A done deal, says AP
Posted on July 30th, 2007 – 3:56 PMBy Michael Rand
From the AP:
Kevin Garnett is leaving Minnesota after the Boston Celtics agreed to acquire the All-Star forward in a multiplayer trade with the Timberwolves, a Celtics official told The Associated Press on Monday.
Among the players who could be headed to Minnesota are forward Al Jefferson, guard Sebastian Telfair, swingman Gerald Green and center Theo Ratliff, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been completed. The official also said the Timberwolves would get at least one draft choice.
86 Responses to "A done deal, says AP"
Yep: http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/10275030
Interesting. At least there’s a decision made, a sense of direction.
Sigh.
You know this really hurts??? The guys trying to sell Wolves season Tickets. How are they going to feed their kids now???
Somewhere Spree’ is nodding…
As much as I hate to see KG go, this definitely puts us in line to contend in the future. Al Jefferson is a beast. I can’t wait to see Foye, Jefferson, Brewer, Smith, and McCants take the floor.
We just got real young, real fast with a ton of cap space next year so the wolves can go after a decent veteran. Hate to see the Big Ticket go, but it pretty much had to be done to contend again.
KG will be missed , but this is better for both garnett and the wolves . it will get them very young and free up a lot of money after next year , and kg deserves a chance to compete for a title. get it done, maybe try for rondo instead of telfair thet would help.
Then it’s official. McHale has major man crush on Danny Ainge. Not that I have a problem with that in principle, only when it creates a conflict of interest in the workplace and destroys an entire sports franchise.
The only thing I could think of was KG was waiting until Wally was gone from Boston before putting a hearty stamp of approval on this, maybe even pressuring it. But no… not KG…
RV has hopped in his $23 million lifeboat and is rowing steadily away from the sinking, burning, covered in [redacted] vessel S.S. MP109…toward another sinking vessel (in a shallower Eastern sea) that is trying desperately to dump excess weight in hopes of recovery…
Row, row, row your boat, Raging Violet…
The vessel S.S. MP109, on the other hand, is taking on extra weight in hopes that “Opposite Day” is real, and that it is today.
It’ll be nice (and weird) to actually see KG able to contend at least. Hope he makes it to the finals!
I agree with Kirk. This is going to be a young team with some darn nice talent. Gerald Green and Al Jefferson are 21 years old putting up nice numbers in the NBA! If Rashad comes back strong and Richard proves to be a beast this club is going to be fun to watch grow. Had to do something because Seattle and Portland were already advanced down this path with their young, studly nuclei.
Finally have a reason to go back to the Tarzhay Center to see some hoops! The last three years have been misery waiting for this move to finally come.
Now, how does McHale/Hoiberg get rid of Ricky/Blount/T-Hud/Jaric/Hassell to make the transformation complete?
I have nothing but love and respect for KG.
We couldn’t get it done in 12 years with him, he deserves a better home.
Ironically, we couldn’t do much worse than last year anyway, so here’s to rebuilding!
I can understand the trade. The Wolves aren’t commited to winning anymore, bottom line.
I can understand the trade. The Wolves aren’t commited to winning anymore, bottom line.
Foye, McCants, Smith, Brewer, Richard, Jefferson, Green, Telfair, all 23 or younger right now. In fact, Foye is the oldest of the bunch. Not saying it makes this team better, but at least there is some potential there.
On SS MP109, is McHale Gilligan or the Skipper?
It kind of works either way in the song, but we’ll make him Gilligan for now:
With McHa-ale, Glen Taylor too, the millionaires and their wives,
Ricky Da-avis, Randy Foye and Jaric too
Here on MP109. (etc)
I agree that the Jefferson/Green combo is very alluring, as is the idea of a young team. Still, this deal has less shine because we could have gotten the same thing (in theory) plus the C’s pick (Jeff Green anyone?) prior to the draft.
Also, could we categorize Telfair as Spree-Lite?
How fast can we trade him to the Hawks?
The difference between us and Portland and Seattle is that they have some great young players. We just have a lot of OK to good young players. It means nothing. Cleveland placed four players on the All-Rookie Teams in 1998, then promptly missed the playoffs the next six years. Quality is better than quantity.
Quantity of young players is irrelevant. The 1998 Cleveland Cavaliers placed four players on the All-Rookie Teams and then missed the playoffs the next six years.
You need stars to compete in the NBA and we don’t have any, and we don’t have any sure things along the line of an Oden or Durant.
Sean: Just wait until you see the new bench…they’ve added 3 chairs! Now if that’s not quantity breeding quality, I don’t know what is.
This is a sad, sad day. I think the Wolves needed to make a trade, but it’s sad it’s come to this.
Unreal… The next T-Wolves game I’ll be at is the return of KG at Target Center. I will be wearing a Celtics jersey as well. The Wolves have had plenty of hard to swallow dealings over the years, but this is the last straw for this X-Wolf fan.
There’s nothing like filling your roster full of players like Ricky Davis and Telfair. That’s exactly who I would be trading for. 
