would make sense, what with the odds for a work stoppage in 2010 at better than 50/50 (Shoddy’s on-court play this season showed he’s already getting a head start).

Was that Kahn could potentially be brought in as the ax-man—essentially to cut out every non-essential staff, coach, etc. etc. of the franchise, perhaps as preface to prepping the franchise for sale. Freddy Mayor would take over personnel duties in this arrangement.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. The only somewhat sensible conclusion I can come to is that the problems with the TWolves begin with Glen Taylor, and so the idea of new ownership (as much of a mixed bag as that might be) is somewhat appealing. Although then we’d probably start hearing how they’d need new facilities or they’ll move, blah blah blah. But I don’t know if gutting the franchise is the best move either. It’s like the gameplan here is to just stall on making a decision for another year, irregardless of the product on the court or the opportunities present this year and next (the draft/free agency and the current assets on the roster). I’m just not sure how long this window to really do something will be open.

….and that’s pretty much what we’ve heard from folks who talk to us. It’s not just the personnel that would have cost Glen money. From the facilities to the basketball operations, Lindsey would have cost a decent amount of change…probably almost as much as 1/2 of 1 year of Marko. Sorry, the cynic in me couldn’t keep quiet for that entire thought. Here’s what I wrote a while back about this subject:

Hoopus Prediction:

Kevin McHale will remain at the head of the bench and Ron/Fred/Jim will man the front office with input from the head coach. The Pat Reusse conspiracy theory here is that as long as McHale is employed by this club he will have the last say on personnel matters. I think it is clear that those days are over. Papa Glen kicked McHale out of the front office and told him (explicitly or not) to coach or else. This year’s draft is very important and bringing in a new GM would raise numerous schedule and logistical challenges. There is something to be said about continuity, even in down times.

Hoopus Prescription:

If the Wolves continue improving both their record and personnel development Kevin McHale should be retained and the front office trio should be allowed to operate throughout the draft and free agency provided that McHale’s role is reduced to that of what Minnesota coaches have enjoyed in the past. If McHale is going to atone for what he did to Dwane Casey, then he should be treated like Mr. Casey when it comes to the duties of his old job. We have talked about bringing in a real GM quite a bit here at Hoopus but if pressed to make an actual change, the twin constraints of time and continuity make a practical change in this particular off-season (which just happens to be the most important off-season in team history; a make-or-break culmination of both the KG and Mayo trades) a tough proposition. Like it or not this is the crew that is going to see this thing through and that fact will not change. The time to make the change was at the firing of Witt. It didn’t happen and this group, for better or worse, is what fans will have to deal with this off-season.

….that was my head talking. I’m pretty sure my heart disagrees.

..is that good business doesn’t equal good basketball. They can overlap at times but they are not attached at the hip. Lindsey works for the best organization in basketball and they may do things that require money to be spent. The question now is who is right in terms of a cost benefit calculation: Do fans trust Taylor to make the correct choice as to what it takes to field a winning franchise (without a once-in-a-lifetime player) or do they trust someone from an organization that does about as much right as possible? Ultimately, no matter how anyone looks at this situation (financially or otherwise) it comes down to having to decide which individual has the better grasp on what it takes to build a winning franchise in terms of cost/benefit: Taylor or Lindsey. If Taylor didn’t want to spend the money, he is clearly saying that Lindsey + a new front office does not equal Kahn + Hoiberg/Stack. While there is a business aspect to all of this, eventually it has to play out on the basketball court and that’s where I do not trust this group or status quo. From a fan’s perspective, and without knowing all of the inside details, it’s hard to square the circle that Taylor seems to be pitching. Again, I completely get the situation they are in and my head tells me that keeping Hoiberg/Stack as the main basketball decision makers for the sake of continuity is a good thing but having come this close to something that has needed to happen for so long (an outside voice) my heart says otherwise.

…with your first point is that where else are those guys (outside of Big Al) going to sign for anything more? I also think the words “pairing with Randy” automatically delegate the team to the 2nd or 3rd level of the NBA. Hoiberg is a nice player but he’d be even nicer next to someone not named Foye. They needed someone new from a successful franchise. Instead it looks like they’re getting Stern’s D-League henchman who has been out of the league for years. In the grand scheme of things, this team’s basketball operations team has been a failure. The Toine and Carney trades were nice but this team still owes a 1st rounder for Marko. They got their Wally pick back because of the KG trade. They sold a valuable 2nd rounder for a 2nd rounder in a weaker draft. We’ve yet to see how they will use any of their bigger assets. What does David Kahn have to do with these sorts of things? These are basketball operations problems.

The only thing that can square this circle for me is if Taylor comes out and says that Hoiberg has been pushing for specific things over the past few years that were at odds with McHale and that over time he grew to understand that Hoiberg knew what he was doing and could do the job better than McHale. This will never happen because it would require McHale, Foye, Brewer, and McCants to be thrown under the bus. Hell, I’d accept something along the lines of "Fred has been advocating many of the same things as Lindsey and these do represent a new way forward and we made the decision that we had an acceptable in-house alternative who just needed to be given more responsibility and trust. " Instead, we’re going to have to gear up for Blueprint 3.0. The official website will come out with some flash presentation about how things are different than last year and…well, we’ve been through this dance before. They don’t know if McHale is the answer at coach, if he’ll stay or not, whether or not they’ll have their own pick in 2010, whether Big Al can come back from injury, whether Brewer can come back from injury….I’m not sure there is anything worth defending in terms of basketball operations. Yes, there are some nice things and they could make the most out of it, but this is still a team that has blown 3 of the last 4 drafts, owes a 1st rounder to a team that is worse than it is, has 2 possible late 1st round picks that are hard to use, a broken best player, no real starting point guard, no real starting small forward, no decent size, and no decent athleticism. They have repeatedly made the wrong decisions with coaches and personnel. From a strictly basketball operations perspective, if Kahn is the guy, then the sale they need to make is what in the hell is going to change with Hoiberg on the BO side of things.

….for noah or thad young.