Imagine a world where upon trading most of your veterans and turning the team over to unproven youngsters, you have growing pains and lots of losses. It's almost as if rebuilding entails some necessary and unavoidable period of truly sucky basketball!This is all news to one David Kahn, boss of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who blew up the team this past summer.
After Monday's embarrassing dismantling at the hands of the (get ready for it) Golden State Warriors(!), Kahn, in quotes to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, seemed flabbergasted that his mish-mosh of raw players hasn't won many games.
The Wolves lost to Golden State by 41 points, leading Kahn to issue this warning.
"It's inexcusable and unacceptable, for any one game, for us not to put up the requisite fight. I hope it does not become a pattern. If it does, it will be remedied. We will not spend an entire season tolerating that."How it will be remedied, of course, is left for the reader to imagine, though Kahn does defend his coaching staff. Minnesota has only one core player with more than two years of pro experience, and his name is Al Jefferson. I'm not sure Kahn is really ready to ship Al Fricking Jefferson out on a carrier pigeon because the season hasn't begun so smoothly.
(By the way, the Wolves responded to Kahn's threat with a 23-point home loss to Portland. It's almost as if the team just isn't very good!)
Who could be at fault for the bad start? Ramon Sessions, a point guard Kahn signed just a few months ago? Jonny Flynn, the point guard Kahn drafted in June? Corey Brewer, who despite shooting worse than a blind rifleman with epilepsy is having his best pro season and is the team's only plus defender? Ryan Hollins, a Kahn signee who can't rebound defensively or play defense well, despite being tall and athletic?
Jefferson has admittedly gotten off to a rough start -- 15/6 in 30 minutes a game, well off his recent production. But this is your star, the one proven commodity, the one (as of right now) potential All-Star. Are you really going to trade him, Mr. Kahn, because your young inexpensive team is 1-8?
There is no solution, of course, but patience. This is what happens with young teams.
Look at Portland, the team that waxed 'Sota Wednesday night. You think this squad bloomed overnight, like a shoot of grass? Basketball teams are trees, man, and while you have to start with good seed (Jefferson, Kevin Love and Flynn qualify) and add food (there is where that vaunted coaching staff comes in), it takes time to get something solid in place.
Patience, bro.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
In Kahn's defense (an admittedly hard position to take), it's early and perhaps he wants to make sure that his team shows some fight. I did watch either game, but maybe the body language of his team was telling him they gave up.
Now, if the opposite is true and they gave max effort, but just stink, well then, you're completely on point. If guys are giving everything they've got and they're still coming up short, these types of quotes tend to backfire.
Didn't they finish well last year under McHale with essentially the same bunch of guys? I guess the expectation is that improvement would continue. Hmmm, Rambis isn't the prized-pupil he was cracked up to be.
I think the Tomberwolves better get serious or the Grizzlies will get the number one draft pick.
Tom, your claim that he's frustrated his team hasn't won more games isn't backed up by either the quote (which only mentions the GS game) or the article (which only mentions the team's effort not its success). I watched the game and the most frustrating thing to me wasn't that they lost but that they allowed a lot of fastbreak points by not getting back on D and gave up way too many 3-point plays (which is bad rotation, hustle, and not giving a good foul). He didn't mention anything about the team's record, and to make that leap is putting words in his mouth.