'Snubbed' Rookies, Friends Lash Out

When assistant coaches have to pick just nine rookies and nine sophomores for the Rookie Challenge to be played on All-Star Friday, it's likely that a good player or two will be left out. Big names (Greg Oden) earn deference, bit players on good teams (Rudy Fernandez) get a bump in recognition, and sometimes the snubs and their associates feel a little spurned.

Maybe the most biting comments came from Kevin McHale, who coaches a fairly high-performing lottery pick in Kevin Love. For his part, Love called the vote "bulls---" and said it inspired a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against the Pistons. McHale, donning the attitude of a CIA interrogator, started asking questions.

From Jerry Zgoda's Minneapolis Star-Tribune story on the matter:

Wolves coach Kevin McHale called Love's omission a "travesty."

"That's utterly ridiculous; who picks that team?" McHale said. When told assistant coaches do, he said. "No way."

There is no way assistant coaches could be so stupid! It's a Portland-based conspiracy, I tell you!

Jason Thompson had a similarly insulted attitude about his snub, according to Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee.

J.T. dropped 21/11 on the Celtics, doing most of his damage against starters Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett.

"Oh yeah," he said when asked if he was disappointed. "That was a statement right there, to anybody that voted. I definitely feel like I deserved it."

It's hard to fault the assistants in the end -- you could make an argument Love belongs over Oden or Thompson belongs in place of Fernandez, but it's a small difference and Portland's winning a lot of games. (Though Minnesota has been, as well.) The real prize sits in April, when the All-Rookie team is named. All these guys have a tough slog to get there, but it's possible.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-29-2009 @ 11:34AM

Alberto Garcia said...

I have to agree with Frankenstein... I mean McHale: They left out KLove!!!???? What the hell are they smoking?

GO HEAT!

1-29-2009 @ 11:39AM

firephantom said...

Minnesota is winning alot of games? Does anyone actually even look at the standings anymore? They are 16-28, 11.5 games behind Portland (who apparently may or may not be "winning" games as well as Minnesota) and only 3 games ahead of the sad sack Warriors. I know they've been playing well recently, but let's not be ridiculous.

1-29-2009 @ 12:44PM

lunatic_fo_ever said...

just to establish, i am a raptor fan so w/e. but c-mon. love is playing very well he was for a while. hes a rebounding machine. he doesnt get a lot of playing time either. rudy is good but seriously he is backing up brandon roy. love backs up craig smith. i bet you dont even know who he is. put it this way. if sota was in the east love would be a rookie of the year candidate. yet he is not put on the rook/sophmore game? thats ridiculous if 11/10 doesnt put you in than why was horford who avg 10/10 put in with his team playing terrible ball before the all star break last yr? why was horford looked at as a saviour as a 3rd pick on a struggling hawks team when love is snubbed with identical numbers yet doesnt get as much pt as horford did? i seriously dont understand it to tell you the truth.

1-29-2009 @ 12:50PM

Er, wasn't arguing about Kevin Love. I do think he belongs there, but as you can see if you actually read what I wrote, I'm arguing against people claiming the T-wolves are "winning alot of games." A 36% winning percentage does not mean a team is winning alot of games. Reading comprehension ftw.

1-29-2009 @ 1:03PM

CH said...

"you could make an argument Love belongs over Oden or Thompson belongs in place of Fernandez"

You could make that argument, just like I could make the argument that I should be playing in place of all four simultaneously due to my ability to be in four places at the same time.

1-29-2009 @ 1:08PM

Tom said...

You could, but the argument would be patently ridiculous. An argument for Love or Thompson would, um, not be ridiculous considering, um, basic logic.

1-29-2009 @ 1:13PM

Re: my comment about Minnesota's winning -- I said "Minnesota has been" winning, which is true. The team is 10-3 in January. My statement stands: Minnesota has been winning games, too. Reading comprehension ftw, indeed.

1-29-2009 @ 1:28PM

Yes, 10-3 including 8 wins against Chicago (twice), Golden State, OKC, Bucks (twice), Clippers and Grizzlies. That's a weak argument at best.

1-29-2009 @ 1:20PM

knicks chick said...

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1-29-2009 @ 1:38PM

"An argument for Love or Thompson would, um, not be ridiculous considering, um, basic logic."

Agree to disagree.

1-29-2009 @ 1:40PM

Really? Any argument for Love over Oden or Rudy would be ridiculous? Your homer is showing.

1-29-2009 @ 1:43PM

One more comment, Love should totally be in there. Especially given the expectations (most) people seemed to have for him (re: bust or at the very least another embarassing example of McHale mismanagement) he has produced above and beyond is outplaying Oden regardless of expectations.

1-29-2009 @ 1:56PM

"Your homer is showing."

So is yours, at least as it pertains to Thompson. And your disdain for all things trail blazers is peeking out from behind your homer.

Can you argue for Love over Oden? I don't think so. Over Rudy? I could see that.

But strange that you pick only trail blazers to complain about. You think Marc Gasol and Mike Beasley are more deserving than Love of Thompson?

1-29-2009 @ 2:01PM

(I think all six of the guys are really even, and there's no real crime in any of the four.)

In the post I said any advantage Thompson or Love has is minor and probably negated by Portland's terrific success. I said it's hard to fault the voting coaches.

You said arguments for Thompson or Love over Oden or Rudy are ridiculous.

All homers are not created equal.