"Loyalty is something that hurts you at times, because you can't get youth back,'' Garnett said last month about wishing he had pushed earlier to be dealt from a mediocre Minnesota team. "I can honestly say that if I could go back and do my situation over, knowing what I know now with this organization, I'd have done it a little sooner."
Kevin Garnett and Kevin McHale, 2005 McHale heard Garnett make those comments. He said the huge contract extension Garnett signed in 1997, which played a key role in there being a lockout in 1988-99 and the NBA eventually instituting maximum salaries, hampered Minnesota's ability to improve."That's always a tough thing,'' said McHale, who starred with the Celtics from 1980-93 and admits he's rooting for them in the Finals but that it doesn't affect his on-air objectivity. "He signed that huge contract, and that huge contract was somewhat prohibiting the team from going out and finding other people (due to Garnett eating up so much of the salary cap). So it was a two-way street. He did the right thing. The money was offered. He took it. It was right before the new collective bargaining agreement."
almost 2 years ago
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KG
favorite wolf all time, there was a legit possibility that he could have won a title in another 2 years with Mn.
his contract was ridiculous…
by HKayden on Jun 16, 2010 6:22 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Revisionist history from McHale...
I guess McHale forgot about the illegal contract he gave Joe Smith in 2000 that cost the Wolves five(!) 1st round draft picks, though the NBA gave back two. It’s somewhat disingenuous to claim it was Garnett’s contract that prevented the Wolves from improving during that time.
I think that was more Papa Glenn...
…than anything. Although, it would be nice for someone in the local media to come out with the definitive account of what went on.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
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I still suspect
Glen himself in reporting the “illegal” contract to the NBA, as it placated KG’s wishes to add Joe Smith to the team, but saved Glen $86 million that would have otherwise gone to a pedestrian post player.
It might've been best for the franchise
But I think JaF posted a few months ago that it was Smith’s former agent who negotiated the deal and was subsequently fired before reaping the benefits.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 16, 2010 10:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah--
that seems more likely.
Still, if you work under the assumption of Glen having a finite amount of money to spend on salaries, it might be one of the best things to every happen to the team.
Black is White, Democracy is Tyranny, Jefferson was the Antichrist.
(The Joe Smith punishment) might be one of the best things to ever happen to the team.
"Sarchasm": (var. sarcasm) The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
I think it's funny
McHale traded KG to his former team and the team he’s now “rooting for”.
by BetterLaettnerThanRider on Jun 16, 2010 6:42 PM CDT reply actions
Not to mention
that he couldn’t do anything with the two draft picks he got back or any other draft picks he had. Wouldn’t a Wolves team with Granger and Roy be more appealing than McCants and Foye.
by Achilles Fang 1 on Jun 16, 2010 8:40 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
The real killer for this team...
…always was, is, and will be the 1999 draft. Imagine having a hall of fame player heading into his prime on a team with 2 high draft picks in a stacked draft. That, more than Starbury, is what really set this franchise back. Wally + Will Avery was not an acceptable outcome in that draft with all of these players going after the Wolves’ first pick:
- Rip Hamilton
- Andre Miller
- Shawn Marion
- Jason Terry
- Corey Maggette
- Ron Artest
- James Posey
- AK47
8 guys between picks 7 and 24. They hit on Wally and Will Avery.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
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it will be..
…and there was definitely not a canis hoopus in 1999, but that was the worst draft this team has ever had. foye/roy included. it could have solidified kg’s prime and there were some fairly obvious choices over what they ended up witht.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
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Agree
There was some smoke that the Clips would take Wally and leave Lamar Odom for the Wolves, which I was really hoping to happen at the time. They were supposedly concerned that Brandon would leave in free agency, but they had an opportunity to turn his team into a Boston-level defensive team if they drafted well and not thought so narrowly about their needs.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 16, 2010 10:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Odom was that year's horrible character problem.
He was much more Michael Beasley than he was Cousins, for those keeping track of their character question marks by category.
That offseason was absolutely a case of McHale on his heels thinking defensively. In retrospect it seems like the moment when McFlip began thinking every one of our own free agents would devastate the team if he left…. Which, again, comes back to the KG deal at some point, ultimately. Not that KG’s first extension wasn’t McHale’s own fault anyway.
"Sarchasm": (var. sarcasm) The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
Wally
Was he the fIrst example of a college player overachieving in the tournament and landing a high lottery spot as a result? Or are there earlier ones?
I think he's the first model in that long line of product
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He probably fits a # of "drafted too high" criteria
- Very well spoken
- Had to switch positions in the pros due to size
- Poor athleticism and ball handling for pro position
- More years of collect experience == less upside
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." -- Yogi Berra
by Wile E Coyote on Jun 16, 2010 10:22 PM CDT up reply actions
It's not like he was a total bust, though
he did make an All-Star team and was a key cog in a WCF team
He got his All-Star berth because of Terrell Brandon
and he played 28 games in the 03-04 regular season and missed 6 playoff games. I agree that he wasn’t a bust, but I think the point is that he was an obviously-limited player who could be prevented from impacting a game, and he was an important part of the Marbury trade.
Personally, it angers me that the 07-08 DPOY wasn’t built around in a way that made him a dominant defender as opposed to an overburdened one, and there were plenty of options (Artest, Kirilenko, Marion) that would’ve helped make him a multi-year DPOY.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 17, 2010 12:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Sure, he was clearly limited
and I agree with SnP’s main point in this post. But its not like Wally was Michael Olowokandi or anything.
I’ll give him the fact that Garnett’s contract made it hard to sign free agents. But if he could draft worth a crap he could have traded some young talent to help get another star.
by Achilles Fang 1 on Jun 16, 2010 8:43 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Revisionist history from KG and McHale both, but whatever.
The funny part is that KG’s extension played a part in the CBA renegotiated, but it’s not like KG was the only one making big money at that time.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
Maybe we should adjust our stats to per36 years of age? -- ElRonToro
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Whatever
Ancient history. Garnett was well compensated despite McHale’s completely inept reign.
"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." -- Yogi Berra
I wouldn't say inept
though the Timberwolves, as an organization, have seemed to be in tank mode since KG left (and maybe before)… After the Wolves traded away Cassell for Jaric (kinda like when the Vikings traded away Moss) is when I started to question their motives for the roster.
by BetterLaettnerThanRider on Jun 16, 2010 9:32 PM CDT up reply actions
Tank mode? Like the producers who mounted “Springtime for Hitler”? What motive would explain what they’ve done? Especially when they refer to the one productive off-season McHale had, the year they brought in Cassell, Spree, Hoiberg and Hassell and won two playoff series, as a bad “experiment.” They’re inept. I give Taylor credit for making the investment to keep KG originally, but even that was bungled.
Two things the Wolves could do to improve thier draft record. Pick fifth or draft someone named Kevin. Garnett and Rubio were both taken in the five spot. Garnett and Love share the same first name. Just a theory not to be taken seriously. Although if we do want Johnson maybe we should move down a spot. You know, just in case.
by Achilles Fang 1 on Jun 16, 2010 10:04 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
I understand the whole Garnet part of your statement. But please tell me what Rubio has done for your team? Maybe you need to rethink that 5th spot theory. It has major holes in it.
Be gone troll. I understand Rubio has not yet played a game for the Wolves but he has more potential than anyone they have drafted lately. Also the post was not meant to be taken too seriously.
by Achilles Fang 1 on Jun 16, 2010 10:37 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
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