Wolves Press Conference Live
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 17, 2009 1:01 PM CDT
28 comments
The team's live feed has some audio issues, so please tune into KFAN for a live stream.
UPDATE: Here is Kahn's opening statement:
“I wanted to start by echoing what Kevin Love said. It’s a sad day. It’s a sad day because it is always hard in this business to have to part ways with anybody. But it’s especially sad when you have to do it with somebody who has meant as much as he meant to the state of Minnesota basketball, was a member of one of the greatest teams of all time and who I learned through these last three and a half weeks is a very special person, a warm person, a bright person and somebody who deeply cares about the players he coaches and has a big heart. It’s a sad day when you have to do this. And so, ultimately though, we will have to move on and start a search. I just wanted to say this at the start.”
Here is what he had to say about telling Papa Glen:
“I spoke to Glen only once about this – Friday night. And I hadn’t made a decision Friday night. But I offered him some thoughts. And I told him that I really wanted to think hard about things over the past weekend. He assured me that night as he had assured me in the past that it would be my decision and he would support whatever decision I made.”
You can listen to the audio of the presser by clicking here. Kahn will appear on the Dan Barreiro show on KFAN at 4:05.
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Can't get KFAN stream to work.
Would anyone be willing to post any noteworthy updates/comments here as they come?
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 1:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I'll let you know what you need to know
when you need to know it.
June 4th, 2009: "I wouldn't say in a month, but I'd be stunned if it doesn't look a lot different in the next 17 months."
by Definitely Not David Kahn on Jun 17, 2009 1:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I hope CHoopus
If it’s on a ‘need to know’ basis, then CHoopus is all the basis you need.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wasn't brought here
to read weblogs.
by PoorDick on Jun 17, 2009 1:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
There's a big snake in our GM position, Jock!
I hate snakes, Jock, I hate ’em!
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Jun 17, 2009 1:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The team should put up a link shortly
Big news:
- Kahn did this on his own
- He reported to Rob Moor who “may have” told Taylor
- He talked to Taylor about his thoughts last Friday and told him that he would think about it over the weekend
- He informed McHale last night
- Kahn said that he would bring in coaches who had value beyond their personality. Now, as someone with a history in releasing barbed public statements, this is a shot across the bow of SS McHale. He was subtle with this.
- Kahn will begin the search after the draft…like he has said all along.
- He took the right approach to Kevin Love: It’s not a big deal and this is a new media age.
Reading between the lines, something happened last week that made Kahn go to Taylor to tell him he was thinking about making the decision now. He thought about it over the weekend and told McHale last night. My take on all of this, and from what we know about the current standing and the GM search, is that he couldn’t have handled this any better. Whether or not he was holding out on naming a coach to force McHale’s hand or the other way around, I don’t know (my guess is the latter), but the process happened earlier than expected.
I think Kahn is going to always come across as something of a weasel. Part of that is his upper-crust exec lawyer background and part of that is the way he talks, but if you read what he is saying, I can’t really find anything wrong with his approach. He planned on doing this after the draft, something happened, and he adjusted…while flexing his authority and letting everyone know that the new coach wouldn’t be like what McHale was…all the while being gracious. Politically, I thought it was a fantastic performance.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 17, 2009 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Only worrying thing
Is that he reported it to Rob Moor—the new Shadow Lord of the Wolves—first, instead of Papa Glen.
Guess that kind of confirms that.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the summation, btw.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
These paragraphs
are from a piece by Asch linked to in another thread:
Now look at the flowchart: Moor was the guy who hired Kahn, who literally owes his job to Moor. That’s one reason floated for the Wolves seeking out Kahn, a respected but out-of-sight candidate, rather than a more veteran GM with his own track record of NBA personnel success. Moor is said to want more organization and accountability and process-focused initiatives — think color-coded folders and classic managing-up behavior — than McHale, in his casualness and intuitive hoops smarts, ever was going to give. So now McHale might be out, giving Moor (through Kahn) a chance to line up another key position under his authority.
Yeah, office politics. Driven not so much by the new guy trying to show who’s boss but by a relative of the owner, seizing an opportunity. In a sports world that is supposed to be as close to a meritocracy — if you can play and if you can win, you’re in — as we ever get.
by PoorDick on Jun 17, 2009 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Delayed gratification
Doesn’t the way it finally went down, with Kahn telling McHale before he told Taylor, remind you a little of this comment from Kahn’s introductory press conference?
