I'm not getting traded
From Kevin Love's Twitter page. Here's hoping the best Wolves rookie since KG is right.
over 2 years ago
Stop-n-Pop
42 comments
0 recs |
Comments
I think part of my concern if Kahn's comments are true
is he seems to really lack creativity. The idea that we need to give up on a Love/Jefferson front-court when they were starting to jell along with the team before Al’s Injury. I’ve already gone off as to why I don’t like a Jefferson/Thabeet Front-Court at all. But the idea that their are these set formulas that the Wolves can’t have with a Love/Jefferson front-court is silly. The Rockets last year wihout Yao had a long, long winning steak despite lacking size. They outexectued everyone and kept competive on the boards. I see this taking place with Love and Al at a higher level- but Kahn needs to stick to some sort of traditional Front-Court Formula.
If he also said Love’s a 4th Option while Jefferson is a 2nd option. This seems to be a statement that has a tremendous misunderstanding of Value on a Basketball Court. Love’s nearly 4 years younger that Jefferson but is a better rebounder, better defender, better passer, and gets to the line at a much greater rate. This says nothing about Love’s additional upside to show skills as a finisher and shooter like he had at UCLA.
Good point, Andy.
Starbury’s rookie season was fun as hell. All that happened since has soiled the memory for most, but it’s stupid to pretend that it didn’t happen.
by princelyfrank on Jun 17, 2009 2:49 AM CDT up reply actions
Nope...
….it’s still there:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/marbust01.html
Poor shooting, a high turnover rate, and lower efficiency did him in vis-a-vis Love. Marbury really started to turn it on the year he was traded. That’s what makes it so frickin’ frustrating. If Love can show that burst of improvement in year 2 or 3 like Marbury did, the Wolves are in good shape.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
It's close, but I agree with SnP...
Does anyone find it weird that his player file is labeled “marbust”? The hype surrounding Marbury was good, but he was fortunate to have Terry Porter as his backup for those times when he wasn’t cutting it. Though, Love had Jason Collins/Shelden Williams, so…
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 17, 2009 9:00 AM CDT up reply actions
Rookie Marbury looked like a future Hall of Famer. Love did not. He was also a difference-maker on a playoff team, not a 22-win team. That comparison is not even close. In fact, that’s all I can say on the subject.
This would be a good subject..
….for another post during the summer.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Needless to say..
…I think the comparison is much closer than you…and in Love’s favor ;)
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Well, you would be wrong
Marbury was terrific as a 19 year old. He was a significant factor in improving a team that went 26-56 the year before into a .500 club.
And in a very taxing role, with the ball in his hands all the time.
I agree with AndyG—Marbury looked like the most dynamic young point guard in the league at that time—he was 2nd in the league in ROY voting to Iverson, and it looked like they would be a tremendous rivalry for years.
He had a ton of impact. That was a fun team. That year and the next when they lost to Seattle in 5 games were two of the funnest years I’ve had as a Wolves fan.
by Eric in Madison on Jun 17, 2009 7:09 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm withholding judgement for now
The 4th option thing seems to be a result of one of his breakfast chat participants posting what he heard, but I have yet to see that corroborated by others who attended one of his chats. My mistake if it has been corroborated, but it seems to stem from one post that someone made on another site.
The optimist in me says that what Kahn is doing is exploring and discussing every single angle and potential deal out there to improve the team. That doesn’t mean they will go through or he’ll pull the trigger. What we did hear first hand is that he and his staff would not be outworked or outprepared. I’m hoping that what we’re witnessing here is every stone being turned, every angle explored, every deal discussed. No one should be untouchable on a 24 win team and all deals should be explored and vetted. That being said, my guess is he’s got a Love-Jefferson bias and it would be tough to pry one of those guys loose.
more from twit
Today is a sad day…Kevin McHale will NOT be back as head coach next season.
- Love
Posting and Toasting: "Say yo Oak, what's the dish tonight? A couple steaks on the grill and we season it right."
Love really just broke this story on Twitter?
This is a pretty new media moment.
by princelyfrank on Jun 17, 2009 3:17 AM CDT up reply actions
Just swapped text messages with Love
All he confirmed was…he and McHale talked tonight…so clearly that tweet speaks for itself.
by DarrenDoogie on Jun 17, 2009 12:42 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
the 4th option thing
I think what is forgotten by most is that he said … ON A CHAMPIONSHIP team. Or did I not get correctly?
4th players on championship teams: Rondo, Bynum, Rip Hamilton.
I’m not sure that’s entirely inaccurate though 3rd best is probably better: Dennis Rodman, Ray Allen, Odom, Ginobili …
Probably between 3 and 4
Beater of the early Thabeet drum ... but not so much of the late one
Excellent observation
and comparisons. If anything just shows you how far we have to go in terms of talent acquisition.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
That IS a very good point
And the other follow-up to is that the fourth and fifth best players on championship teams are often not stars, or even very good players. I don’t think Derek Fisher/Rafer Alston/Glen Davis/Brian Scalabrine were at the top of every “must have” list at the the beginning of the season, but I’m pretty sure they were at least the 4th/5th most valuable players in each team’s respective playoff run.
