Even McCants’s own teammates, normally unwilling to cast blame, could be heard quite audibly and publicly venting their frustration at McCants’s rotten play and bratty attitude. It had become more and more apparent that McCants’s tenure with the team was coming to a close and that a trade was eminent. But things had gotten so bad that the Wolves would probably have had to package Shaddy with other players to get anything of value in return (or worse, allow him to leave as a free agent after the season, admitting defeat and taking the cap room).
So for all of these reasons it was nice to see McCants get loose on Friday. We can’t know whether this was a sign of things to come or just an anomalous moment in Shaddy’s harsh decline. But, even if Wolves intend to trade him, he’s probably their most talented perimeter scorer and they desperately need him to improve. Even if he did write the words “Swagger is Everything” on his sneakers (which he did).
From Marc Stein/ESPN five questions with O.J. Mayo:
Q: How mad are you at the Timberwolves for trading you on the same night that they drafted you? Is it the kind of deal where, for the rest of your career, you’re going to want to stick it to them?
A: I’m not mad. With me, [the trade] kind of opened my eyes up that it’s definitely a business. From the first day, it’s a business. I’m just happy that it wasn’t something where I got set on Minnesota and then I was traded. There wasn’t time [for that]. You put on a Minnesota hat and then maybe 30 minutes later you’re watching ESPN and they say there’s a blockbuster trade going down. But it was great the next day when I flew to Memphis with DA [fellow rookie Darrell Arthur]. It was a pretty easy transition.
Q: Did you keep that Wolves hat?
A: Yeah, I kept it. It’s the first hat I put on, so I kept it.
McHale, the GM-turned-Coach, also feels Foye was allowing his offensive struggles to negatively affect his defensive intensity, which is a debilitating problem for many young players. “That’s a big bugaboo with our team right now, and Randy falls into that. There are times where if things aren’t going real well offensively they tend to hang their head a little bit as opposed to digging in on the defensive end,” said McHale.
HOOPSWORLD caught up with Foye before the game as well and Randy admitted that this is a point of emphasis for his improvement. “One of the biggest things is whenever I am out there I am going to try and compete no matter what is going on. No matter if I just shot an airball or if I am 0-for-10 on the night, I’m going always try and compete,” said Foye.
About that career … ever wonder what might have happened if things had turned out differently, if two of the seven deadly sins — greed and envy — along with countless bad management decisions hadn’t destroyed a promising Wolves team that acquired Kevin Garnett and Marbury in consecutive drafts? Ever wonder particularly how Marbury’s career would have turned out differently?
“No,” said Wolves coach Kevin McHale, the man who drafted Garnett directly out of high school before such a thing was fashionable and who traded for Marbury’s draft rights. “You can ask all the questions you want about it, but you’re not getting anything.”
Brad Miller is available. I don’t know for sure, but I’d have to believe Mike Miller is available at the right price.
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