Kiss of Death

by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 12:39 PM CST Comment 57 comments

Ball Don't Lie beat me to the punch line, but the Wolves have a new head coach and no, it is not Basketball Jesus. What it is, is the kiss of death:

"Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level," Taylor said. "It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach. He has been involved in the NBA game for almost 30 years, is a tremendous teacher and has a wealth of basketball knowledge. I am confident that our players will respond to the new voice and perspective that Kevin will provide."

This site has said on numerous occasions that the coaching of Our Beloved Puppies Zombies was not the main problem with this squad. It never has been. It was the 1999 draft, the overpaid free agents, Wally's contract, the Marko Jaric trade, we-have-to-have Marcus Banks, Spree and Sam morphing into Ricky Davis and Mike James, Davis and James turning into Randy Foye and a point to be named later, McCants over Granger, Foye over Roy, Brewer over Young, and, in certain circles, Mayo over Love (to name a few). Kevin McHale has run this franchise into the ground with a never-ending string of not only bad decisions, but of maximized disaster: choices that continually work out in the worst possible fashion for the team he was charged with running.

With the decision to place the Iron Ranger at the end of the bench (a decision that has been advocated for numerous times here at Hoopus), and to relieve him of his front office duties, a McHale exit strategy has been laid in place and the team can start to position itself to clear the biggest hurdle in its rebuilding effort: the continued employment of one Kevin McHale.

This decision has its genesis in the Iron Ranger's ridiculous assertion that his assembly of talent had enough juice to be a .500 team this season. Here's a gem of a McHale quote to remember from that particular moment in time:

On why he keeps on keeping on at a job most Wolves fans hope he'd leave: "I love basketball. I'll be on my deathbed and I'll love basketball. I don't do it for any other reason than I absolutely love basketball. ... I want this team to be in really good shape. I want this team to be competitive, going for the playoffs and trying to put a championship-caliber team together that can make a run and keep it together."

Here's his chance. With 63 games left in the regular season he now gets to run the asylum as the head coach of the motley crew of mismatched personnel that he himself helped put together. Will he, as Papa Glen says, get the most out of his team to the tune of .500 ball over the remaining schedule? You, I, Papa Glen, Crunch, and the drummer guy outside of Target Center all know the answer to this question: no, of course not.

After 13 years of gambling away the good will of his selection of Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale has now been put out to pasture on his own personal walk of shame. The party is over, the music long since turned down, and he gets to walk his way back to the north woods in full view of an all-too-ready-to-laugh fan base.

The Iron Ranger will now get to call the shots for a team with no point, a 6th man masquerading as a starting off-guard, an over-the-hill big at center, a 35 year old journeyman at the 1, a 3 point specialist who doesn't shoot, and a defensively inept #1 scoring option.

In his infinite wisdom of VP of Basketball Operations he gets to coach a team with 10 guaranteed contracts on the books next year with the possibility of 4 1st rounders with guaranteed contracts on the horizon. I'm sure Papa Glen is absolutely thrilled at the prospect of having 14 guaranteed contracts locked in if the status quo remains on a 4-win team.

In other words, while we may see a bit of a dead cat bounce at the bottom, we're still looking at a club that may not have enough to get back into the swing of things anytime soon.

Getting around to the man who was let go, I have said before that I liked Witt. He was the only person in the Country Club to have the good sense to scoff at the Iron Ranger's 42-40 prediction. In his appearances on the Chad Hartman program, he exhibited a dry wit, and judging by some of his players' comments after them being unable to master the 2-3 zone attack, he was more than likely playing with an un-winnable hand.

We here at Hoopus made quite a fuss about his rotations and his unwillingness to play some of the young talent on the squad but we didn't mention enough that Witt was simply coaching to achieve an unachievable goal: .500 ball. One of the things that came up over and over again here in the comments section (and on numerous Wolves bulletin boards) was that it seemed like Witt was coaching for short-term victories rather than player development. Well, when your VP of Basketball Operations lays out a 42-win goal, what else would you have him do?

It's never a good thing to see someone fired and we'll have a run-down on Witt's tenure as coach in a later post, but the main talking point going forward is that McHale is finally getting his just desserts.

