Timberwolves New Schedule Released

The NBA released schedules recently. I gotta say, I'm liking the Wolves schedule for next season! First things first, I love that we open up at home. That place will be packed to see the debuts of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams, so I could really see us starting the season off with a win. Also we start out the season against Atlanta, at Phillie, then home games vs. Phoenix, Toronto and Sacramento. We could easily win the first game against Atlanta because of the crowd and everything. We'll probably lose at Philadelphia but I could see us taking at least two out of three in those last three home games. That means a 4-1 or 3-2 start is a very real possibility for the Wolves. Here are three games I'm really looking forward too.

November 25th vs. Houston Rockets: No, I don't care about Kevin McHale's return, I just am excited because it will be on ESPN.

December 23rd vs. Dallas Mavericks - Who doesn't want to see the Wolves take on the champs!? Plus the Mavs have Rudy Fernandez from Spain, Ricky vs. Rudy Part one. I can't wait.

February 6th at Memphis - Nothing special here. I just think the Grizz are a really cool team and I want to watch them steam roll the Wolves.

Here's a link to the full schedule

One entertaining and educational season

With Michael Beasley always treating us T-Wolves fans to a lip synch concert that outperformed Ashley Simpsons on SNL from a few years back, and Kevin Love inking his name his name in the history books, not since the Timberwolves were good and had Latrell “He might choke the coach” Sprewell, Sam “The first ever basketball player from area 51” Cassel and Kevin “I am really worried he will be go into the hall of fame as a Celtic” Garnett, was a season as fun to watch as this past season. However, this season was equally entreating as it was educational.
Here are five things we learned:

1.Johnny Flynn’s future as an NBA point guard might be over, but his future as a star on the And1 Mixtape Tour is bright.
2.If we pretend Wesley Johnson is really 22 years old and not actually 25, he looks a lot better than as good as he already is.
3.Before this year we thought every trade or transaction Kevin McHale made was bad. In hindsight he had one good one when he traded OJ Mayo for Kevin Love.
4.Darko Millicic might not be a bust????
5.Kevin Love is really really good.

Here are five things that entertained us:
1.Michael Beasley and his awesome lip synching.

2.Kevin Love and his Numb#rs video. Checkout in the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2OkK2jupU8

3.The Timberwolves in house DJ ‘DJ Mad Mardigan’ and his horrible disk jockey skills that reached a new level of unintentional comedy. Check out below in the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTF4LauCknc

4.David Kahn. As highlighted by what he said about Michael Beasley.
5.Kurt Rambis and his coaching. While he probably is getting fired, his facial expressions after John Flynn threw a ball out of bounds were always entertaining.

No more Timberwolves for Kevin McHale

It’s finally official. Kevin McHale will NOT be the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.


New Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations David Kahn called a Target Center news conference Wednesday afternoon to confirm Kevin McHale will not return as coach. Kahn will begin a search for a new coach the day after next week's NBA draft.

I wonder who it will be. I am not basketball savvy enough to venture a guess right now, but I got my wish – A TIMBERWOLVES FRESH START.

Kevin McHale and David Kahn discuss Future

It’s been all over Minnesota sports media that new Timberwolves president David Kahn and “old” Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale have been meeting to discuss the Kevin McHale future with the Minnesota Timberwolves. No decision has been made. What? How many meetings do they need? One, maybe two. Either McHale agrees with David Kahn’s plan for the Timberwolves future or he doesn’t – what is the hang-up?

I read this recently: “A recent poll on star tribune indicated that roughly 80 percent of voters prefer for Kevin McHale to not return as head coach. I'm surprised that the number wasn't higher, but it still speaks volumes. McHale's dirty fingerprints are all over this franchise.”

I think it’s time for a fresh start in Minnesota – good-bye Kevin and good luck.

