The NBA Coaching Guillotine considers which coaches have the potential to be executed (figuratively) and why.Randy Wittman grabbed Minnesota's head coach job in auspicious circumstances in 2007. Dwane Casey, in his second season in charge of the Wolves, had taken the team to a 20-20 start with a top-10 defense despite utterly dismal projection for the squad. (Kevin Garnett was the only above-average player on the team. The other high-minutes player? Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.) At the time of the Casey firing, Kevin McHale said the coach had a playoff roster to work with and just wasn't getting enough out of them. It remains one of the most egregious cop-outs in modern NBA history (slightly edged by Minnesota owner Glen Taylor suggesting Garnett didn't want to win badly enough).
Wittman replaced Casey, and took a fringe postseason contender into the tank. The Wolves finished the season 12-30. The following season, once Garnett had been replaced with Al Jefferson, Wittman won 22 games. Clearly, the Wolves are rebuilding ... so does the record even matter? Remember Casey's raw deal when you read this McHale quote, captured by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Asked if he was satisfied with the team's coaching thus far, McHale said, "Yeah, well, right now we have to find a way to win basketball games. That's what this game is all about."Encouraging! Of course, not a soul would cry foul should Wittman walk the gallows -- his rotation has been suspect, the team seems completely aimless most of the time. If there were an NBA yearbook, "Coach Most Likely to Look Completely Lost in Crunch Time" would be a unanimous Wittman victory. But still ... does McHale honestly think the Wolves should be 4-3 right now? Minnesota has some nice young pieces, but Red Auerbach couldn't have this bunch in the playoff hunt. Expecting as much from Wittman is akin to watching a bagel with the hope it'll spread cream cheese on itself.