Speaking of which, from a public affairs perspective, I am a bit baffled by the decision to put McHale at the end of the bench. In times of great buffoonery and crisis, Public Relations 101 dictates that you immediately nip the problem in the bud and move on so that your customers are not continually reminded of the problems that led to the current unfortunate situation. At the last home game against the Clips, McHale was the target of some pretty vociferous heckling. Do they think this will change? Exactly how do the Wolves think McHale's press conferences will go after the inevitable load of losses? Do they think the local press corps will want to talk about 4th quarter collapses or will it be a series of non-stop daily reminders that McHale is being tasked with marshaling the piddly resources he managed to collect over his tenure in the front office?

Moving forward, this team is still run by the Country Club. Toronto Rob and Freddie Iowa are still there waiting in the wings to do what exactly? Wait until the end of the year and bring in Sam Mitchell? Go check out some Raptors' sites and see what their fans think of Smitch. Let's imagine the unthinkable and think about what would happen if McHale turns out to be the business as a NBA coach? What then?

There are still far many more questions than answers with this squad and one of the big things that will go unsaid during the current change is that while they may have jettisoned McHale on an unachievable mission, they are still stuck in limbo. Will they stay the course with the current front office (who are just as culpable as McHale in the current composition of the club)? Will they bring in a permanent coach by the end of the year? If they need to make a big deal with assets like Mike Miller, Collins' expiring deal, and, yes, even Al Jefferson, how can they pull off what needs to be done without a long-term front office/coaching solution in place?

This current change is fairly analogous to Witt's coaching approach this season. While it ostensibly gives the team a McHale exit strategy, it is nothing more than a short-term solution to a series of long-term fatal flaws that this franchise seems to have in spades. How do you blow up a ship with the majority of the crew still in place? How do you coach for .500 when you don't have the resources? For us fans, how do you avoid apathy when what is about to unfold will undoubtedly be more of the same?

Remember, the Minnesota Swarm kick off their season on January 3rd. Seeing that McHale is still a part of the franchise, we are now your SB Nation leader in Minnesota Swarm news and information.

UPDATE: Hoopus has just received an exclusive photograph of McHale at the exact moment he received the news that he would be the new Wolves coach:

via the Strib.

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Comments

Well, I'll Be

I thought McHale had lifetime employment. It looks like we can see the end, though. McHale will coach until year end, when the Wolves look to hire a new guy. Hopefully, they pick someone from outside the organization. The problem, of course, is that they have those damned 14 guaranteed contracts, two or three of which will be crappy first round picks. So, who’s gonna want to coach this club?

by SBG on Dec 8, 2008 1:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh yes! This makes my day .. no wait, this makes my week! As I said on Britt’s blog. I’m not sure he’ll do bad. .500 is offcourse not realistic but I think people put FAAR to much emphasis on that one. When I heard that I felt it was kinda like, of the top of his head, feeling wise, he wasn’t really counting how much he was actually predicting and I’m sure he’d take it back if he’d have known how much weight was put on that.

That said, if he can stay on a 35 win course (counted from this point on) I see this as a win and I hope he stays coaching (just like I thought Isiah should have stayed a Knick scout because he was good at that, not biting on Marcus Williams who turned out to be bust, Balkman turning out to be value at that position, etc…).

I really like this change and I totally disagree with the negative outlook. I might be wearing rose colored glasses (I have a tendency to do that in a lot of things) but I got confidence that from this point on we’re starting on 30win course and by the end of the year it’s gonna be 35 … if it’s not .. let’s hope papa glen carries through and ends McHale alltogether .. but I’m willing to give him one more shot at redemption (since he did the Love trade, which I still think was highway robbery).

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 8, 2008 1:10 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

following myself up again …. no way they keep all four picks, if they do I’ll have to add another spot on my wall to slam my head into; they just HAVE to move up up up. If need be all 4 picks for one.

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 8, 2008 1:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Finally

We all knew it was coming. This move makes sense by Taylor. He doesn’t pay extra for another head coach, he moves McHale out of the GM post and forces him to coach the team he has put together. This is pretty good for McHale too, because Wittman did such a terrible job, that it’ll be reasonable to see some improvement for the rest of the season.

by DR_JPK on Dec 8, 2008 1:14 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

To be honest

I’m kind of intrigued. There are so many questions. Who takes over at GM? Hopefully someone from outside? How will McHale do? What if he does OK?

