In Kahn We Can No Longer Trust
In Kahn We, Sadly, Can No Longer Trust. Long ago, when I was young and naïve, I envisioned writing an article called “In Kahn We Trust” hoping to stick it to the ESPN clowns after the Wolves made a major turnaround. But, it appears not to be, as they were right in the end. David Kahn has not worked out.
Whining, ranting, pessimism, self-loathing. This is the tone that is about to be heavily prominent in this write-up. So, if you are sensitive to those kinds of things, or would rather think positive things about the “Kahn plan," I humbly ask you to either respect the take that Is about to unravel, or instead return to your land where unicorns prance openly, and where David Kahn is instead the doppelganger of a small Leprechaun.
Okay, okay, perhaps a bit harsh and dramatic to start things out, but the point is: things are bad. Very bad. There is no other way to put it aside from now hindering workplace productivity and pumping out a few thousand words about nothing positive, nor encouraging, as it pertains to this team we so blindly follow as if something good might happen other than 75% completion of a fast break possession (progress!). But, let’s back waaayyy up here for a moment, to a land free of run-on sentences (a place, as I have already demonstrated, we are definitely not in).
When David Ebenezer Kahn was hired in May of 2009, there was a general wave of optimism. Whether this optimism was misguided due to spillover from the long-awaited end to the McHale era remains to be seen. But before Kahn was hired we had 3 others in the final consideration pool (that we know of): Dennis Lindsey of the Spurs, Randy Pfund of the Miami-based Nightingale Manor Assisted Living Facility, and the legendary Tom Penn. To the best of what was gathered based on’09 reports, Pfund was asking for over $4 million, a salary many would agree is much too high. Penn ended up using us for personal gain in
Kahn’s very first “transaction” was to dismiss Kevin McHale as coach, which hit hard and home with many. Opinion at the time seemed to split on this maneuver. Had it not been for the gargantuan Russia-sized bowel movement McHale had left on the front office, he might have made a fantastic coach for this young squad. A laid back type, yet firm and fair. Positive. Not arrogant, but humble and human. Empowered players to bring the best out in themselves with his laid back, Midwestern charm. The anti-Rhombus. Not to tangent, but I often wonder why coaches do not seem more receptive to feedback. In a corporate setting, the stubborn mules tend to be the least respected. And in basketball, a respect for your coach is basically mandatory for team success. Coaches make errors too, and nothing, personally, makes me respect or hold someone in higher regard than a willingness to admit and learn from mistakes. Tangent over.
Shortly after the McHale dismissal, Kahn began wheeling and dealing. His first basketball-related move, at the time, was a good one: trading Mike Miller and Randy Foye for the 5th pick in the 2009 draft, Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas and Oleksiy Pecherov. From a value standpoint, we won big. This pick, as most know, turned out to be Ricky Rubio. The same Rubio, might I add, could be in danger of not joining the team next year due to current Collective Bargaining Agreement issues. However, that night, all was magical. The Target Center-based draft party was louder than any Timberwolves event since the ’04 Western Finals. Unicorns were running rampant (literally, see photo below):
All was well. This was the apex of Kahn’s career as President of Basketball Operations, a title which Kahn of course says is “meaningless.”
Shortly after, we selected Jonny Flynn, passing over a projected top 5, dead-eye shooter in Stephen Curry. An odd buzz permeated
“You are going to love Jonny Flynn…. We think these two (Flynn and Rubio) can play together.”
One cannot blame Kahn for jumping on a tax-starved Wizards team, or for taking Rubio. Surely he could have done more homework on the buyout situation, but passing on Ricky would have been a very large PR blunder as your first ever draft pick. It is the Flynn pick that, well, do we need to elaborate?
Many remain confused to this day. Had it not been for the post-McHale era Kool-Aid (which provided Kahn FAR too much time, in hindsight), Draft Day ’09 was the start of Kahn’s fall into the GM we know today; the man many could argue is worse than Kevin McHale. The same McHale Kahn had fired days before. The same McHale who acquired our current All-Star. Who do you blame? The Chicken or the Egg? Does the old saying not apply somewhat to this scenario? If you bought a used car for $2,000, would you expect it to drive like a brand new $35,000 Audi? Glen Taylor thinks so, apparently. And yet, we bought into it.