Timberwolves will replace McHale

Ok, my blog post title could be a little misleading (you were thinking new head coach, right?), but I personally have been waiting for this announcement (text courtesy Star Trib):

“Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor plans to hire a basketball personnel decision-maker to replace former vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale and predicts it will be "sooner rather than later" in the time between next week's regular-season finish and the June 25 draft.”

The Timberwolves need a GOOD DECISION maker if this team has any hope of NBA survival. McHale was not the right guy for the job – he may be an OK coach, but he did not (does not) have the player selection strategy talents that the team needs.

I haven’t heard a lot of rumbling about McHale coming back next year as the head coach – what are the odds? 3:1 ?

Is there a Kevin McHale Future with the Timberwolves

There has been a lot of talk about Kevin McHale (what else is new?) and his future as the Timberwolves head coach . . . read this statement from the press:


Taylor repeated that it won't be strictly McHale's call on whether he returns as coach but that he's not sure the Wolves could go out and get another who could do a better job with this group of players.


What? Seriously? I think there are other coaches out there and if McHale doesn’t “like” to coach as he has professed before, then what makes Glen Taylor think he is the best guy for the job?

It’s a proven fact, you are better at and more productive at a job you are passionate about. I am not convinced that Kevin McHale is passionate about the Minnesota Timberwolves as a coach or at any other position. I think he is just collecting a paycheck and that mentality is hurting the entire organization. There are players on the Timberwolves roster that are doing the same and the “collecting a paycheck” mentality should not be permitted. Come on Taylor, wake up.

Timberwolves Lose Al, Lose Games, Lose Composure

If you are a Timberwolves fan you are probably just as depressed as I am that Al Jefferson is out for the entire season due to a torn right knee ligament. Jefferson was THE REASON I actually went to the Target Center to watch a game or two.

Even with Jefferson out, the Timberwolves last night looked exactly like the team they had been in the first half of the season with him. Wolves lost to the Raptors 102-110 at the Target Center Minneapolis last night.

Quote: “The Wolves squandered a 13-point, third-quarter lead and surrendered 69 second-half points”

Sounds familiar? It is. It’s the same story over and over with this team. The Timberwolves can’t seem to play four quarters of basketball.


"We just got tired," Timberwolves head coach Kevin McHale said. "On both ends."


The fans are tired, too, Kevin. The fans are tired too. What are we going to do?

Timberwolves Lose At Home

Last Thursday I wrote that the Timberwolves are up to their old tricks and this Thursday I could write the same thing. The Timberwolves lost last night at the Target Center to the Atlanta Hawks 86-94.

What is the deal with this Wolves team and their inability to play four quarters of NBA style basketball? Seriously, is it conditioning? is it heart? What is the deal? Last night the Timberwolves look tired, lethargic, lazy, unmotivated, should I go on? and the worst part, they were on their home court! I think Kevin McHale may need to put some curfews in place or perhaps put the guys up in a hotel the night before a home game – because the Timberwolves are playing better on the road than they are in front of their own fans and that has got to change.
Next home game is Tuesday, February 10th against Toronto Raptors. The Timberwolves have two road games before then – any bets on the turn-outs of the games?

Timberwolves Website

I see the Timberwolves site has taken on some extra advertisers including a flash Denny Hecker ad – what is up with that? Gross and pretty risky these days – Denny isn’t exactly thought of as Minnesota Nice. I bet that ad comes down by the end of the day.

They also have the Delta airlines logo strangely placed on the their schedule page next to all of the away games…which I guess is clever if you want to fly to one of those games. I was just taken by surprise to see all the logos. I suppose they need to make up for all the lost ticket revenue by adding a million “partners” to their advertising portfolio.

Congrats BTW to Kevin McHale for being “Coach of the Month” for January. I wonder if him and Denny are buddies?

Timberwolves Up to Old Tricks

I was hoping to start this Timberwolves blog post with an “OMG, the Timberwolves did it again.” Meaning the Twolves beat the Detroit Pistons twice this season, but the Timberwolves were up to their old tricks last night at the Target Center and squandered away an eleven point lead and lost to the Pistons 89-98.

In the post game interview, Kevin McHale gave credit to the Pistons but pointed out the Timberwolves own problems including four fast-break points, eight offensive rebounds and 16 free-throw attempts as partial evidence of a loss that he called "self-inflicted."

"That has not been our M.O. for a while," he said. "For me sitting there, it felt like we just could never get out of second gear."

I got a chuckle out of that - yeah it hasn’t been your M.O. for the month of January, but what about the first half of the season? They say it’s hard to teach an old dog (or wolf) new tricks – McHale has tried to reprogram this team, but fans were quickly reminded of the Timberwolves ability to wimp out in the fourth quarter. Tough games coming up, too. Lakers and Celtics. I better get buckled in, this could be a bumpy week.

Kevin McHale Quote

One thing about having Kevin McHale as the Timberwolves head coach – he is a lot more chatty with the media. I think I could start a blog just on McHale Quotes….here is one like:


“You can call it mojo, you can call it confidence, you can call it whatever you want,” McHale added. “But when you’ve got it, you can rule the world. When you don’t have it, you can’t cross the street. It’s an amazing thing.”


Can’t cross the street? LOL! Very serious imagery here. The Timberwolves play tomorrow night AND Sunday night at home. Any one going? The Wolves are hot right now, I bet the place doesn’t look as empty as it did back in November.

Kevin McHale Quote on Firings

Read this Kevin McHale quote on why there have been so many NBA coaches fired this year:

"Just because the access now, there's so much media availability and everything else. There's just so many bloggers; everybody's got an opinion. There's all kinds of stuff going on. Sometimes that starts forming the opinion of people in front offices, too, and owner. It's been kind of a crazy year so far."

I love the reference to the bloggers! That totally cracks me up – gotta love our first amendment rights!

I would also like to add that losing plays a part in the firings (not just the media). When owners are paying millions of dollars to players and coaches and they aren’t getting results – a change has to be made. Every one wants what they pay for (especially in this economy) and when you are paying big salaries, performance better match the pay check.

Have a great holiday every one!

Kevin McHale Has a Plan

Or at least he thinks he does. I read this Kevin McHale quote and thought I should share his strategy plan to get the Timberwolves team up to speed:

“We're probably going to have to do a little more running in practice than most teams."

That’s it? Just a little more running?! Wow. I am blown away by that plan. Newsflash: it is going to take more than a few extra laps around the gym to get this team on the right track. Besides, how can he just be noticing NOW that the Timberwolves players are under conditioned? McHale should have been fired with Randy Wittman – there is no excuse to an under-conditioned team – that is 100% a coaches and managers fault.

Timberwolves Ticket Demand Up Out of Curiosity over New Coach

I just may buy Timberwolves Tickets to see Coach Kevin McHale at the Target Center in the near future. I missed the game Tuesday night, but I want to see what McHale looks like with the clipboard in his hand and what reaction he has when one of the young players rolls his eyes at him. I am sure I am not the only Timberwolves fan that is thinking about buying Timberwolves Tickets simply out of curiosity right now....

I saw this survey online and wanted to share the results:
Did the Timberwolves do the right thing with Kevin McHale?
Total Votes = 1341
Yes. Making him head coach is the perfect remedy. 5.070 %
Yep. Making him head coach is the perfect punishment. 26.62 %
No. Why give McHale a job he didn't really want? 7.531 %
Nope. Why give McHale any job? 60.77 %

Ha ha. I still think this is just a step to getting McHale out the door. Time will tell.

Timberwolves Coaching Change Kevin McHale, Last Chance?