Opps Wim just beat me to it…I, like Wim, am wondering if McHale might actually do OK. Wasn’t his record not bad during his last coaching stint?

Here’s my prediction – well, my prediction and my worry I guess: McHale does OK this year, not .500 but just below, and in any case much better than Wittman was doing. Taylor decides to keep him on. Next year there’s not much improvement, they’re mediocre again, and Taylor finally fires him at the end of the year.

To my mind the impending managerial decisions are even more important – like, what are we going to do with those draft picks? Who’s making decisions here? I really hope it’s not Babcock. No offence Rob, but I really, really hope it’s not Babcock.

I continue to wonder how much of a role finances played in this whole thing – after all this way Taylor doesn’t have to add an extra salary to the books – I assume McHale’s just making the same salary as before? So essentially, from an economic standpoint, absolutely nothing changes…until he hires a new GM.

Opps now DR JPK has posted essentially the same thing. Oh well.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 1:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

re: the GM:

this really is a huge decision. Wonder who’s available? Wonder if Taylor will put up the cash for anyone good? My early money’s on Hoiberg in another money-saving gesture. (I know Taylor hasn’t been cheap in the past, but given the economic climate…)

I understand S/P’s reservations, but I’d be intrigued by Hoiberg. I don’t know why, maybe – probably – I’m letting my liking of him as a player cloud my judgment. Don’t get me wrong, I’d prefer to see someone from outside…maybe it’s just that if Hoiberg gets the job it means Babcock doesn’t get the job. Again, no offence Rob.

Ah maybe I’m wrong about Hoiberg, who the hell knows. Who’s available for GM anyways?

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 1:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It sounded like Hoiberg was a Mayo-Guy, so I already like that about him:)

I’m also intrigued by the changes. Not necessarily expecting lots of wins, but I think McHale will commit to SOMETHING, and probably put some confidence in whatever players he feels are our best. We’ll see..

by Andy G on Dec 8, 2008 1:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, but was he a Mayo guy for the right reasons?

Some of the rumors made it sound like he mainly wanted OJ Mayo because of his connection to Tim Floyd. Few things are more country club esque than liking a player because of his connection to your old buddy. Granted inside tips from a coach are always nice.

by oblivionspocket on Dec 8, 2008 2:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah good point.

It’s amazing – well I guess it’s not amazing, that’s the point – how poorly the country club approach always seems to work. You had Pitino trying to recreate Kentucky in Boston and failing miserably. In Charlotte you have 2 players, a coach, and a GM from UNC…and the fans are staying away in droves.

Then again I guess the cc approach is working pretty well in Boston, what with Ainge and McHale… ;)

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 2:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No clue...

on why (or even "if") Hoiberg was a Mayo guy, but that’s how it sounded.

by Andy G on Dec 8, 2008 2:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

good points pliny

Even if McHale is coach, we at least know he’ll play his draft picks and we won’t see the dreaded, Ollie, Cardinal, Booth, Collins group in games… if nothing else, this will be a big positive for the younger wolves development

by DR_JPK on Dec 8, 2008 1:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

yeah good point -

I bet McHale will essentially follow Zgoda’s “blueprint” from his blog the other day. Should be interesting if nothing else.

McHale is so much more avuncular than “Mr. Intensity” Wittman…I wonder if this won’t put the players at ease a bit, cause them to loosen up. I know one guy whose initials are Randy Foye who could stand to benefit.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 1:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, as much as Bill Simmons will want the job, Taylor can’t give it to him because he’ll just trade away any good players to the celtics for spare parts. :p

by oblivionspocket on Dec 8, 2008 1:33 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

I think Foye will benefit the most from this move. He’s going to get to play with abandon, and that’s the only way he can be effective. I look for the biggest spike from him. I also look forward to McHale showing us, in practice, how the obsolescence of traditional basketball positions can be exploited by putting out a team of “players.” This will be interesting if nothing else. But let’s hope Taylor is doing his homework and looking for the kind of basketball man we need to have a good draft. This is going to be the most important draft since, well, last year. But other than that, it’ll be the most important draft since we took KG. We need to get some players, like Rubio or Jennings, DeRozen or Evans (i.e., playmakers and athletes).

by Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 1:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Love is my pick...

for benefiting the most, but Foye is defiantly right there. Those are the two guys that McHale wants to prove himself right on.

by Pants_ on Dec 8, 2008 2:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

agree on Love...