Shortly following came the much-heralded signing of our current coaching staff, lead by the legend himself Kurt “Darrell Rhombus” Rambis, and his minions Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, film director Woody Allen, and JB Bickerstaff. A very positively received hiring by the fan base at the time lead to a joyous harmony of:
"Triangle Offense!” “LA Lakers!” “Phil Jackson’s heir apparent!.” ”He talks just like Phil!”
Little did we know.
After a series of cost-cutting trades (Kahn averaged one trade/signing every two-weeks from August-October, 2009), we had the 2009-2010 Wolves poop-fest headlined by Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, Pecherov and Nathan Jawai. Because apparently marijuana and heavy drugs were legal in
“A growing year.” “It doesn’t really count.” “Bad roster.” ”Ha, Pecherov?”
The human psyche tells us many things to convince us we couldn’t possibly be wrong. Quick hypothetical: If you could go back in time and slap yourself for thinking something, would it be ask that beautiful girl on a date you never had the courage to speak to… or to tell yourself you are an idiot for supporting the Rambis hire? Kind of a tough call.
But, despite the 15 wins and the susequent 2010 draft, many bought it anyways.
Rambis, has, in short, been a complete disaster as a head coach. There is currently no single basketball-related counterpoint that someone can provide (believe me, I have tried to find one, and have asked his small faction of supporters…to no avail) that suggests otherwise other than the nauseating “give ‘em more time” mantra. How many examples do we need to provide in order to invoke an understanding of the level of coaching incompetence coming from the man barking orders in his ‘pretend-to-sound-like-Phil-Jackson’ rasp? A few, in typical run-on form: thinking Kevin Love is a 6th man, playing 11 players in first halves, refusing to close out 3-point shots, alienating your young point guard, becoming, at one point, the worst coach in team history record-wise, having the exact same # of wins as last year (in what was the worst season in franchise history) to date, completely disregarding player's strengths and comfort levels. So many more examples.And we want Ricky Rubio within 3 feet of this guy? Long story short, he had his chance. But most importantly, again, the team currently has the exact same number of wins as last year. Oh by the way, rather under the radar, the Wolves just hired a consultant to provide an outside evaluation as to just what is going on with this team. Again, all I ask is one reason not related to patience.
Kahn was not done, though. Another draft passed in which he picked, or traded for, 3 players who play the same position, passing over DeMarcus Cousins in the process. But then, after making his annual slew of cost-cutting moves, Kahn had previously promised us he was freeing up money to make a big move via three windows of opportunity. At first these windows were the ’10 trade deadline, the ‘10 draft and the ’11 Trade Deadline, the last of which is next Thursday. Now, after little materialized, the windows were conveniently pushed out in his latest “letter to the fans” before the season. This bought Kahn more time to make cost cutting moves and draft underperforming players. So where is this plan? Do you not realize our cap space has an expiration date, and it pretty much is next Thursday? Does this all seem like an unplanned representation of sheer boobery and BS or is it just me?
Another tangent….Let me pause and say this about DeMarcus Cousins: anyone who honestly takes a step back and says “I would still pass on Cousins today” seems to be grasping at Wolves-colored straws. In the NBA, behavioral issues are two-fold. You have the criminal-types who do drugs and get into legal trouble; and you have the temperamental, but over-competitive type. Think Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett vs. Eddy Curry (who we were ironically rumored to be acquiring last week) or Ron Artest (to a lesser degree). DeMarcus Cousins is in
But Kahn was not done yet! He then traded away both of his 2009 free-agent signings, one of which had his own press conference with the team a year prior, giving up a 2nd rounder and cash to do so, and taking on salary in return. One actual, serious response I remember reading in Wolves-dom? “Oh, it’s great he is learning from his mistakes and taking corrective action!”
Really?
