groomed to become a GM someday. However, he instantly lost credibility with the fans when he said the Wolves drafted Mayo to keep only to see Mayo get traded for Love a few hours later. The problem with both guys is that they can't offer a fresh perspective that is so vitally needed for this team.

Another leading candidate is former Timberwolf Lance Blanks. He has front office experience with both the Spurs and Cavs. Unfortunately, there isn't much info out there about him. Obviously, he would have the new point of view, but I haven't seen anything that makes me want to either endorse or dismiss him as a candidate. I'd take him over Hoiberg or Stack, but I couldn't get excited about him.

Finally, we have Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey. He is reportedly the leading candidate and we do know the Spurs have been contacted by the Wolves about him. Canis Hoopus has some decent info about him. It looks like this guy is highly regarded within the NBA. I don't know that there is enough info to get excited about landing Lindsey, but at least there are no red flags that pop up.

So, who will it be? Hopefully, we will find out next week. Based on the limited info I have seen, I'd endorse Dennis Lindsey if it had to be one of the leading candidates. Of these four, I'd only be disappointed if Stack or Hoiberg became the official GM. Of course, there could be some secret candidates no one knows about. Even choosing a secret candidate would probably be a step in the right direction. (As long as the secret candidate is not named Kevin McHale.)