“It’d be very easy for me to sit here today and say, “I’m going to fire Kevin.” That would show all of you out here that I have the authority, which I do, to do what I want to do. […] But I’m not going to do what would be the easy thing and to say, ’I’m firing Kevin just to show all of you that I’m the one who gets to make the call,’ because I am the one who gets to make the call according to Glen."
He just showed us.
by I.M. Fletcher on Jun 17, 2009 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
yep..
….someone asked for an answer and he gave one.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 17, 2009 2:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Timing...
I wonder what caused Kahn to make this decision now when he has said repeatedly for the last 3 weeks that they would “address the coaching situation after the draft.”
I wonder if McHale, feeling left out of the draft strategy for the first time in 15 years, was meddling a bit. Was he trying to insert his opinion about potential picks or trades (like the Kevin Love to Memphis rumor)?
If so, Kahn did the right thing by firing him. After years of complaining about McHale, T-Wolves fans should be thrilled that we finally have a guy in the organization willing to make the tough decision.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 17, 2009 2:33 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
McHale
Maybe McHale demanded a job offer before the draft? In any case, even though McHale seemed to have a good connection with the players, I find myself happy that McHale is gone. Whether Kahn does well or not, it is a new management, and we’ve all been wanting that for years… Hopefully Kahn knows what he is doing, and doesn’t blow our youth and cap space on aging veterens.
by DR_JPK on Jun 17, 2009 3:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think people are reading too much into...
the notion about “addressing the coaching situation after the draft”. If Kahn wasn’t willing to address the coaching situation before the draft, he wouldn’t have met with McHale until after the draft. Kahn repeatedly said that the draft is the top priority, and that he didn’t feel he had to have a decision before the draft, but at no point did he shut the door on deciding McHale’s future before the draft.
by SeanTO on Jun 17, 2009 4:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kahn denied Moor had anything to do with the McHale situation...
… or in any of the meetings he’s had with Wolves staff.
Will that kill the paranoia? Probably not, but hey. He answered the question directly, which I enjoyed.
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Jun 17, 2009 4:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
In hindsight, I made no sense whatsoever.
Kahn denied Moor has anything to do with how the team is moving forward.
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Jun 17, 2009 4:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's because Moor...
…is the Shadow Lord of 600 First Ave. You never see him, but he’s there (like the green roof workers, except they’re on strike.)
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 4:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not Donnie Walsh
Let’s see, so far he’s done the slimy new exec thing of trashing everything and everybody involved with the wolves, publicly devalued the players he’s going to try and trade and publicly said he’s going to trade most of them, said he wouldn’t make a coaching change until after the draft then makes one before, and proclaimed he was adamant they wouldn’t draft someone who didn’t work out and then redefined adamant as meaning ‘not adamant’…that’s quite a start to his tenure.
The former Pacers exec he reminds me most of so far is Isaiah Thomas not Donnie Walsh. God help us all. I guess it’s entertaining at least.
“I am (adamant),” Kahn said. “But I don’t want it to be so adamant that it’s some sort of ironclad, pound-the-fist (rule)”
by rickyp on Jun 17, 2009 4:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
But has he been right?
I think that’s the question. Have these things been planned or has he simply made decisions as they presented themselves? I think the not-working-out thing isn’t that big of a deal and the rest of it is kind of hit and miss. What do you mean by trashing everything and everybody? Is he wrong about Love and Jefferson being the 4th and 2nd best players on a championship club? I don’t know what you are talking about with the trashing bit. Could you elaborate?
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 17, 2009 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree with SnP
I think Kahn has handled this situation well. It is not easy to let someone of McHale’s stature go. No matter what we think of his tenure in the front office, the guy is an NBA legend and probably the face of MN basketball for the last 30 years (for better or worse).
Kahn’s assessment of our roster is spot-on and he finally had the balls to come in and do what everyone has been demanding for years: fire McHale.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 17, 2009 4:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like Kahn, so far.
He seems like he has a realistic approach, yet plans to be as aggressive as possible in turning this thing around quickly. I doubt very much that he has actual plans to move Kevin Love, or any other player (except maybe Miller, since he’s a big expiring contract) but he probably plans on testing the waters, with the economy and the abundance of big contract talents that could probably be had for a reasonable price (talent-wise). If the next Ray Allen or Pau Gasol trade is about to happen, I’d rather have the guy who is out there making call after call, risking a little bit of stability within the locker room, than the guy summering at the cabin, looking forward to another year of moving forward with the great group of guys he’s put together. I don’t know if or when that big trade will happen, but if it does, I think Kahn’s aggressiveness is going to benefit us more than his hearsay remarks about his own players is going to hurt us.
by Andy G on Jun 17, 2009 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think...
