I am just sick of these games. I went to the GS game last night and again we were leading by 14 and then lost by 14. Ever since I started watching Wolves games after the 03-04 playoffs, I haven't missed a single game. I really need to take a break from these games... I can't take it anymore, even if I do miss one of the 8 or so victories we'll get this season.

Am I just nuts or are a lot of you really, really down this season?

I was really down on this season the moment KG got traded. We suck and this sucks. I still enjoy going to the games, as it is a fun social event and I love watching all of the other NBA teams and seeing live basketball at the highest level. But man does the atmosphere suck most of the time compared to previous years and/or any of the other pro sports teams games in this town.

I was pretty stoked for this new chapter and to watch some of the young guys like Jefferson, Telfair, Foye, Gomes, GG, etc develop. However, I agree that this season has been almost unbearably difficult. I mostly blame our Front Office and idiot coach.

College Wolf wrote:
You got it! I can't see us going anywhere until Wittmann and McHale are gone. These people will remain as long as Taylor is the owner.

BTW, I was talking to a retired couple on the light rail after the game and it turns out they are season ticket holders since the Wolves were added to the NBA. They told me that this team is the worst they've ever seen... not a good sign.

It's definitely Wittman. Look at his career coaching record!!! I bet when everything is said and done, we'll be a good 15-20 games below where we could have been with a Van Gundy.

I actually think McHale will do a decent job with the team. I'm not worried about him running it into the ground. If you look at his track record...

1. Joe Smith signing - bone-headed move, but something a lot of other teams were probably doing as well

2. Drafting Avery/Ebi - He had some bad drafts in the early 2000's when we did have picks, but at the time we were a team that needed vets and rookies weren't going to help much. I can't 100% blame him for swinging for the fences instead of drafting a sure-thing that would only be so-so.

3. Sam/Spree - Great trades. You can't really fault him for the fact that they became thoroughly selfish. Although I do blame him for sitting on his hands in 2005 when we had 20 million in expiring deals for Spree and Ervin at the deadline.

4. Marko/Ricky/Blount - Bad trades that were sort of a knee-jerk reaction to the Sam/Spree fallout. Those two put the team in a very bad spot and he was trying to fix the situation. He made moves he shouldn't have to try and do \"something\".


Really, almost all of it boils down to the Joe Smith deal and Sam/Spree. In retrospect, they were bad moves, but you can't really 100% fault him for them. Remember, illegal contracts were common place.

The real key is that hopefully McHale has realized his mistakes and won't repeat them. That might not be the case if you bring in a new guy. I doubt McHale will be throwing around MLE contracts like candy, because he's been burned by Marko, Huddy, and Hassell. He probably won't be drafting another Ebi any time soon either. I think he'll hold onto our draft picks as well, as it's clear what's happend to this team without them.

Did he make some major mistakes? Absolutely. But I'm not sure that the track record will necessarily continue. If you can get a GM with a good track record, then by all means, give him the axe. But outing him just to have Hoiberg fill the role probably isn't going to make much of a difference.

Alright, this is what I have to say. I almost emailed my ticket rep and asked for a pro rated refund last night.

Even if we're already in tank mode for the draft lottery, we \"control our own destiny\" in the ping-pong ball department. We have a 4 game \"lead\" on Miami and Seattle for the most chances at a first round pick (and effectively 5 right now because we would \"own\" the tiebreaker).

For the sake of the fans, like CW, SG, me and any other person that goes to these f***ing games, can't they at least pretend to try and win?! They can even win a couple and still have the worst record and most chances. You get thhe same 25% odds of the first pick whether you finish with the worst record by 1 game or 10. Even if the plan is to rebuild through the draft, win a game or two just to give yor fan base something to cheer about when we go to these games or waste three hours on the TV watching. This f***ing sucks a$$.

TheOldLogo wrote:

No **** right? I mean, it's obvious we will have the worst record this season... let's try and win some huh? Excellent point that it doesn't matter how much worse your record is than the second worse team, you still only get a 25% chance at the number 1 pick. I don't think all casual fans are aware of this. (I'm not talking about anyone here... so don't take it the wrong way.)

College Wolf wrote:
Exactly! It's not like we get extra chances if we have an especially bad record than if we just barely get the worst record.

Don't forget last year. Nothing is more frustrating than watching the T Wolves w/ Kevin unable to win a game. This is at least a project with a plan. I can't watch the ends of games though. Even when we are ahead (which we always are) when it starts to go south I go in the kitchen and wash dishes. The only trouble is that I have smashed most of them and we have nothing to eat off of anymore!

Well if you want to be an optimist, it's better to tank early than tank later.

At least if we end up with a 10 game \"lead\" after the All-Star Game, the team can then start playing all out without fear of losing the pick. Of course, that's if we're tanking and we really don't suck this bad.

DeROK wrote:
Honestly... I'm not so sure we're tanking. I think we just really, really suck. I'm not pissed or trying to be mean or anything, I just think it's the reality.

Yeah, I agree. I don't think we're tanking either, which is why I added that caveat.

The only way I think we could be tanking is if McHale and Taylor knowingly strapped this team with a horrible coach so that we'd flounder and get a good pick. Otherwise I think everyone is giving a solid effort. I just think Wittman doesn't know how to coach on the NBA level.

DeROK wrote:
Agreed with the part in bold.

As for knowingly strapping us with a crappy coach to get a high draft pick, that could be possibility... however, not in this situation because they gave him that stupid fricken three year deal. If we only had Wittman this year, got a top pick, and then fired him for a good coach I'd be stoked.

They're going to tank the next two seasons I bet, then have Witt \"step down\" for family reasons or something. That way he's not fired. That will give us a Top 4 pick and then probably a 7-9th or so. Our youngsters will have experience and be ready to roll.

It's not the worst plan in the world. If I was going to really build this team into a title contender, ethics aside, that's probably how I'd do it. If this team got to the playoffs this year or the next, they'd get their tails handed to them, so what's the point. Stockpile and then become a super-power.

Wittman's not getting fired unless the players stage a boycott.