McCants Throws a Fit (Rashad Being Rashad)

With Rashad McCants trade rumors swirling around the Timberwolves message boards, it appears that Ol Shaddy is doing nothing to boost his trade value. Amid the Timberwolves' 92-86 loss to the Houston Rockets, McCants had a bit of a freakout toward the end of the first half. According to Britt Robson's immaculate Three-pointer blog:

With 4:37 left in the second period, Rashad McCants was whistled for a charge on one of those calls that could have legitimately gone either way. But McCants was pissed and complained to the officials as the Wolves called timeout. After this extended harangue, Wittman caught Shaddy's attention as he was headed toward the bench and harshly told him to get over to the sideline. McCants angrily threw his hand up in Wittman's direction, turned his head away and yelled something on the order of "get f***ed" as he went and sat down...

...When Houston subsequently called timeout, he stalked to the bench in high dudgeon, yelling and screaming, presumably at the injustice of not getting the ball. Dressed in street clothes, Theo Ratliff came over first and tried to console him, or at least get him to pipe down...Finally, Wittman turned to his right, glowered at McCants, and hollared, either "get out of here" or "get the f**k out of here," but in any case, the way McCants's shoulders kept moving, I assume he kept talking, until Wittman finally hollered again, "Shut up!" and then started to work on the upcoming play.

McCants has been a player who has been misunderstood throughout his career, often seen as a malcontent and garnering comparisons to everyone from J.R. Rider to Ron Artest. It's a shame that his mental tics seem to cloud his immense talent and that small episodes like this continue to taint the reputation of an otherwise great guy and teammate. Hopefully one day Shaddy will put it all together for the Wolves, or better yet he'll be dealt elsewhere to serve his ideal role as a Vinnie Johnson instant-offense type of guy on a contender.