…I was wrong to make a deal out of those comments in the first place. Wim made a really good point about Love being the 4th best guy. That’s not far off.
I do think we’re going to see something major on draft day.
BTW: Kahn’s appearance on Barreiro was highly entertaining. I thought he handled Barreiro perfectly. The guy will never, ever like the club and that’s part of his shtick at this point. No matter what you say to the guy, he will always have a qualifier and he will be doing nothing other than trying to get his interviewee in a “box”. He’s now trying to play off the interview as Kahn sounding goofy. I thought Kahn set the perfect tone considering the questioning and the guy unleashing said questions. The guy finally got what he wanted (McHale gone, country club being blown up) and he’s still finding meaningless ways to deal with it. What exactly is he looking for at this point? Dunno.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 17, 2009 5:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Plus, in defense of Kahn
I’m guessing he’s been “on” for about 24 hours straight, starting with the conversation with McHale, finding out about the Tweet, and then getting into damage control. So agreeing to go on Dan’s show and handling himself ably is a credit to the guy’s endurance.
by PoorDick on Jun 17, 2009 5:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed on Barreiro
He’s a classic outrage, shock, things-are-bad jock. If things were ever good he would lose his schtick and wouldn’t have a gig.
You can’t win with someone like him – ever. You can only hope to avoid stepping in the slimy residue that trails behind him.
Sounds like Kahn did that.
by Django Z on Jun 17, 2009 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow...ya...
Barreiro certainly had some preconceived angles he wanted to pursue, and didn’t seem to respond to kindly to someone holding a different tack in the face of his (at times) enthusiastic questioning.
Kahn sounds very much like a lawyer, establishing a certain tone and set of statements, and then consistently referring back to them, which was actually kind of funny because Barreiro was going after the afore mentioned box and Kahn just stayed on the ’we’re still figuring that out’ angle.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 17, 2009 6:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Finally had a chance to listen to the interview on KFAN.
Man, did Kahn run circles around Barreiro.
Having talked to the guy myself, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex he puts out there. I was glad to hear Kahn handle the interview with a relatively light and deft touch.
He sure does know how to say the right things. Starting on the 25th, we’ll see if he can make the moves to back it up. But so far, pretty good.
by BLayne23 on Jun 18, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Really like the whole thing. Only thing that I didn’t really 100% get is this: he really praised McHale for a number of things but when asked why then he decided to not give McHale a new contract he answered McHale actually did nothing wrong …
Then why did you fire the guy??
“We needed to make a change”
Does that sound like change just for the sake of change?
If you read between the lines enough .. what I got was that McHale was not bad but “we need a change” actually means; McHale is not bad but we need someone better. Someone who has the “positive environement” going but is also an x and o man… It felt to me they didn’t “fire” McHale .. and if his contract wasn’t up they surely would have let him play it out .. but they just think that there’s a better coach to be had .. let’s hope he’s right.
Also agree with the people saying that there’s been put too much weight on what he said:
coaching; the coaching situation hasn’t been resolved, has it? We know who we WON’T be hiring but we have no clue whatsoever who will be hired. There’s no names on the list; none. So yes there’s one step that has been made in the process, one that might indeed have been triggered by something McHale did and one that probably needed to be made because if something like that drags on too long it gets awckward… but for the rest I trust he hasn’t been thinking about coaching.
adamant: I had too look it up … My GUESS is that he ment it was adamant FOR THEM to get everyone in they wanted. That they weren’t going to say “well, we already got enough data on player x and player y .. let’s not waste time on those” but instead would be adamant about working overtime to get every single player in for a workout …. I don’t think, but it’s a pure guess, that he ever aimed that at players saying “you’d better come in or we won’t think about drafting you” …. that would be very irrational, there’s no reason he’d do that…
So Kahn, I hope my check is in the mail?
Beater of the early Thabeet drum ... but not so much of the late one
by Wim (Belgium) on Jun 18, 2009 1:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
well put..
….and kahn was professional enough to not spell out the exact reasons. hopefully, mchale will be equally gracious by not firing back.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 18, 2009 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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