Back in December, Kevin McHale had a decision made for him. Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor fired coach Randy Wittman, and told McHale to get down to the bench to guide the team he had assembled as vice president of basketball operations.It was an unkind blow for McHale, who had been in on the franchise's highs and lows as the team's top decision-maker for the previous 13 seasons. At the time, most figured McHale would ride out the rest of 2008-09 season, then move on.
Now, McHale's got a decision to make.
Taylor is currently interviewing general manager types, and he's made it clear McHale is not a candidate. The head coaching job in 2009-10 is all McHale's, however, if he wants it.
But does McHale want it?
"I don't know," McHale said Wednesday before the Timberwolves beat the Warriors in Oakland. "There's a lot of stuff I've got to think about."
That's about all you get out of McHale these days. If he knows what he's going to do, he's not saying. And what he's not saying, he's saying pretty well.
"I don't feel like telling you what I'm doing," McHale said. "Why do I owe it to you to tell you what I'm doing?"
Trying to figure out what McHale will do is like trying to figure out how to defend him in the low post back in his playing days. McHale was the master of the up-and-under, and he used the head fake as effectively as anyone in the league.
He's still faking, dodging and avoiding. McHale's been so good at not showing his hand that he now gets questions about why he's not showing his hand. Just when it sounds as if McHale is enjoying coaching and figures to come back, he'll do a 180 and lament about the travails of the job.
Taylor said recently he had a gut feeling McHale would return because he seems to be enjoying himself. Taylor's half right.
"There are parts you enjoy and there are parts you don't," McHale said. "My last four or five years in the NBA playing, I couldn't stand the travel. The travel hasn't gotten any better. Private planes, but still.
"You travel all over the country and do that every single day you're gone. Same thing as a player. It's similar to how I feel now even though I do enjoy practices more. When I played, I hated practice, but when I coach I enjoy practice. That's a weird exchange.
"I actually like practice and games. Other than that, there's really nothing about the lifestyle that I like. I know the people in Oakland may be disappointed to hear this, but if I never make it up to Oakland again, I won't be crying."
McHale seems to be having more success from the bench than he had in the front office. He took over for Wittman on Dec. 8, with the Wolves sitting at 4-15, and shortly thereafter earned Western Conference coach of the month honors after a 10-4 January.
The momentum abruptly ended when Al Jefferson was lost for the season with a knee injury in early February. But McHale has kept the Wolves competitive, and their victory over the Warriors on Wednesday was their third straight on the road.
This is McHale's second stint on the Minnesota bench. In 2004-05, he took over for Flip Saunders and went 19-12 to close the season. This time has been different.
"(2004-05) was a very veteran group of guys who had lost all forms of discipline and had splintered. So there was much more getting them back in line and a little more foot-up-the-rear-end type stuff.
"Now, it's foot-up-the-rear-end, plus you've got to go over to them, put your arm around their shoulder and say 'Are you sure you're OK?' Because too much foot-in-the-butt and they don't play very well, either."
With the Wolves finishing up a quick back-to-back on the road against the Clippers and Warriors, McHale was looking at another late night in a strange city, with a four-hour plane flight at the end of it.
"I told you by 3 in the morning, I've got five hours under my belt on a normal night," McHale said. "Early to bed, early to rise. It's different. But I do enjoy the guys and I do enjoy the challenge."
But he's not saying if he enjoys it enough to continue.