He’ll probably start from here on out and get grande minutes. Hell they may even run a play or 2 for him. Imagine that…..

by wolfen on Dec 8, 2008 2:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

SnP

Good postmortem here, by the way. I like this post.

Anyone else curious about tomorrow night’s game? In many ways, it’s like a season opener. Or like a different path in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. With all the parts the same except the coach (and the new coach is the evil GM who put the parts in the place, presumably with some “plan” in mind), we get to see how the team looks and what kind of plays they run and how they will respond. I think we’ll find out what everyone already knows – that Witt was a horrible, horrible coach who was in way over his head. McHale will be better than that. But he won’t be too good, and he will get fired in the off-season, and then the fun will really begin. Still, this boosts my interest quite a bit just because of the nature of the experiment.

by Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 1:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'm disappointed that Boozer won't play...

or won’t be 100. I’m pretty fascinated by the Jefferson comparisons to other power forwards, so I’d like to see them match up. Even if he plays, he won’t be 100 so it won’t be a telling result (unless Jeff gets worked over by injured Booz.)

Still, it’ll be fun to see a new look Wolves and it’s always fun to watch Deron play—for my money, the game’s best point guard.

by Andy G on Dec 8, 2008 2:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I enjoyed the post too.

I think if McHale does OK, Taylor just might be tempted to keep him on. Since McHale supposedly hates coaching so much, here’s hoping he fires himself. No offence to him, I’ll be happy in a “pleasantly surprised” kind of way if he does OK, but I think new blood is just imperative at this point.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 2:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thank's everybody for your input...

…listening to the presser the thing that jumped out the most is that McHale will answer directly to Papa Glen. I was in the military for almost 8 years and I’m a firm believer in the chain of command and…well, I don’t see this one ending well or creating feelings of good will among the guys who yesterday were his subordinates and who today are…still his subordinates even though he “stepped down”.

One of the worst…well, the worst job experience I had was ended by working alongside someone who was ostensibly (and in title, pay, etc) my subordinate but who had a direct line to the top. It was an unworkable situation and each and every single decision I made was undercut by said subordinate. Eventually, this person garnered their own special title and position outside the chain of command and everything went to hell because they were really the one with the top dog’s ear.

This is more of the same. I don’t know how else to dress it up. You can’t have a coach who is only accountable to the owner and not the GM. You can’t have a coach who has a direct line to the top that can circumvent whatever processes they have in place. You can’t have an employee at that level who is that top heavy….if that makes sense. Managerially, it makes zero sense.

PS: Andy, I’m glad we finally agree on something, D-Will being the best ;)

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 2:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Ha.

Well, we probably agree on more than that, but it’s no fun reinforcing the obvious stuff all the time:)

by Andy G on Dec 8, 2008 2:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

well put

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 2:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Unless Mchale fails miserably at coach, this is all a show for appearance sake. Come on, this is the wolves organization we’re talking about, masters of lying to the fans. I’m willing to bet that behind closed doors Mchale still has final say in all decisions. Glen the Failor Taylor is just trying to salvage what is left of the whithering fanbase.

Nothing has changed until Mchale is out of the organization completely.

by roundhouse on Dec 8, 2008 10:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Also....

….for those expecting a turnaround with the Iron Ranger as coach, he did so last time because he had a guy on the squad who….well, what was that guy’s name again?

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 2:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Latrell Sprewell?

by SBG on Dec 8, 2008 2:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Trenton Hassel?

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 2:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wally?

But, seriously

He still improved upon Flip for the remainder of the season. And neither Casey or Witt ever had the success he had with KG either.