What preposterous rationalization will we make next to justify the incompetence? And we are supposedly trading a first round pick for Anthony Randolph? And you also gave up a draft pick to gift away Ramon Sessions, who just put up 32 and 8 in a win against the defending champions? Speaking of proper value assessment...
This was preceded by a trade of Al Jefferson for 2 first round picks, cap space (!!!), and Koufos (who had, of course, starter potential because he was ONCE a first round pick). The cap space was to be used for the aforementioned “singular move.” Oddly, the Al trade was a trade some, including myself, supported. Despite the going-ons in
I am curious what the front-office-fed excuse is going to be when the trade deadline passes with maybe a relatively harsh overpayment for Anthony Randolph or Hasheem Thabeet. Your singular move. Actually, no, your singular crap on the proverbial head of your glorious window of opportunity to do something with a slew of assets. Assets that, to date, have netted us a group of confused wings, a young, black-hole former #2 pick playing out of position (yet, still a bright spot), a coach who couldn’t manage a group of typing monkeys, and the maintenance of the 2nd best rebounder since 1982. The biggest bright spot coming from the guy Kahn fired, and who initially he wanted to mold into a 6th man. And somewhere, the sound of Rubio can be heard laughing.
Yet, Rambis and Kahn are still defended. "Give them time!" Absolutely not! No more time after all that has transpired. At what point are we going to stop gifting away our assets? At what point do the rebuilding trades stop where one big asset net us 3 (or 1) smaller asset(s)? At what point do we stop overpaying?
And here we are today, with 13 wins, having just lost a game in which our starting 1-3 combined for a single point.
David Kahn, your legacy. Created by your own dishonesty and mismanagement of expectations. You have done Our Town well. Speaking of town, I want to say that I firmly believe a swift change to the front office can make an immediate difference. It is easy and painless. Let Kahn go home, and leave ‘Our League’ for awhile. Let Tony Ronzone get a 1 or 2 year trial run that provides him a 7-digit budget to beef up his FO. Then let Rambis go and give Laimbeer a shot. While at the women’s level, Laimbeer has proven he can coach and win at a professional-level, and lead people whom, quite frankly, are very different than he is. This is not something to sneeze at. The move would be quick, painless, and suddenly the Wolves have a front office with a track record of success, that is also free of shady characters and with no long-term commitments. And, most importantly, no more Kahn, who has just proven time and time again that he is only good at one thing: turning silver into coal.
Do it
PS: This article should not be the only voice on the front page. A lot of people disagree with what is contained here. Anyone is welcome to write up a counter post (ideally a forum contributor), hopefully with better grammar and spelling, and we will plop it right up. This site isn't designed to be my personal soap box.
Warm Regards and Go Wolves!
-Mike
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
@suzan Wow, great comment Suzan. Very well said. Thanks a lot for taking the time to stop by and join the discussion!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You said what we have been saying since Kahn arrived on the scene and Rambus became the coach. The way that Al Jefferson and Kevin Love were treated really ticked us off. It's not like the front office had or even has a clue. Rambus looks like he hasn't an idea and he reminds me of a lost soul with his head in the clouds. Kahn is just bad at his job. Money isn't the key to everything. Al Jefferson is blowing everyone away at Utah and Kevin Love had to find his own niche with the Wolves. He is lucky he makes or made the double-doubles as Rambus takes him out about 1/2 or longer in the game. Why? No, we can't figure it out either. Please get rid of Kahn and Rambus. The Wolves could have won so many games this year if they had had a coach who had a clue. Keviin Love had to find his own way to even be noticed. That is a shame. Check out Rambus during the timeouts and he looks like he hasn't a clue where to even start. He looks spacey.
It has been tough being a Wolves fan. We saw Love's potential but noone else on the payroll there did. So either let Kevin Love play or trade him to a team who can appreciate who and what he is and can do. Just call me and I will give you the list of where he could go and really make a difference.
I would love to have Lambeer as the coach. I remember him from high school in Palos Verdes, California. Damn fine player and one helluva coach. He also has some class. Hey, I am willing to give him a shot as Rambus simply must GO!
