Wolves Updates 4/16

From Britt Robson/On The Ball:

Piecing a few roundabout comments from a variety of sources together, I believe one of the people on Glen Taylor’s list of GM candidates is former Indiana Pacers’ GM and current D League franchise owner David Kahn. It’s my understanding that Taylor has brought Kahn in for interviews two or three times already, indicating he may be a serious candidate. I’ll try and find out more about this from Taylor himself in the next day or two. And if I’m wrong in my understanding of what folks were trying to tip me off to, then of course I’ll report that too.

From Don Seeholzer/Pioneer Press:

Owner Glen Taylor didn’t attend Wednesday’s game, but based on conversations with a number of people around the league, the Wolves are expected to go one of two ways in their search for a new head of basketball operations.

Assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg generally is considered the favorite, assuming the Wolves believe he’s ready to assume the top job.

If not, they could hire an experienced outside candidate such as San Antonio Spurs vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey or former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson to work with Hoiberg.

Taylor said last week that he has interviewed six outside candidates for the position and expects to announce his decision within two weeks.

From Sid Hartman:

Taylor said that General Manager Jim Stack and Assistant General Manager Fred Hoiberg are the inside candidates for the GM job.

“We know both Fred and Jim very well,” said Taylor. “They are people we can measure other people against. I have always found out just because you like guys you work with that you should also go the outside and look at people with new ideas and other experiences. I think it’s best for our club to do that.”

Taylor won’t go as far as to say it would be better to bring in a new guy to clean house.

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

Their loss to the Kings and Memphis’ victory over Atlanta Wednesday tied the two teams for the league’s fifth-worst record.

A blind draw will be held to decide which team gets a 7.6 percent chance and which team a 7.5 percent chance at winning the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s draft lottery.

“It’ll be an interesting summer for everybody on board,” veteran Brian Cardinal said. “From the economy to having three [first-round] draft picks to not knowing what’s going to happen at the top level with the GM and the coach, it is going to be really interesting.”

From Tom Powers/Pioneer Press:

So we’ll take a summer break from basketball. We all need one.

“No,” Gomes insisted. “This is my fourth year and I haven’t got a clue what it’s like even fighting to get into the playoffs. I’m a little down. But it’s not fun watching your friends and your peers still playing.”

Actually, I meant the fans and media need a break. But it’s easy to admire Gomes’ spirit. It would be nice if some of these Wolves got better results for their efforts next season.

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

Ollie, a 12-year NBA veteran, will return home to Connecticut and discuss with his family whether he will play a 13th season.

“I would like to play; my wife doesn’t want me to play,” Ollie said. “There will be some negotiation in the Ollie household. She might put the full-court press on and send the kids in there one by one. It might be tough.”

Asked if he thinks there’s any chance he could play for the Wolves again, Ollie said, “I have no idea. I’ll definitely leave my options open. I’ve really enjoyed my time here with the coaching staff and the organization.”

Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune takes a look back at the highs and lows of the season.

Dave McMenamin/NBA.com ranks Kevin Love at #8 among the rookies.

In a podcast with Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell this week, I got put on the spot for ranking Love at No. 8 when his PER has him No. 1 amongst all rookies. Listen, PER is a stat that is swayed to credit the field goal percentage of big men. It’s common sense that a guard is going to connect at a lower rate than a power forward or a center, just by the nature of the shots he is taking. Furthermore, the more minutes you play and the bigger role thrust upon your shoulders as a rookie, the more margin for error will appear. Love is a bench player who was riding pine while Brian Cardinal was out on the court in key fourth-quarter minutes against the Mavericks on Monday. Rose was scoring 11 of his 24 points in the final quarter that same night to help the Bulls beat the Pistons. Any stat that makes Love?s contributions appear more meaningful than Rose?s this season should be irrelevant, in my book.

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Wolves Updates 4/16

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper