The challenge the Wolves presented was too great for those who turned down the job and who no doubt felt they were better off staying put and waiting for another opportunity.
Look for Kevin McHale to be offered the head-coaching job, since he and Kahn know each other and Wolves owner Glen Taylor would like to see McHale get the chance to continue as coach. But unless Taylor will pay McHale the going rate, I don’t think he will return.
The only survivor in the front office likely will be assistant GM Fred Hoiberg, who is a real favorite of Taylor’s. Kahn likely will bring in his own staff.
That’s a lot of responsibility for someone who hasn’t had a full-time NBA job since 2004, but Kahn’s former boss with the Pacers said he was involved in much more than the business side during his nine years in Indiana.
“I would remind you, and I would remind a lot of people of this, there are no pure business and basketball sides,” New York Knicks president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh said. “I brought him in to help me with getting Conseco Fieldhouse built, and he did a great job with that. He then became my general manager (for four seasons), and he was probably as helpful to me as anybody I’ve ever had. He knows the cap; he knows all the ramifications that come with that and the luxury tax. He had background in all those areas, including the draft, free agency and team matters, so he’s done the job.”
As chief decision maker during their years in Indiana, Walsh wouldn’t single out any trades or signings as Kahn deals but said he helped initiate his share of personnel moves and always had good suggestions and advice.
Taylor said near the end of the regular season that he hoped to hire someone within two weeks of the season finale on April 15, but that time passed and the search continued.
“It did take quite a while, but I guess better late than never,” said Wolves forward Ryan Gomes, who learned about the hiring of the new boss during a morning visit to Target Center to work out. “The draft is coming up fast, I’m glad something got done. We sat back watching and reading and wondering what we was going to happen.”
“It comes at a timely moment with the draft coming up,” Madsen said Thursday in a phone interview from Utah. “It’s a great step for the direction of our franchise.”
The hire comes with some concerns, though.
Kahn’s Southwest Basketball LLC owned the Fort Worth Flyers and three other NBDL franchises. When the Flyers moved to Nevada, they left a trail of unpaid bills that resulted in several lawsuits.
Kahn brings … what? A close, personal relationship with commissioner David Stern?
Kahn is blessed to be joining an organization that has little choice but to grant him the power to effect change. There are two problems with this: 1) We don’t know if Taylor is capable of backing away and letting his new hire operate, and 2) We don’t know if Kahn is capable of rebuilding a dysfunctional franchise.
Had Taylor hired a dynamic candidate from a successful franchise, such as Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey, he would have had to agree to keep his meddling fingers to himself. Had he hired a big name, he might have been forced aside by sheer force of personality.
Kahn is expected to be given full authority to make decisions, including whether McHale will remain. Those who have watched Taylor over the past five years will believe that when we see it.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