We watch every game and cringe. I just know that there are a couple of seats in heaven with our names on them. When we arrive at the pearly gates, St. Peter will say, "Gosh, you were followers of the Wolves. Go on in as you have already been through hell."
not one of you actually watches all the games. It has nothing to do with Kahn. God people. please watch a whole season on TV or actually go to every one of the games. not one of you knows anything
@rob1111 K. I think its safe to say we will shut down the site, then. Thanks for stopping by.
@rob1111 Hahahahahahaha what? We all watch almost all the games... for some strange reason that I'm not yet totally sure about.
I guess this pretty much sums up my feelings. DCous is good no doubt about that. But there is no guarantee that Wes isn't. Remember K love vs Mayo. People were getting very mad over that trade and look who ended up ahead. Not that I'm saying Wes is better than Cousins, just don't consider him a lost cause. The dearth of guard coaches also might be an issue or the role the guards play in the system.
I'm quite surprised that Khan makes only 750k. But I think that's what his job should pay him. In this case his job is to move salary and cut costs. Congrats he did that. Now I think a new GM with skill analysis should be hired. We need a GM that can asess both player and coach skill well.
Do I blame Kahn yes. Do I blame rambis as well yes. I think that I'll give Khan this draft at most. His final test is pretty much in 8 days. Draft day becauser with the current talent and the CBA thing, maybe an over thinker will work to our advantage???
Yes Wolves basketball is pretty depressing. But hey look on the bright side. We need one superstar and we're pretty much set (for 5ish years). Comeon pingpong balls...
To be honest, I agree with Wrangler on this. WallyWorld himself uses the business world analogy, and while NBA is a different business model than most out there, let's stick with the analogy for a while...
Ask anyone in management in the real world about the major challenges in leading a successful organization on any level, and one of the themes that will come back over and over again is the challenge of maintaining a sense of optimism. If you don't keep an optimistic attitude, even successful teams are hard to follow (see "Vikings, Minnesota").
To use another metaphor, you buy a house that's condemned, you gut it, strip it to bare studs, and now we're going to stop the project during the rough-in phase, rip out all the plumbing and electrical that we just did, only to completely re-frame the house and do all the hard work all over again.
Of course the house looks like crap, we are rebuilding it from the ground up!
The defense of your desire to draft Cousins is a MAJOR weak spot in your analysis. His weak-ass baby attitude is tearing up the Kings and it would do worse to our team, where Love and Beasley's egos are already in a tenuous balancing act (thank God for guys like Tolliver and Telfair who seem to work hard and not whine when their minutes are jerked around).
I wouldn't be heart-broken if we fired Rambis and end up with Laimbeer. I agree that winning in the WNBA is probably a lot tougher than people give him credit for. Also since he is the closest thing anyone has seen to Love in terms of NBA game, he'd probably do a good job of mentoring and utilizing the Love machine.
That said, Rambis isn't playing with a full deck as far as a roster goes. Our team, without Beasley, Webster, Darko, Ridnour, is hardly comparable to most NBA teams in terms of talent.
That doesn't excuse the poor game management and the weird rotations. It also doesn't explain the over-use of guys like Koufos and the under-use of guys like Brewer and Johnson, who I think could play 30 minutes each and hardly break a sweat.
Finally, PLEASE stop trying to use petulant ad-hominem insults to further your argument. It does nothing to solidify your credibility and it makes you seem less smart than you obviously are. You put a lot of thought into the write-up, why not let your thoughts speak for themselves rather than trying to use insults to fill-in what you could easily articulate thoughtfully?
@WallyWorld @Wolfenstein
"Thanks for the long comment Wolfenstein....push out one of your normal epics soon and we'll bump it up front. Perhaps a counter to this would be fantastic!"