I have to think he can improve upon Witt, but maybe not much over .500. He will put Jefferson and Love out there together and he’ll have a little talk with Miller about never taking a bad shot, basically telling him that he never even knew there was such a thing as a bad shot while he played. Foye will be the point guard and told to run the show good or bad and also to jack it up. I never really knew what smashmouth was, but I think it will be something McHale will explain about taking the game personally. As an example he might show the team the movie of the Terminator. Then after words highlights from the Detroit Vikings game on Sunday and the cheap shot Jared Allen took by the rookie Tackle. Allen Withering on the ground and then struggling to his feet and then hobbling over to kick the rookies #ss bad knee and all.

Jefferson, Miller, Love, Foye and Gomes are going to be getting extended minutes with McCants, Smith, Telfair and Carney filling in when needed. McCants plays not when he starts hitting shots but when he plays next to Foye and starts knocking players down who take it to the basket. Hard fouls and and physical play to help develop the identity so badly needed. I have a feeling the team will look a little like Utah by the end of the year under the tutelage of McHale. The players may eventually tune him out (that’s why he won’t coach beyond this year), but for the remainder fo the year they’ll listen to him – what other choice do they have. If I could see the odds for the remainder of the year I’d bet Mchale beats them and gets close to .500 out of them after the All star break. Slow improvement up to then and then playing at a level that is close to a playoff caliber team, judging by the teams they will beat, by the time the season ends clippers pick be damned.

by Andy B on Dec 8, 2008 3:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Dude he should hire you as assistant coach!

Seriously! Also, love the “he never even knew there was such a thing as a bad shot while he played” line, hilarious.

By the way I don’t know how much sense this makes, but I’m guess that McCants will soon be balking at this plan and that Carney will proceed to get all of his minutes.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 3:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The season when he took over...

Sam and Spree were pouting about getting new contracts. Convenient that they magically started playing much better when the guy in charge of player decisions takes over as coach. That’s why Mchale had a good record during his first interim stint.

by roundhouse on Dec 8, 2008 11:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

by the way

now that the first sweepstakes is over, i.e. “when will they fire Wittman” (who won by the way? wasn’t me, I said 1 Dec.), I think we need a new one, namely “what will McHale’s record be?” Wait I think I’ll make this a fanpost.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 3:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I can only find yours and mine, and I had 23rd of december so … :D

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 8, 2008 3:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Any Memories?

The one year in college I chose not to get the League Pass was the year McHale became coach for 27 games. I literally know nothing about him as a coach besides what I read and his impressive record. Does anyone remember anything insightful about him and his coaching style? Was there any indication why the Wolves record improved so much while he was the coach? Anything? I’d love to know!

by Blakeley on Dec 8, 2008 3:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

To be the proverbial fly in the ointment...

I think CP3 is the best point guard in the NBA, and it isn’t close. ;)

SnP, I agree that the “new” chain of command really isn’t new, but I disagree that it’s a big deal. I’ll be shocked if Taylor isn’t doing this to set up McHale’s firing in the off-season, at which time he’ll also clear out the rest of the front office. I think that’s what happened to Zeke in NY, and it’s playing out here too. He’s setting up McHale for failure by throwing him into the coaches’ job and embarrassing him by taking his formal title. McHale’s gonna be gone soon enough, don’t fret…

by Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 3:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

So, any chance guys like sam presti(spurs assistant gm) or mike wells(spurs advanced scout) would like to work for Taylor?

It’s been established that Taylor is a pretty lenient and hands off boss, even though he’s been forced to act now, so that’s a plus for any replacements. Also, it’s a no lose situation, no matter how poorly the new guy does, people will like him for not being mchale. And, if he does do well, he’ll be a hero.

by oblivionspocket on Dec 8, 2008 3:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Presti is head in Oklahoma City

He has been in charge of trading Lewis and Allen (hired June 2007). But, that type of whiz-kid, fresh thinker is something the Wolves could really use.

http://prosportstransactions.com/basketball/Search/SearchResults.php?Player=&Team=thunder&PlayerMovementChkBx=yes&BeginYear=2007&BeginMonth=06&BeginDay=07&EndYear=&EndMonth=&EndDay=&submit=Search&start=0

by wyn on Dec 8, 2008 3:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

whoops, I missed that, thanks for the correction.

by oblivionspocket on Dec 8, 2008 3:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They need an outside (and fresh) set of eyes..

