Brewer Good, McHale Bad

With Ndudi Ebi apparently unavailable, the Minnesota Timberwolves, guided still by GM Kevin McHale, selected Corey Brewer with its lottery pick today.

I was partially hoping for the Timberpuppies to select Spencer Hawes or Joakim Noah so I could rip the pick and call for McHale to be fired. I'll have to settle for for calling for McHale's dismissal for failing to win with Kevin Garnett, the Joe Smith obsession, the Ebi selection among many other boneheaded moves.

I kindly ask Glen Taylor to Fire McHale Now!

For the record, I very much like the Brewer selection, but I'm assuming/hoping Fred Hoiberg has taken over basketball operations and McHale is around only to be the fall guy when the Wolves trade Garnett for a pittance of his value.

And for those new to McHale's genius, Ebi was selected with the No. 26 pick in the 2003 draft, ahead of Josh Howard, among others.

Wolves Need To Trade KG

Kevin Garnett has been called one of the NBA's most over rated superstars. I'm not going to go that far, but it's clear that Kevin Garnett is not capable of carrying a team by himself. To win, KG needs scorers surroudning him. And in only one season, with Latrell Spreewell and Sam Cassell, has KG managed to win a playoff series.

For the future of the Timberwolves organization, Garnett needs to go, and GM Kevin McHale can follow him out the door. With all of the recent rumors that Garnett is headed to Boston or Phoneix, a trade now is not only a good idea, it's necessary. Should the T'Wolves hold on to Garnett, he almost certainly bolts after next year, leaving us with nothing in exchange for him.

Kevin McHale is in posiiton to make the trade, and while the majority of Wolves fans will hate him more for the move, it's the right thing to do. If Garnett draws a king's ransom, like Boston apparently offered with Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, the #5 pick, and other considerations, then rebuilding is the best route to go. Allowing McHale to trade Garnett also gives owner Glen Taylor the chance to push McHale out. If McHale can't win with KG, then why trust him going forward? Taylor would be in the clear if he jettisoned McHale.

This isn't to say I want Garnett to leave. His passion, desire and intensity make the Timberwolves a joy to watch--on some nights--in an otherwise dreary NBA. But Garnett's detractors make good points: he's not a great scorer, he can't score in the clutch, he doesn't have a go-to move, he has trouble creating his own offense, and he can't leave a team.

I agree with all of those arguments, but also think he's a one-of-a-kind player. He does everything, and he does it all well. Whoever gets KG will be better off, but I think the Wolves, too, will eventually benefit from trading the franchise's first superstar.

And with KG gone, more media attention in Minnesota will be pointed towards Tubby Smith and company. And that would be a blessing.

Feelin' For Flip .... Kinda

I like Flip Saunders. No coach in Wolves history has had near the success he had. Imagine what Flip could have accomplished in Minny had someone more competent then Kevin McHale was running the basketball operations.

That said, Flip Saunders was, in fact, an idiot last night. I agree with much of what was written at the Michigan blog MGOBLOG. LeBron James, for the first time last night I am willing to admit, is the next coming of Michael Jordan. Many others have tried to make claim to that mantle, but LeBron is the only one to have displayed greatness on this stage. My rooting interest in this series if for Minnesota alum Flip Saunders. But, I have to say, he erred in his defensive tactics--defense, of course, always being Flip's weakness. Here's what the Detroit partisans are saying.

Consider this: on the last Cleveland possession, Ilgauskas, Gooden, and Daniel Gibson had fouled out. Larry Hughes' foot had held him out the entire second half. On the floor with Lebron were Donyell Marshall, Anderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic, and Eric Snow (or Damon Jones? I forget, does it matter?). Saunders' brilliant idea: put a point guard on the guy who had scored the last 23 points and give him no help whatsoever. This was also his brilliant idea -- except it was Tayshaun Prince left alone -- on the final two Cavs possessions of regulation, both of which ended in thunderous Lebron dunks.

All of the above is true. With Chauncey Billups doing his best to stay in position to challenge a LeBron jumper, Jordan's heir appaarent drove right by. What did the rest of the Pistons defenders do? Not much, really. They waved their arms a tad and really didn't make James' winning layup all that difficult. Don't believe me? Just watch:



While Minnesota reporters, alumni and fans clamored for Flip to leave Detroit to coach his alma mater, Piston fans would have been pleased to see him go. In a long, interesting post on the Flip Saunders experience in Detroit, the blog The Wayne Fontes Experience takes Flip to task.

The only men more hated [in Detroit] is the 'stache running the Lions, and Tigers relief pitcher gas can Jose Mesa. There is no one left to defend Flip Saunders in Detroit. Not that he had many defenders left before last night, but after the LeBron debacle, Flip doesn't stand a chance in the court of public opinion. His only hope is in the backing of Joe Dumars and Pistons owner Bill Davidson, and nobody's talking in Auburn Hills.Not that James was going to be denied, but Saunders has done nothing, especially in this series, to convince an already skeptical fan base that he is the long-term solution. Then again, there is no such thing as a long-term Detroit Pistons head coach, but that's another post.

For a Detroit sports figure, being compared to 'the 'stache running the Lions,' known outside Detroit as Matt Millen of draft-a-receiver-every-year-fame, is not a good thing.

I was rooting for Flip last night. He did well by us here in Minnesota, leading the Wolves to the conference finals, something they didn't sniff before his arrival and won't again until McHale is long gone as well. In the end, Gopher fans, perhaps it was best that we landed Tubby Smith and Detroit fans can suffer through complicated horrendus team defense.