Solid point
And I didn’t see it like that before.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Who's the next coach
After reading Love’s tweet, who do you think are some logical choices to coach this team. I guess we got to think about whether of not Glen wants to pay anyone or not too…
by GHACAN BLACKSTAR on Jun 17, 2009 3:00 AM CDT reply actions
And might know a little about big men too.
Maybe not as much as McHale, but maybe enough to help Big Al and Love get a little nastier.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
If I were a lesser man,
I’d make a joke about Laimbeer’s experience with female players helping him get the most out of Mike Miller.
But that would be beneath me.
I'm a lesser man
…so I’ll go there…Nothing is beneath me save my desk chair.
As a Chicagoland T-Woofs fan who enjoyed watching the Jordan years, it might be hard for me to cheer for Laimbeer…but if he can make us a winner, I’ll sign on.
If anyone could get the most out of Love...
It would be Laimbeer. For an unathletic guy who was drafted in the 3rd round, he did pretty well (two rebounding titles and 3 All-Star teams).
I’d prefer not to have him as coach, but he’d be better than Wittman. That should really be the baseline for expectations: “At least be better than Wittman.”
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 17, 2009 9:05 AM CDT up reply actions
"At least be better than Wittman"
That’s the great thing about being a Timberwolves fan for two decades. The Wolves have had four coaches with a better winning percentage than Wittman.
They have also had three coaches with a worse winning percentage than Wittman.
Sloan..
…has been going since 88-89. I.E. before the Wolves.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
I'm not above, however
linking to this story on Why Bill Laimbeer Will Never Coach in the NBA:
He won three championships with the Shock. Yet no NBA team will touch him. And still Bill Laimbeer is searching for answers.
I think I know what the problem is.
People in the NBA do not like Bill Laimbeer.
Doesn’t Laimbeer remember his playing career? I don’t mean some people did not like him. I mean he was the most hated player in the league. And if that sounds harsh, please remember that at the time Laimbeer would have taken it as a compliment.
And whether Laimbeer wants to admit it or not, he often has carried his persona off the playing floor. I know Pistons fans love him, and that’s great. But sometimes Laimbeer has to brighten up just to be called "dour."
There are a few different personalities that can work with NBA stars. Laimbeer does not have any of them.
Do you need to be loved as a person to be a good coach in the NBA?
I hope the coaching seach is smoother than the GM search
some questions:
Do they prefer an experienced coach or a younger assistant? Will Glen Taylor pay for a higher priced guy, and would that guy actually take this job? I’m not a huge fan of recycling guys, generally. Maybe Jeff van Gundy?
Does Kahn have a style he wants that will affect the coaching hire?
I wonder how much this process and the resultant coaching hire will tell us about the direction of the organization.
by Eric in Madison on Jun 17, 2009 8:05 AM CDT reply actions
Kahn's preferred style
This came up in the media breakfast on Monday…With his lawyer background, he did dance around the topic, but said…he def. likes the way Orlando plays….it’s obvious though, the Wolves would need to add multiple shooters to play that style…thinks D’Antoni’s style can win a title, so disagrees with many in that respect…
Add Curry…Convince yourself that Miller’s year last year was a mirage…find a free agent shooter….maybe Orlandoesque is the way they will attempt to go.
by DarrenDoogie on Jun 17, 2009 8:32 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Please, please, please...
…get Curry. BTW: Thanks for the text confirmation and good job with this at the Strib.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Not that you're lacking for posting ideas
especially right now, but one entitled “Best Available Shooter” via draft/trade/free agency might be worthwhile.
That is a good one...
…I like the idea from a few posts ago about getting Belineli with Wright in a deal with the Warriors. Belinelli is young and with good size. Wright is long and would be a good front court backup. Not sure what it would take to get them, but that’s my b-level suggestion that doesn’t involve free agency. I think Kyle Korver is the answer to your free agent question. Draft wise, it’s a no-brainer: Curry. That is a good idea for a post. I’ll write it down.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Another good one with an expiring contract
might be Mike Miller.
Oh, wait.
I’ll certainly defer to Cap n’ Hack on this one, but I wonder what GS would need to get that deal done.
BTW:
For all the bad rap the D’Antoni style gets, they were a BS off-the-bench suspension away from getting to the Finals. They were a Championship level ball club that was fun as hell to watch. I completely agree that this style of ball can win in today’s NBA with the perimeter rules set up like they are. The problem with this line of thinking isn’t the system, it’s guys like Kobe and LeBron, or the putting-together of KG, Pierce, and Allen. Talent trumps systems at that level.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Not only that...
But Bill Simmons had a great column bringing up all of their colossal screwups since ‘04 (selling picks like Deng/Iguodala, Rondo, Fernandez; not matching Joe Johnson’s RFA deal; signing Marcus Banks; not trading for KG; trading Marion for Shaq while they were the top team in the West). If I were a Suns fan, Robert Sarver would be Public Enemy #1.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 17, 2009 9:10 AM CDT up reply actions
If they had an owner..
….willing to spend over the luxury mark, they would have had been insane. The amount of talent that left that team is absurd.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
