…who that is, I don’t know. I have no way of figuring out who would be a good managerial choice.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 3:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, I really would like to see them cherry pick a guy who’s contributed to a functional front office(which would mean someone from the outside). Preferably, while working for a mid market team, because what works in LA won’t work here.

by oblivionspocket on Dec 8, 2008 3:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Finally Hes Gone

The Negative about him leaving is McHale isnt much of an upgrade….But Nonetheless Wittman is outta here

by Tony_O on Dec 8, 2008 3:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well Tonto is gone...

I guess the ~~Lone~~ Iron Ranger’s time has come.

by Laughing Stock on Dec 8, 2008 3:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I think it could be argued...

…that McHale actually has more power over the team today than he did yesterday. Again, this is more of the same with this club. It sounds different but it’s not.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 3:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I doubt McHale

has more power. It’s obviously a demotion, albeit with the potential of being temporary if McHale turns it around. But having a line to Taylor isn’t a bad thing at all (I actually think all coaches should be able to communicate directly with their owners, or whoever makes the final financial decisions), as long as he doesn’t have the final say. Also, we don’t know how it changed versus the setup Wittman and Casey had. It could be the same as it was before with regards to the coach/GM/owner relationship.

by McCleak on Dec 8, 2008 6:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I like that for the time being, it’s still a commitee, it gave us the highway robbery, the first trade that actually isn’t ripped by ALL the fans.

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 9, 2008 2:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I'm not optimistic, but I'm curious

Let’s find out how much of this is coaching v. GMing. McHale seemed to be a decent coach with a veteran team. He should want to show that he has actually assembled talent and so we hopefully will get a lot of Foye, AJ, Love, Miller, Gomes, Telfair, Rhino and McCants, assuming Shaddy has got his head in the game.

What if this team plays the next 60+ games on a 35-win pace? What if Foye averages 18-6-3? What if Love and AJ figure out a way to coexist and both average double-doubles? What if they lose a lot of 110-100 games? That would be a lot closer to the original blueprint and would leave McHale somewhat vindicated, and would restore my faith in this team. Because I can’t take another wholesale rebuilding effort. Particularly not with Babcock/Freddy/Mitchell at the reigns. That’s not change, that’s more of the same.

I guess we can save the analysis of Witt for another post, but it’s pretty clear that he had this team for the 1st 10 games — they were in almost all of them, and if he had managed to push one or two of the right buttons (a good play call at the right time, the right substitutions), they would have squeaked out a few more wins. But he’s just not a good coach. The players aren’t stupid (at least not when it comes to their jobs) and I think they lost confidence in Witt. Thus the last 5 crappy performances.

McHale will be better, simply because it will be VERY hard to be worse. Whether he can prove that his recent moves are good, we’ll have to see. Hopefully he makes it his mission to do the following:

option: AJ (something like 22pts, 10 boards)
option: Foye (something like 18pts, 6asst)
option: Miller (something like 15pts, averaging AT LEAST 4 3pt shots per game)
option: Love (something like 13pts, 10boards)
option: Gomes (good 2-way play)

With brewer out, Telfair struggling, McCants MIA, and Rhino being the Rhino, is there any reason why those 5 shouldn’t all be averaging 36mn per game? I want to see LOTS of those 5. And a little of the young guys on the bench. And a win tomorrow. Please.

by Sterno on Dec 8, 2008 5:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

It will definitely be interesting

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 5:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

interesting that you mention Telfair

makes me realize we haven’t talked about him at all. I don’t know what it is about him but I absolutely love his game. Clearly he’s struggled this year but wouldn’t it be great if he came around a bit too? Maybe if he loosens up he’ll hit a few of those 18-footers and win himself some more time. That would be nice to see.

by plinytheelder on Dec 8, 2008 5:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You're going to be sorely disappointed Sterno

because the only thing that is going to save this team is to blow it up completely. As it stands right now, half our roster is undersized, unathletic PFs and the other half is undersized, unathletic guards who can’t shoot. On top of all that, no one plays any defense.

by roundhouse on Dec 8, 2008 11:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, bassy has all the tools....