- Seconded
@Wolfenstein
1. I realize the team is at the studs. You miss the point. It is the continued demonstrated INEPTITUDE I am upset about. You don't hire an accountant to build a house....keeping with the analogy. Kahn is terrible. You cant just give time to inept humans who are dreadful at their job and continue to burn away opportunities (of which, the vast majority were gifted by the previous regime). Again, you HONESTLY want Kahn to handle another draft? Think long and hard here for a minute about what the fruits of Kahn's drafts are.
2. Cousins. I can respect both sides from this after some thought. But much more than his whining is hindering the Kings, so that is a bit of a stretch comment you made. I'm not sure how good of a coach Westphal is, or whatever, but they have attitude problems coming from many circles, including Tyreke. The main point was, Cousins is not out abducting children. Or doing drugs. He is extremely competitive. He is immature. These problems are fixable with age, and are derived from, at least, a positive source: wanting the team to win. Garnett, Rasheed, BEASLEY, even. Same problem. Cousins is superior to Wes Johnson in every way. Again, this is a hindsight arguement that we will never resolve, but I wouldnt say it is a "weak analysis" just because my opinion differs from yours. Merely an opinion that many Wolves fans dont hold because they are trying to convince themselves Wes is a better pick...which he just isn't in terms of basketball impact and there is no arguement.
3. Love/Beasley ego? Where does this come from? Drives me nuts. By all indication Beasley has become a completely different human since he came here. People look at Love's stats and say "rebound hog ego maniac" (not you per se, but others on TWB). yet he speaks to the press with as much humilty as Steve Nash. Completely overblown. We should be thrilled with how they have (allegedly) handled themselves to date. Anything spoken to the contrary is just Wolves-frustration presented differently than 10000 word hate posts that piss off one of our best forum contributors (that'd be you, sir).
4. I think we hashed out the Rhombus stuff in the forums. Were square.
5. What are these insults? Kind of a dramatic comment. However, aside from a few bad jokes here and there, such as comparing Kahn to a LepreKAHN, I apologize if something came off wrong and I will keep that in mind in the future. HOWEVER, we have a tone here and it's not to replicate the Star Tribune. I am not trying to earn credibility in the journalism world. People can say what they will and that includes you. I was pissed after the Blazer game...and am even more pissed after this Clipper shit-fest where we were murdered by Randy Foye. Shoot me.
Thanks for the long comment Wolfenstein....push out one of your normal epics soon and we'll bump it up front. Perhaps a counter to this would be fantastic!
@Pants80 @Wolfenstein Hell no... of course the Kings wouldn't do that! Cousins is a future stud. Yeah, he's immature. He's young. He has time to grow. He just needs some solid leadership, which unfortunately the Kings do not appear to have at the moment. Not saying the Wolves do and he'd be better off here with us, but man, we sure passed on an awesome talent.
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@Wolfenstein I still bet the Kings wouldn't trade Cousins for Wes + Flynn + our two extra 1st round picks.
Both GMs build their rosters through the draft, free agency, trades and waiver wire transactions. Both hired their own head coaches that at one point or another came under scrutiny. There are some differences but a lot of similarities.
In the NBA, Jerry Krause comes to mind. Krause really had no athletic background, made several bad draft choices that were highly criticized. The guy hit gold on Jordan. Kahn needs that one player to turn his ship around like Krause.
Could you imagine if every professional sports team operated like this article suggests the Timberwolves should? The Wolves should panic?
Could you imagine if the Green Bay Packers had panicked after Ted Thompson blew up the Packers roster and went through some growing pains in the process? A good portion of Green Bay's fan base had insisted that Thompson was a fool and even started the now epic www.firetedthompsonnow.com/. I personally recall reading articles like the above that pointed out Thompson's drastic misses; wasting a first rounder on another Jeff Tedford project (Aaron Rodgers), drafting an overachieving safety from a small school (Nick Collins), drafting an undersized wide receiver from Western Michigan (Greg Jennings), giving up too much for a player that walked on at USC (Clay Matthews) and of course never handing out the big bucks in free agency. Well folks, it all worked out in the end and Thompson brilliantly built Green Bay into a Super Bowl powerhouse.
