I keep waiting for a sports writer to compose and article about the story of David Kahn, Jonny Flynn, and Ricky Rubio. The three are so foundational to Timberwolves history.

With malice towards no one, the 2009 NBA Draft became a critical event in measuring David Kahn's success. While every fan would like the PBOB to use to 5th and 6th pick to establish two future anchors for the franchise, for David, it has resulted in a 50/50 outcome.

First the good, in the person of Ricky Rubio. Ricky has captivated the Wolves fan base and many national sports reporters by being everything that he was advertised to be. During a recent NBA game telecast, one broadcaster stated he believed Ricky would actually attract top tier players to the Wolves by being such a selfless, team player. That Ricky gets the ball to the team mate for open shots, delivering the ball exactly where the player can readily put it in his shot pocket. As Ricky is known to say, he would rather make two people happy (with his passing) than one.

Reading Jerry Zgoda's article on Sunday about Jonny Flynn, it is clear that Jonny is number three on the PG pecking order. We all know the history here. Accordingly, Jonny is just waiting for his chance to show his talents. What Jonny says in the piece is most telling. That Minnesota (and Rambis) didn't allow him to showcase "his game." In fact the phrase "his game" (assuming that means pick and rolls) is all that is needed. (Note: I'm not defending Kurt Rambis here).

In essence, Ricky has thus far proven to be a pillar for the Wolves franchise. Jonny Flynn is the player just waiting to take off, when given his chance. My view, Jonny could learn a great deal by adjusting his perspective to be much more like Ricky's.

As for David Kahn, I've made my view known before. I think his draft history has more "misses" than "hits."

Bernie Bickerstaff, an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, will be one of the primary focuses of the Wolves’ search, sources said. Bickerstaff’s son, J.B., had been an assistant on Rambis’ staff, and one scenario could have J.B. serving under his father as a coach-in-waiting.

Bickerstaff has been the head coach of four teams, including the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics. His career record is 414-512.

The other name, of course, is the Washington coach. Jerry Zgoda mentioned the coach had a team ranked high in offensive efficiency. "University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, sources said. The Timberwolves have gathered background on Romar for several weeks, and are expected to make him a candidate to replace Rambis." (per Wojo)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AhSIPnVBRqg8xCNdtPEHJna8vLYF?slug=aw-wojnarowski_minnesota_firing_kurt_rambis_062211

Okay, no one has to give a blood oath or anything....

One of my greatest fears about Ricky Rubio is that he will not be able to live up to the high expectations we have of him on the court, at least initially. Let's face it, for the most part, we have been dazzled by the slick passing and open court prowess evidenced by the YouTube highlight videos and the like. Some of us have watched Ricky's teams and also read about the successes they have had.

Although we should care less about what the sports media world thinks, you can anticipate a large heaping of sour grapes by sports writers who wanted Ricky to diss the Wolves to play for their own larger-market team. There are probably drafts of articles sitting in offices just waiting to be published.

We need to be prepared to stand firm in support of Ricky. As one of the biggest, most obnoxious cynics on CH, I am going to give Ricky a couple years to adjust to the new team, the new country, the new city, and the (gasp) new (to him) front office and coaching staff.

I know in the Minnesota Nice (even for Mad Dan and others from Wisconsin) we are going to welcome Ricky with open arms and extend a long honeymoon period to him. Let's be sure to give him the benefit of a couple years to adjust.If he meets our expectations, great. But if he doesn't at first, let's show incredible patience.

Ricky has already demonstrated his loyalty to us by keeping his promise to join the Wolves.

My earlier "Kahn-b-Gone" fan posting has prompted this poll.

Question: To what extent do you believe Kahn has contributed to the successive losing seasons of 15- and 17-win records?

When making your selection, be sure to factor all other considerations. Moor, Rambis, Taylor, Crunch, the absurd carnival atmosphere that distracts us all from the game we love. Hell, if you choose, you can also factor in Chris Weber, Bill Simmons, the ghost of Kevin McHale, and the Skyway.

This is my first attempt at running a poll at CH, so I've got my excuse cooked.

"The white paint on the doorway to Kyrie Irving's childhood bedroom is dotted with black dashes and dates, each aligned to detail the incremental growth he's enjoyed since Oct. 31, 2003. At the top, marked off at 6 feet 4 inches, an arrow points to his goal:

Dad - I Wish!

He stands next to the makeshift tape measure, eyeing the shrinking space between his head and the end line.

"Wow," Irving says, tracing his path with his right index finger. "Came a long way."