…he just can’t put it together. The past two seasons, he came out of the gates playing loose and well, and then made a few mistakes, clammed up, and struggled (last year this happened, and then he started playing well again before his injury). I’m assuming he clammed up after a Wittman lashing. Hopefully McHale frees up Bassy and Foye to play with some confidence, because if they don’t find some, neither will ever be a worthwhile NBA player.

by Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 5:54 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I think McHale is really someone of seeing the positives opposed to Witt. I think this will fare exceptionally well with Telfair, Brewer and Foye (in that order). They really need someone that believes in them (look at how Telfair played when he was given that starting minutes last year and got to keep them).

That’s why I believe we will improve a lot. We have a team of people who haven’t won a lot (or won in previous places and immediatly started losing here) and that need someone behind them saying, I put my job security on the line, jumped in with two feet and I have no fear because I believe you guys are what I think you are. I think that fact alone will vastly improve the players.
A few posts back I say “what happened to these players that we suddenly don’t think they are a 30 win team anymore while everyone agreed to a 30-35 win prediction”, well I think this is it. I’m not saying they will be on that course, but I think McHale might be able to make us look like a 30-35 team again just because he believes in those guys.

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 9, 2008 2:38 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You're going to flood your lungs

with the massive amounts of kool-aid you’re drinking

by roundhouse on Dec 9, 2008 3:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t worry, I’m resistant to it since I seem to be drinking lots of kool-aid on multiple subjects (outside of basketball) ^^. We’ll see.

Beater of the early Thabeet drum

by Wim (Belgium) on Dec 9, 2008 6:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You give Witt too much credit

Great post, but I gotta disagree on Witt. If the players have no clue about even beginning to attack a 2-3 zone, then it HAS to be the coaches fault. You would think that after the Golden State game, they would at least have practiced it. If the players weren’t following orders, then he could have called a timeout and put them in their positions.

Also, the 4th quarter mismanagement, bizarre substitutions, and crawling pace of this team are things that you can point to directly as things the coach has responsibility over.

by SidelineTriangle on Dec 8, 2008 8:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks...

…I do admit that Witt has his fair share of the blame for the play this year but I really wanted to focus the attention to the root problem: the front office decisions. In the presser McHale made some admittedly fair points about the coaching (especially about yelling at players during games) but at the end of the day these guys really aren’t all that good. I’ve been close enough during some games in Witt’s tenure where he was yelling some pretty elementary things at players who should have known better in fairly simple situations. It was rather shocking to see a pro player get called out for something he should have learned in high school. I have a friend who sits near the bench who said Witt lately has been yelling things like “what in the hell are you doing?” at for similar reasons. Al put it best, they could have Jesus Christ as coach and it wouldn’t matter. Al just didn’t make the obvious connection to the front office.

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by Stop-n-Pop on Dec 8, 2008 8:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

To be fair to McHale

the least two game through in stark relief that fact that the players had completely quit on Wittman. It was blatant enough that I imagine they probably had zoned him out in the preseason. I can’t imagine why; after all, doesn’t everyone love to work for someone who throws you under the bus at a drop of a hat, yo-yos your responsibilities and playing time, does the “who, me?” routine whenever anyone questions his decisions, and thinks the problem is that the players just don’t try when it’s obvious that the failings stem from practice as much as anything. And while McHale definitely deserves a lot of blame, it doesn’t change the fact that Wittman is one of the worst coaches in the history of the league.

These past 19 games have been nothing more than a drowning flailing in a vain attempt to save himself.

by McCleak on Dec 8, 2008 11:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe it’s typical murkiness of the Wolves, but what does this mean? Or accomplish? Is this Taylor’s method of firing McHale as Prez? Did McHale just assume more power? Is this McHale’s final chance to sink or swim?

Reading between the lines, it seems like Taylor is attempting to reassign McHale. The whole “take time to think of it/talk it over with your wife” seems like it was kind of a take-it-or-leave-it scenario. (Also, maybe we now know what McHale hugging Al and Foye was about: Taylor told him they needed to talk; maybe McHale thought he was getting axed.) But we’ll see.

by jianfu on Dec 8, 2008 11:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs