McHale didn’t seem to like coaching very much in his first go-around, although he said Monday that it is the travel, not the games or the practices, that wear on him. Those closer to the team will tell you that McHale doesn’t have any problem whatsoever with coaching — he just prefers to do it without portfolio. Unofficially. Clandestinely even, with no portion of his rump on the line.
That’s why one team insider said that he both does and doesn’t feel sorry for Wittman. Sure, a likable guy lost a rare and lucrative job, with paychecks that run out in April. But Wittman was coping with McHale’s strong advice and ideas, sometimes offered through him, sometimes put directly to the players. “You can’t have two voices with players,” the observer said. “You can’t give them an out.”
What if McHale had declined to hitch up his pants, take over as coach and give up his VP duties? Would Taylor’s request have turned into an ultimatum — or perhaps, had it been put to McHale that way from the get-go?
“I don’t want to answer that question,” Taylor said. “I’m telling you what happened. I didn’t get into the second [option].”
OK, well, had McHale turned down the request to coach, would Wittman still be the coach? Would McHale still be the VP?
“I’m not going to answer the question. That’s just speculation,” the team owner said…
You know all of this — the losing, the empty seats at Target Center, the economy at large — was wearing on Taylor, because he strayed from his standard evaluation period by a whole game. When he and McHale cut loose Bill Blair in 1995 in their first coaching dismissal, the Wolves were 6-14. When they dumped Casey, the team was 20-20. Taylor likes to evaluate the season in 20-game bites but only got as far as 19 this time.
Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune talks about the changes coming for the team (video)
Apparently, no one has the guts to tell Taylor he’s wrong on both accounts.
The Timberwolves have more talent than their 4-15 record indicates? WRONG. Their record is actually a very accurate reflection of their personnel.
They can make substantial progress under McHale, who has 31 games of head coaching experience and reportedly didn’t even want the job this time around? WRONG. Not even Red Auerbach could turn this basketball water into wine — or anything close to a winner.
But having a lot of money doesn’t make you smart, a truth that’s been proven by too many NBA owners within the past year alone.
From RandBall: Timberwolves Game Recap (Brandon): So this is how the Randy Wittman era ends
Making the Northwest even tougher, the executive said, are the Timberwolves and the Thunder despite those teams’ combined 6-34 record to start the season.
“After the All-Star break I think it’s going to really heat up in the division because teams like Minnesota and Oklahoma City are young teams with new coaches,” he said. “Those guys are going to be playing I think with a better energy level so they won’t be easy outs.”
The Wizards Insider at the Washington Post declares the Wolves the “Team Of The Weak.”
As a coach, McHale is staring down a rough road. Minnesota’s next eight games before Christmas are against Utah, Denver, San Antonio (twice), the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland, Houston and, uh, Sacramento – where Coach Randy Theus is on the hot seat.
Right now, those six — those same plucky Warriors, plus Memphis, Sacramento, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City — are well on their way to being seriously awful, and the signs say the breakout team from that bunch, probably the Clippers, would be lucky to get to 30 wins by season’s end…
Through hard bungling, timely injuries and just plain cruddiness, the Subterranean Six all look awful in their own special ways, and even though they play each other a lot between now and tee time (38 games, including tonight’s Warriors-Thunder arch-rivalry game in Oklahoma City), it is hard to see more than one team making a serious run at the magical 30-win mark.
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