Forever measuring himself against Drederick, his father, Kyrie, who stands 6-foot-3-1/2, surpassed his dad, a 45-year-old bond analyst at Thomson Reuters, on the court two years ago. In a game of one-on-one at a South Orange, N.J. park, he extended a string of made baskets into a 16-0 stretch, elevating over his father or faking, then finishing with duck-under layups. Unable to compete, the father, the former all-time scorer at Boston University and Rucker MVP, flailed futilely, their genetic sequence reversed."

Do read the whole article.

At the risk of offending Kahn admirers, you know who you are, I'm filing a report not to but about David Kahn:

Item 1: Kahn hired Kurt Rambis, triangle and all. Was there no due diligence performed about Kurt Rambis before committing the franchise to a 4-year guaranteed contract at $2M per season? Did Kahn not know that Rambis was not the run and jump type, the Run with the Wolves type of coach before committing to the contract?

Item 2: Kahn independently build the 2009/10 roster that had 15 wins. Did Kahn not know that the roster was a walking disaster? Did he not know that the marketing theme of "Run with the Wolves" was incongruent with the composition of the 2009/10 roster?

Item 3: Kahn, as I understand it, has had 9 first round picks since becoming the Wolves PBOB. We presently have one player, Ricky Rubio, who will likely warrant starter minutes but what else have we gained from those picks? Not much.

Item 4: Kahn was able to obtain Anthony Randolph and Michael Beasley. This was a roster clearing move from the Knicks and Heat respectively, not a shrewd move by a PBOB. More like Riles and Walsh looking to clear space on their roster, seeing which team was least likely to be threatening in the other conference, and making them available to the Wolves.

Item 5: Kahn has been a serial offender source of embarrassment whenever he speaks in public.

Item 6: Kahn has never been an NBA player or coach. So, how can we assume that he knows what to do in hiring and firing a coach? When you heard statements like lengthy, running team, etc. he shows his limitations. Even renowned running teams like the Suns, Showtime Lakers, were in half court sets on at least half of their possessions.

Verdict: Kahn-B-Gone

Derrick Williams.

According to the newly dropped ESPN magazine, Kevin Love states, "This isn't a need position for the team, but it would be tough for us to pass on such a talented player"...."Derrick can play inside and out {8.3 RPG and 56.8% 3PT} which will enable him to fit in at a couple of different positions."

FWIW

1. CLE - Kyrie Irving (says Baron Davis)

3. UTAH - Kembra Walker (Al Jefferson)

4. CLE - Klay Thompson (Baron Davis)

5. TOR - Enes Kanter (Jerryd Bayless)

6. WIZ - Jan Vesley (Nick Young)

7. KINGS - Brandon Knight (Jason Thompson)

8. DET - Bismack Byombo (Charlie Villaneuva)

As I write this post, I am witnessing Big Baby Davis slid his massive girth across the court while playing the Raptors. He must have known that this post is written about him, don't you think?

One of the less reported stories in the NBA is the relationship between Doc Rivers and Big Baby. It's obvious that Doc Rivers considers him his personal chew toy, and, for his part, Big Baby often walks into a chewing out by making all too obvious mistakes.

Versus the Pacers, Doc let Big Baby have it for chucking up an ill-advised 3-point shot (clank). Then, in the closing seconds of the same game. Big Baby stood stoic while the final ticks ran off instead of fouling the Pacer player who was within arm's length of hm. One sports writer had his son at the game and asked: "My son was at the game, did anyone else see Doc make Big Baby cry at the end?"

While viewing the replay, it only provides circumstantial evidence that Doc did make the big baller cry. Immediately after the final horn blew, Doc was making his way towards Big Baby. Doc didn't have his congratulatory look on his face. Then, the camera moved to seeing Big Baby walking towards the tunnel in a snit. While Big Baby was storming off, he kicked a stack of towels that went flying into the air.

Now, Wolves fans, the melodrama turns to tomorrow's Celtics match-up. Will the Wolves play be enough to witness Doc chewing on Big Baby's large hinder region? Will it be enough of move Big Baby to tears?

You all know how juiced I get over the use of stats. However, in the interest of serving all of humanity, and as a co-citizen of the world TM, I provide you with some excerpts from a work product produced by Draft Express. What's interesting in this review is the comparison made between the source's assessments of Wes during his final year at 'Cuse and where he is at today as a NBA rookie for the Wolves.

Some of this will come as no surprise: Wes is currently one-dimensional, as a three-point shooter, the vast majority of his shots coming from beyond the arc as compared to more shots taken nearer the basket while in college.

Yet, in fact, there are also some positives, such as his point production per possession compared to college.

I'll leave it to you to comment on this and other aspects of Draft Express' analysis at the link:

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Rookie-Retrospective-Wesley-Johnson-3605

Bouncing around the NBA is the latest observation from the self-appointed "King James". To those of us who prefer to call him Lebron James, we recognize him as very talented NBA player who made a bad decision to announce that he would be "taking my talents to South Beach" so publicly and without sensitivity to the Cleveland Cavs and fans.

So now, the man who engineered the latest bout of superstar consolidation now believes the NBA would do better to rid itself of the teams that "water down" the league. As he states:

"It's not my job; I'm a player, but that is why the league was so great," James said. "Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the (league). Looking at some of the teams that aren't that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren't that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good."

In the typical fashion that Lebron employs, he immediately backtracks on his previous statement as if he never said it (even though he knows the statement will get wide circulation):

"I'm not saying let's take New Jersey and let's take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I'm not stupid, it would be great for the league."

In a nutshell, Lebron would like to see a consolidated NBA, one that would coincidentally justify his move to consolidate talent at South Beach. 

This from a guy who most recently said he doesn't like playing on Christmas Day because he likes being with his family even though his family lives in Ohio and he recently bought his mansion on South Beach. From a guy who complained about too much playing time in the opening weeks of the season.

Who does the public relations work for "King James." Does he really want fans other with the Heat to dislike him?

Souce: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/112413894.html?cache=n&uccb=1293172536#post_comments

Oh, sure, yea, dat Pekovic is gonna be fantastic, no doubt. He killed in his last game, and now the angels fly at Target Center in anticipation of his arrival and future dominance. Once he gets done destroying other centers in his march to the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

But, a funny thing happened along the way. A speed bump in the form of Finland:

http://www.fibaeurope.com/pageID_SDvwFtNXIjkIM58O1kVvt3.nfID_96781.coid_TUFMTahIGVwxKAe,1tMCQ1.articleMode_on.html

Nikola Pekovic went ice cold but Montenegro found a way to win anyway as they topped Finland 74-60 in their EuroBasket Group A qualifier.

Pekovic managed only one of eight shooting from the field and was held to nine points as he battled foul trouble, but it did not stop Montenegro making it two wins out of two.

They got to work early, with Pekovic's jump-shot sparking a run of 17 unanswered points that turned a 10-5 deficit into a 22-10 lead.

Finland got the gap back to six, 35-29, on Hanno Mottola's three-pointer early in the third quarter, but they got not closer as a Milos Borisov three-pointer sparked another 8-0 run that made it 53-35.

Finland had the better of the closing stages, but by then Montenegro had built up a comfortable lead and they were never threatened.

Vladimir Dasic led the victors with 12 points, while Vladimir Dragicevic had nine points.

Teemu Rannikko's 20 points were in vain for Finland.

Yes, 31 August 2010 is the 3-year anniversary in arguably the biggest transaction in the history of the Timberwolves. Much has happened since KG last worn the Wolves uniform both for KG and for the Wolves franchise.

Rather than cast thread worn dispersions about McHale, Taylor, and others, I propose we use the occasion to reflect on:

1. How would the Wolves been different had KG stayed with the Wolves the past three years?

2. How the Wolves is positioned today for the future versus where it would be had KG stayed?

3. KG played very well in the last playoffs after injury, but what does the future look like for KG, how much longer can he perform at his normal high level?

4. What would a potential several week CBA-NBA lock out do for aging top performers like KG?

Again, let's keep the discussion above board. The finger-pointing and blame finding has long lived its usefulness.

Now that we are alerted to the advanced stages of a Ramon Sessions for ? trade with the Cavs. It's time to contemplate who that mystery person is coming back.

If that person coming back is Delonte West, the mystery will linger for as long as his stay in Minnesota. The man is an enigma wrapped up in a puzzle. 

But this is only the beginning, can you imagine the potential for a connection between Michael Beasley and Delonte West?

Everyone dwells on the three big names, "the Decision", and all. But a couple things have caught my attention of late which appear perfectly legitimate by NBA policy and yet makes you wonder what the league is turning into.

The Mansion

LeBron, you're not in Akron anymore.

No, not the famous nightclub in Florida and elsewhere, I'm referring to the $50M Coral Gables mansion formerly owned by Pat Riley and now has LeBron James signing papers for.