Reason #54 Why The Thuggish NBA Is Dead To Me

Robert Horry attacks Steve Nash. The Spurs are rewarded and win a series against an otherwise exciting Suns squad.

Reasons #1-10 dealt with other thuggery, namely court side brawls and prima donnas.

Reasons #11-53 deal with Kevin McHale's incompetence.

Gossip Maven

My daily tour through the 'Internets' has pit stops for sports--real or fantasy--politics, news and mostly-naked young celebrities.

From time to time, in my daily stop at the Star Tribune, I'll see that their columnist dubbed the 'Gossip Maven' has written somethign that might make for a decent time killer at work. Usually I regret clicking on CJ. But in two stops at Minnesota's version of Wonkette this week I had completely different reactions.

The first was priceless.

Titled Mellencamp hurts McHale so good with smokin' comment, CJ picks up on a throw-away comment by performer John Mellencamp in a Blender.com interview that leaves a reader to believe he used to hit the bong with Wolves GM Keving McHale. CJ quotes Mellencamp from Blender:

I've known Larry Bird since we were kids. When he was on the Celtics and I was playing in Boston he and Kevin McHale would come to my dressing room after the show and smoke me under the table.

Now, that comment alone is completely priceless. So, being the pesky gossip maven she likely is, CJ sought out McHale for a clarification. She got a public relations lackey, who said McHale smoked cigars and Larry Legend smoked cigarettes. That certainly explains Mellencamp's 'smoke me under the table comment.' Um, no.

The last thing McHale needs is for his detractors in the Twin Cities to get wind of the possibility he was-and then presumably maybe currently is-a stoner. Too late. KFAN radio's Dan Barreiro is on the prowl. More from CJ:

KFAN's Dan Barreiro told me he devoted about three minutes of his Thursday show to "the Mellencamp throw-away quote. I wasn't using it to take any kind of moral stance on McHale. For me it was [an opportunity to take this] shot: 'If this is true, this might explain a series of spectacularly bad management decision years later.' "

Ndudi Ebi comes to mind. So does cheating and Joe Smith.

Thursday evening, after Barreiro had signed off his radio show, a reportedly screaming McHale "called me on my cell. First time we've had any kind of conversation in years," said Dan. And by years, Barreiro said, near as he can recall the last time McHale tracked down Dan at home was during the J.R. Rider era. "I've been hard on him, for some time so I don't expect him to be warm and bubbly to me," said Barriero.

According to Barreiro, McHale "called and said You can't go on the air and say I'm breaking the law and he's just screaming. Eventually I got him to calm down enough to [explain what was said on the radio]. I did offer, 'You're upset. Come on the show, I'll let you talk about it as long as you want. Or I'll bring up your concerns, shall we say.' "

I think we can all agree that is priceless.

Then, today we have another CJ effort, this time one that swings and misses. Titled U athletic department staffer seems mighty inept handling good PR, CJ takes out her wrath, in a completely unamusing way, on some random University of Minnesota athletic department public relations flak. CJ writes that she was slated to write a story that was "sure to make you say Awwww."

CJ reports she asked this PR guy for verification that Tubby Smith was on a plane last Sunday. She was trying to verify a story some unnamed source gave her that the old ball coach helped out a woman and her child. It was going to be positive pub. The public relations flaks should jump when a gossip maven calls. In this case, communications guy Kyle Couglin did not.

"Here's the thing," Coughlin said. "I've already talked to him a couple different times today. I'm going to stop bothering him now. This is something that isn't really pressing. If I call him with this he's going to look at me and go Why are you calling me with this?"

Since Coughlin didn't seem to know his job, I reminded him that he was calling Smith because a media member had made a request for information. When media are wrong, I'm guessing Coughlin is one of those guys who stands around talking about how irresponsible we are.

"I'm trying to do the best I can for you. We are talking about probably the busiest
man in Minnesota," said Coughlin, whose title should be senior associate athletic communications obstructionist. Stonewaller for short. I asked Coughlin to call the next day. He didn't.

Strike one, Mr. Coughlin. But there's more. During a previous event, CJ , doing that hard-hitting journalism she is known for, wanted to write about the suit Tubby was wearing. Again, Coughlin wasn't helpful.

What kind of suit was Smith wearing for his Williams Arena debut, I asked Coughlin that day.

"Pinstripes," said Coughlin, sounding uncertain. "Gray pinstripe."

Very good. But that question is usually an inquiry into the label.

"I have no idea," Coughlin replied.

A few minutes later, I asked Coughlin, who was mainly escorting Smith from one corner of Williams Arena to another for sit-downs with local TV stations, if he had found out what kind of suit Smith was wearing.

"No, I have not asked," Coughlin said. "I don't think I should open up Tubby's suit and look on the inside."

When Smith came near me I asked him to open up his suit.

"Oxxford," Smith said off the top of his head, as Coughlin ventured a guess that it was an Armani.

Oxxford it was. "Oxxford is big time," said Smith, who seemed to like answering that question. "Huge. Probably the best suit ."

Now, sure, this Coughlin character sounds like a weenie. I'll give you that, CJ. But maybe, just maybe, Coughlin had more pressing things on his mind than what the label said under Tubby's coat. Surely a certain segment of the population would have an interest in the compelling 'Tubby helps lady in airplane' and 'Tubby wears expensive suit' stories. Smith is new in town. Perhaps Coughlin doesn't feel comfortable askign the multi-millon dollar savior of Minnesota basketball about his clothing. Perhaps, Coughlin's job tyipcally requires sports reltaed inquiries.

CJ? Love her? Hate her? I know the feeling.