-Kevin McHale can’t be blamed if he wants to return to coach the Timberwolves next season. After all, he would be getting a $2 million salary increase on the $1.5 million deal he had to oversee the team’s operation.
-New Wolves President David Kahn’s contract is believed to be for four years.
-The Timberwolves have renewed 51 percent of their nearly 6,000 full-season equivalent season tickets but have sold out their 124-seat Target Center Cambria Club at per-seat prices of $99 a game.
From Wyn/Canis Hoopus: Notes from Kahn’s Press Conference
The former sportswriter left journalism 20 years ago after a profane outburst led to a financial job settlement from the Oregonian newspaper in Portland that he used to pay for law school and pave a path into an NBA front office, where he proved he had the brains but not always the humility or the people skills that his mentor so deftly possesses.
“There’s no question as I’ve gotten older, well, you just get older,” Kahn said. “You mature. You change. I hope I’m better at that than I used to be. You have to be a certain way, depending on what your job is.”
Kahn calls the notion that he doesn’t possess the savvy to lead an NBA franchise an “outdated, out-of-context impression” that is based on his role as the No. 2 man to Walsh in Indianapolis. He calls Pacers co-owner Herb Simon and Walsh both “really nice men” and compared Simon in many ways to his new boss, Taylor.
“There’s no question as I’ve gotten older, well, you just get older,” Kahn said. “You mature. You change. I hope I’m better at that than I used to be. You have to be a certain way, depending on what your job is.”
Kahn calls the notion that he doesn’t possess the savvy to lead an NBA franchise an “outdated, out-of-context impression” that is based on his role as the No. 2 man to Walsh in Indianapolis. He calls Pacers co-owner Herb Simon and Walsh both “really nice men” and compared Simon in many ways to his new boss, Taylor.
Kahn hasn’t had a full-time NBA job since 2002 and has spent the past four years as owner/operator of the NBA Development League, in which he owned as many as four teams.
But that doesn’t mean he’s been out of touch.
“He hasn’t been out of the league,” Walsh said. “He’s been in the NBDL as an owner and he’s been in contact with NBA people throughout. It isn’t like he was running a hotel somewhere.”
Former Wolves center Dean Garrett, an assistant coach for Kahn with the Albuquerque T-birds, said the league is more than just a training ground for players. It’s also a good talent pool for front-office types.
From Sid Hartman:
Over the past season, you can credit McHale for the great season Al Jefferson had before he was injured. Talking to the players over the years that McHale has been with the Wolves, I learned how much respect they had for him because of the great playing career he had with the Boston Celtics.
In fact, Mr. Kahn, while I don’t question that you learned a lot about the game during the years you worked with Donnie Walsh with the Indiana Pacers, I’m sure you can gain some knowledge working with McHale as your coach.
In fact, Mr. Kahn, while I don’t question that you learned a lot about the game during the years you worked with Donnie Walsh with the Indiana Pacers, I’m sure you can gain some knowledge working with McHale as your coach.
I was involved in the NBA as a general manager before you were born. I started the Minneapolis Lakers and we had great success. Then I was involved with the Chicago Packers when they were born in 1961, working with that team as it changed names and then cities, before the Baltimore Bullets were sold to Abe Pollin and Arnold Heft after the 1963-64 season. You can verify these facts with our mutual friend David Stern, the NBA commissioner. So I have a little knowledge of what it takes.
You have inherited a very tough job. You might have been the Wolves’ first choice, but I know that more than a couple of people didn’t want to be considered when Mr. Taylor called because of the big challenge ahead.
You have inherited a very tough job. You might have been the Wolves’ first choice, but I know that more than a couple of people didn’t want to be considered when Mr. Taylor called because of the big challenge ahead.
Alex Raskin/Hoopsworld includes Kevin Love on his list of six players that are poised for stardom next season:
On December 28, 2008 there was little debate as to which team got the better end of the Kevin Love-O.J. Mayo deal. The Memphis Grizzlies were holding a dynamic scorer who was good for 20 points on any given night while Minnesota’s Love was struggling to crack the starting lineup of a very bad team.
The next night, however, the T-Wolves beat the Grizzlies by 10 as Love went for 17 points and 7 rebounds. From that point on, Love’s season caught fire as he finished with the top Player Efficiency Rating of any rookie (18.39).
The next night, however, the T-Wolves beat the Grizzlies by 10 as Love went for 17 points and 7 rebounds. From that point on, Love’s season caught fire as he finished with the top Player Efficiency Rating of any rookie (18.39).
The voters for the Rookie Game may not have noticed, but Love also finished second in the NBA in terms of offensive rebounding rate and third in overall rebounding rate.
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