Is David Kahn on the same level of Ted Thompson? Maybe not but my suggestion is to give this regime a little time to see their plan through. Truth be told, Kahn has made some savvy moves to date. Giving up almost nothing for Milicic, nothing for Beasley and fleecing the Wizards for Rubio are good moves. It's easy to get passionate about sports but take a couple steps back and breath.
@WallyWorld @Wranglers @Pants80 The "Last year doesn't count" excuse is one of the worst/most tiring excuses fans can use. God, that drives me insane to hear. Clearly, every season frickin counts. Why wouldn't it? So we are supposed to slog through entire NBA seasons because our front office is (or has been) incompetent? WTF. That makes no sense. Every season "counts", and fans are getting sick of abject failure.
@Wranglers @Pants80 Also sorry Wranglers I realize you never alluded to “last year doesn’t count.” It was a side comment /addition.
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@Wranglers @Pants80 THIS “Kahn walked into a disaster” take drives up the wall. McHale and crew cleared the way and Kahn got the credit. And “disaster” as opposed to what? The worst team in franchise history we now have? Cripes, these kinds of takes are just not well-informed or thought out.
And comparing this to football? Could we grasp at any more straws here? Again, it’s the demonstrated FO incompetence (which you address, amongst the only people to do so), not the year and a half. I’m not a football fan but I’m pretty sure the Packer fans weren’t watching the worst 2 teams in franchise history in b2b years here. Hence our frustration. And if anyone says “last year doesn’t count” one more time I’m seriously going to blow up. Let’s all try that at our next annual review at work….
It is an undeniable disaster.
@Wranglers Thanks for the comment. But again, the team win total is the same as TTLY despite going through another huge rebuilding phase in which we let Pavlovic, Wilkins, Jawai, Pecherov and others go in favor of the current "upgraded" team. We gifted our best player last year for an opportunity to add more talent....an opportunity window that ends a week from tomorrow and will net us franchise savior Anthony Randolph in exchange for probably too much.
It's not time. It has nothing to do with time. We have been a crap team since 2005 and were used to it by now. It's the sheer ineptitude shown by Kahnbis that serves as the source. Too many examples to list.
To be fair, it is WAY easier to blame Rambis for this. I can see why most don't grip on the anti-Kahn sentiment unless you really put some thought into it or read the piece with an open mind.
However, I ask, you want Kahn to handle another draft?
-Mike (author)
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@Wranglers A .500 season that doesn't net you a playoff spot is in contention for a slot until the last two weeks of the season atleast. That is different than not being in the conversation by week 4 for years on end.
This post qualifies as "just sayin'" because this has little to do with Kahn.
@Wranglers My point is the Packers fans hyperventialating over 1 non-playoff year when they shouldn't be, doesn't mean we should automatically give a GM 5 years to do as he pleases. Honestly when I look at the transaction log I don't necessarily think the man needs to go. He made one grade A draft screw up with Flynn and has an incomplete with Rubio. The indecisiveness with FA point guards is annoying but not damning.
In many other aspects circumstances have gone against us. For right or wrong the more I learn about the guy the less I feel like he was qualified to get the job in the first place. That was a wrong that maybe should be rectified.
I have no doubt that Kurt Rambis doesn't know how to connect with his players in a meaningful way that will get this team wins. Laimbeer now please. If Love truely is the man for this franchise than Rambis isn't the person in charge.
@Pants80 Thompson didn't come into nearly as bad of a situation either. Kahn walked into a disaster that needed to be overhauled right away.
@Wranglers http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/
Green Bay hasn't had two consequtive losing seasons in a row in unless you go back 2 decades. That isn't a fair analogy.
If you watch this blog or any other active team blog you are going to see the lack of long view perspective that comes with over analysis. However, I don't think we are wrong to distrust this regime. The fact that it was hired with such little conviction by the owner and the guys have little to no track record to fall back on gives them a rightfully shorter leash.