In a very predictable move (Timberwolves fans have been waiting too long for this), Glen Taylor fired Timberwolves head coach Randy Wittman. Wittman had a pitiful 38-105 win loss record and has openly admitted to Twin Cities media that the players were no longer playing for him. In a somewhat unpredictable move, Glen Taylor moved Kevin McHale into the head coach slot. Hmmm…

It’s no secret that Kevin McHale doesn’t want to be a head coach, he has publicly declared this before so I was surprised to see Glen Taylor assign him the role. If I were Glen Taylor, I would have fired them both and started fresh with two other guys. My guess is that this move is Glen Taylor giving Kevin McHale one final chance with the Timberwolves organization. I am hoping he told Kevin McHale, “OK, you picked this team, now show us what they can do, no excuses. And if you don’t, pack your bags, too.”

Thoughts Wolves fans?

Sick of Negative Twin Cities Media

I am sick of the Minneapolis/St. Paul media being unable to give any credit to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kevin McHale. I don't understand why the media is unwilling to give the Timberwolves credit for getting the franchise back on the right track. These are the most telling signs that the Timberwolves are headed in the right direction:

1) The acquisition of Al Jefferson and his emergence as a bona-fide NBA Superstar.
2) The trade of OJ Mayo for Love and Miller. The jury is still out, but this trade has the potential to be a franchise changing move.
3) Getting rid of Marko Jaric and his bloated contract.
4) Filling the roster with "good guys."

In my estimation, the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the right track and will be a playoff caliber team next year. At that point, The Twin Cities Media will have to give credit where credit is due. In the meantime, I am going to go out and buy Timberwolves Tickets for this weekends game.

Kevin McHale Quote

"This isn't fantasy basketball," McHale said. "Statistics mean nothing; you've got to win."

DUH! Let's win, then.

Kevin McHale in no hurry to sign last years losers, isn’t he a last years loser too?

I read this Kevin McHale quote regarding signing free agents that were on the losing team last year,

“Bottom line is, we won 22 games,” he said. “There’s less pressure on us to sign those guys. If we won 62 games, then we probably need to sign them.”

Funny, I would think Kevin McHale would feel the same way about his own job. I hope Glen Taylor hears McHale saying that and realizes that the logic applies to both the players, coaches and managers.

Timberwolves Roster changes in puzzling ways

I am never quite sure I understand Kevin McHale. I don’t think any one does. I don’t slam him as often as other Timberwolves fans and Timberwolves bloggers do, but if he has a plan for this team, I am not sure what it is and I would like to know.

Yesterday, the Timberwolves confirmed that they worked out a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that moved Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to the Timberwolves. It was a weird exchange and if you want to read about it, you will have to check out the local paper because I am in no mood to explain it. What I would like explained to me is “why?” Neither of these players will make a difference on the Timberwolves team next year. Is McHale building an arsenal of players he can trade away for one big guy? If that is the case, some one needs to explain that to the fans because I am losing interest really fast. A group of no namers plus Al Jefferson are not going to win the NBA Championship, they just aren’t. They are going to get stomped on and thrown around. We need bigger guys. I think it is time for Glen Taylor to think about making more changes than just what is on the roster sheet. McHale needs to go and he can take Randy with him. If we are starting fresh with new players, why not start with new managers, too.

The offseason should be a time of hope, but I am stuck in despair.

Timberwolves Draft Day – Sure to Include Surprises

Tomorrow is D-Day for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Draft Day. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been busy working out every Tom, Derrick and Kevin. The Minnesota Timberwolves have a history of screwing up the draft so I am not making too many predictions. Most Timberwolves fans are saying USC's O.J. Mayo, Kansas State forward Michael Beasley or Memphis guard Derrick Rose. But there have been plenty of other rumors like the Timberwolves picking up Kevin Love (the trib did an article on Kevin Love vs Kevin McHale today – it made me want to puke).

I read this comment online and I just have to post it:
“Mayo, Beasley or bust. I will have a seizure if anything else happens.”

I have no doubts that tomorrow’s d-day will go down as another interesting and controversial day in Timberwovles draft history. Stay tuned, Wolves fans.