"Once owned by Miami Heat General Manager Pat Riley, the home was taken off the market a short time after James made his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami. (Cheryl Phillips, the Examiner) http://exm.nr/9m7Ms3

Personally, I could care less about where LeBron James lives or how much he pays for his palace, and only raise the coincidence for discussion purposes. Hell, maybe Glen Taylor has got a former mansion down in Mankato for such a circumstance.

James Jones

As David Aldridge NBA.com describes today's deal:

" Miami bought out the final three years of Jones's five-year, $23 million deal, paying approximately $1.8 million to Jones this year to get out of the rest of his old deal, which would have paid him $4.65 million next season. The savings gave the Heat enough cap space to convince James and Bosh to take less than maximum deals to join Dwyane Wade next season. The 29-year-old Jones had played his last two seasons in Miami but was injured for large stretches of the last two seasons.".....

 

..."After using the team's remaining cap space to sign free agent Mike Miller and re-sign forward Udonis Haslem, Miami can only offer veteran minimum contracts to other players as it fills out its roster. A seven-year veteran like Jones would be eligible for a minimum of $1.146 million next season.

All of this appear perfectly above-board and not in violation of any known rules. The question is should Riles be given major kudos for his creativity or should the NBA establish rules against such creativity?

The article, written by Chris Palmer, appears in the 26 July edition of ESPN The Magazine and is now available online:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=5383373

One excerpt of interest:

"He's a pure talent with a high basketball IQ," former Wolves GM McHale says of his former shooting guard. "Beautiful stroke, great body, everything. His problem was giving himself up to the team." That view is seconded by many who shared his locker room, whether McCants' under-his-breath mumbles were directed at them or not. "In any line of work you have to know how to talk to people and when to bite your tongue," says Kevin Love, who played with McCants two years ago. "Rashad has a me-against-the-world attitude. You have to get past that if you want to help yourself."

But do yourself a favor by reading Chris Palmer's piece in greater detail. I believe he provides an unbias and comprehensive view of Rashad "Shaddy" McCants.

The Houston Rockets have just announced signing Brad Miller to their roster. The terms are reported as 3years at $5M per session (other details not yet provided). Coach Adelman mentions that Miller will help the other players. The 34-year old will be backing up Yao Ming, presuming Yao is in playing shape after his injury. Miller has had a successful 13 year career in the NBA, last year he averaged 9 ppg and 5 rpg over 24 minutes per game

Darko, of course was signed amidst howls for 4 years at $5M per season, He is 25 years-old and is projected to be the starting center for the Wolves. Last season, over 24 games in a Wolves uniform, he averaged 26 minutes per game. His per game averages were 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Feel free to include your own stats in commenting on which player you, as GM, would invest $5M per season on and why.

Marc Stein is reporting that Raja Bell has offered 3 years at $10M. The best offer Kobe and the Lakers could offer was $1.8M per season. So, Al Jefferson has another outside shooter to turn to on double teams with the Jazz.

This would be Raja's second tour with Coach Sloan.

Incidentally, Kobe has been chasing Raja for days, but Raja has declined meeting with him. Raja is an excellent defender on the parameter and can shoot some.

Yes, basketball fans, our Wolves take on the DMC-Kings in merely a few hours. Those of you who pined for DMC in a Wolves uniform will be treated to the next best thing. The first encounter between DMC and his Kings summer league squad against your summer league Wolves.

Are you read to rumble in the desert?

Immediate questions:

(1) Will ailing Wolves play? Wes Johnson? Jonny Flynn?

(2) If he plays, how will Wes fare against the tall trees of Whiteside and DMC?

(3) How will Lazar fare in his second run in summer league

Coming up soon, 9 PM NBA.TV

[Ed. Please avoid copying and pasting someone else's work in FanPosts. Links and quotes go in FanShots]

via Tom Ziller at FanHouse

Sure, the Wolves now have some more cap space to work with. But, Kahn has repeatedly thrown away cap space on middling, ill-fitting players to date. Sure, the Wolves now could have three first-round picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. But Kahn had three first-round picks in the 2010 NBA Draft, and came away with Wesley Johnson, Lazar Hayward and two years of Martell Webster, who will be gone by the time the Wolves will be ready to contend for so much as 12th place in the West. In other words, the trade might be salvageable if Kahn had shown at any point he has an actual plan for this franchise. Kahn's performance has been so disappointing I actually wonder if a delicious avocado would have better results as the GM of the Timberwolves. Let's turn to the tape!