@Wranglers A fair point Wranglers, and thanks for commenting. I just don't think you can really compare much on the Front Office side between the NFL and NBA. Mostly because the sports and the dynamics of team building are sooooooooooo much different from each other. I mean, 53 man rosters compared to 12, for starters. Everything is different about how guys are evaluated/signed/retained in the NBA.
Can you think of a similar example to what you pointed out below, but in the NBA? I can't really think of anything to be honest. Maybe I need to think a little harder, but I just don't think it's happened yet. A bad NBA GM is almost always just a really bad NBA GM.
I'm really getting tired of this. The problems on the t-wolves are deeper than one man. I think the whole team should share the blame for the losses not just the GM, and Head Coach.
That being said I don't feel the Darth Vader method here is warrented. It didn't work for Darth Vader and it didn't work for the Vikings. If you fire everyone for a crappy season every time how on earth do you ever expect to get anyone willing to try to fix things? You are going to end up with people that are basically not good enough to go anywhere else.
I think this is the last time I'm reading this blog. I'm tired of the pessimism. There are a lot of positives and Kahn is responsible for a many of them. This blog seems to be all about complaining rather than being true fans. My advice to those that are enjoying this blog article is to not watch the All Star Game and stop watching the t-wolves, let us that believe in the team to follow them.
@WallyWorld @neo Definitely. Hope you wouldn't leave because of this article, but that is your choice. Everyone at TWB is kindly welcome to their own counter opinion(s) and thoughts.
@neo Also Neo I added this to the article.
PS: This article should not be the only voice on the front page. A lot of people disagree with what is contained here. Anyone is welcome to write up a counter post (ideally a forum contributor), hopefully with better grammar and spelling, and we will plop it right up. This site isn't designed to be my personal soap box.
Warm Regards and Go Wolves!
-Mike
@neo
Much like Cousin's pouting, this article had good intentions.
We believe in the team, and want nothing but the best.
Sorry you wont be back....
@neo Why on earth should someone who it at their wits end with this basketball team's poor play not watch the All-Star game? Do you think anyone who isn't a big (true) fan of this team is following them and reading/writing blog posts?
In the NBA the line between 50 wins and 50 losses hinges on the addition or loss of 1 player in many cases. If the guy who picks the players doesn't have the skill to do it well you'll always have a losing team.
Yes there is much more wrong with this franchise than Kahn and Rambis but they've had a shot at making themselves what is right about it and haven't come through with Flying colors. Personally I think Kahn gets his shot at this draft, FA period and bringing over Rubio. And he has likely earned that much. The second next season starts Kahn has fully had his shot at rebuilding the team in him image and he'll be graded as such.
@neo Very sorry to hear that you would stop coming here because of a realistic article. Sorry if some people are just tired of the nonsense from this organization. Who then should be held responsible for YET ANOTHER year of epic ineptitude? I mean, who do you think takes the blame here? No one? We should just all carry on and be happy that the Wolves win 1 out of every 5 games if we are lucky?
I mean, there comes a point where the organization needs to be held responsible for their complete failures. If this franchise wasn't soooo mis-managed and inept, they would have a lot more success/fans/people at TC/etc. There are tons of diehard Wolves fans that will start going to games again if management ever removes their heads from their asses.
There is a line.
Check out this forum thread for tons more on this discussion before you leave TWB and never come back. It is insighful:
Whoa, this looks EPIC. Can't wait to read at work tomorrow, lol!
Remember that Kahn only makes $750,000. Ironically (or not?) one of the reasons Taylor hired him was because of how cheaply he could sign him. Well gee... look how that turned out. Once again, Taylor saves a ton of money (not paying Kahn much salary, and from Kahn slashing the payroll.) Go figure. Ughghghg. Fail.
That went down like live toad eaten whole. I just don't trust his ability to evaluate talent. Even if you say that is Ronzone's area of expertise now why have that person be the number 2? What is Kahn bringing that Ronzone couldn't? Why has the educated guesses posters here (relative to the access NBA teams have to film and players) proven to be more accurate than a guy watching hours and hours of film on the clock?
It is time for the Ronzone and Laimbeer era to begin.