Sean, you’ll get no argument on quality vs. quantity. However: Foye, Jefferson and Brewer have the potential to be very good; that McCants, Green (to a greater extent) and Telfair (to a lesser extent) are talented and that if you can get one to fulfill their potential and one to at least approach it — a somewhat reasonable expectation — they can be very solid contributors as starters or top reserves; and that Smith (more so) and Richard (a reach, but let’s look optimistically for now) can be good rotation guys. Young is something this team has not been for a long time. It will at least be interesting to watch and chart.
In NBA, you need at least two super stars and some role players to win. We should grab any super star available since everyone else is a role player. Trading one super star for several role players is always a bad deal!!!
I’m a Boston native and enjoy reading other city newspapers for a different take…I think the Celts are mortgaging their future…Jefferson, Green, TWO first round draft picks, and a couple of might be’s. I know KG is a beast, but…How many good years does he have left? There’s not enough balls on the floor for Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen. I don’t like it.
foye,brewer,jefferson,green,mcants,smith,dump telfair and ratliff free up that money , maybe try to pry rando away in this deal, along with a couple of first rounders, ( the ones that machale gave away ) and you will likley be in the lottery again next year maybe 1,2,or 3 with 30 to 40 million coming off the books, i will take my chances with that, they will be young again with money to spend and picks, IT’S A START ANYWAY
Trades like this are hard to pull off and almost always involve trading the big dog out of conference (i.e. Iverson, Barkley, Moses Malone). Those players were all former or future MVPs traded at or near their peak, as is Garnett. I don’t remember exactly what Houston and Phoenix got for Malone and Barkley, but Philly got 2 players and 2 picks for Iverson; about what the Wolves ended up with here. So it’s not an unfair trade IMO or one that is out of line with previous blockbuster type deals. That being said it is one that should have been totally unnecessary. When you have a player are rare and gifted as KG who wants to play his entire career for the Wolves, do whatever is necessary to make that happen. Unfortunately a series of asinine moves (letting Tommygun walk when we could have had E. Jones and E. Campbell-a move the franchise never really recovered from) by someone who breathed too much taconite dust growing up in Hibbing made that impossible.
The thing that cracks me up is that there are over 200 comments on the “potential” Castillo trade and less than 30 comments on the KG trade. Would anyone really notice if the TWolves went away? I think that is what eventually might happen.
To see one of my two favorite athletes get traded(how’s it look for me–Torii is my other one)upsets me very much. I have driven 145 miles one way to 25-30 games/year to watch the ‘wolves and it’s mainly because of KG. If he’s gone, I won’t care to go very often, and what do I do with my tickets that cost $82 each(I have a pair)? If they don’t do refunds, I’ll be out a lot of money this year and gone next year. We have been so lucky to have people(not just athletes)like KG and Torii in our area—once they’re gone, the “brains” of the organizations will find out that character and heart do matter to more fans than they realize. All the Best to KG—looks like I’ll use more of my Wild tix from now on.
After this trade the NBA should look into corrupt NBA GM’s who fix other GM’s teams while tanking for there own. Lucky us, we still have Hudson and Marko (speaking of another great trade).
To see one of my two favorite athletes get traded(how’s it look for me–Torii is my other one)upsets me very much. I have driven 145 miles one way to 25-30 games/year to watch the ‘wolves and it’s mainly because of KG. If he’s gone, I won’t care to go very often, and what do I do with my tickets that cost $82 each(I have a pair)? If they don’t do refunds, I’ll be out a lot of money this year and gone next year. We have been so lucky to have people(not just athletes)like KG and Torii in our area—once they’re gone, the “brains” of the organizations will find out that character and heart do matter to more fans than they realize. All the Best to KG—looks like I’ll use more of my Wild tix from now on.
Adoom … good point about the relative number of comments (it’s still about 3 to 1 if you count the comments on other KG posts today). It’s a Twins town right now … Essoq, a very well-reasoned comment. That’s basically been our position all along.
Trade him, fine. There HAD to be a better option out there. I know that the suns were talking about some nice players.
Pryce score…EBay those tix. Might not get the face value, but at least it can buy you a drink and and beads at those Wild Games!
Randball, we will never agree on this trade, no matter who’s right in the end 
In any case in the mid-80s I became a Celts fan because of McHale. And now because of McHale I’m a Celts fan again. Weird how things works out.
I will say that Richard kid may be the steal of the draft. Not right away maybe but still not that much of a reach.
A season ticket holder for 10 years, I finally got close to Kevin Garnett in Mankato during their one week stay there. Seven of us outside the lockeroom door. He refused to sign for 4 of us because he would only sign pieces of paper. Killebrew, Carew, HOF’S, they all sign. Not the 23 million dollar man. I use to love to watch him play. Not any more. See ya.
Well I wish KG, the class act, all the best… always liked the old Celtics and I guess McHale does too after this deal. What a joke, this will be about as productive as the Herschel Walker trade was for the Vikings. On to more mediocrity for the Wolves, while the Celtics are now the beast of the East (such as it exists). I will be rooting for KG and Ray Allen to get the rings they deserve.
I love this stuff:
Judge the trade in two years. KG is a 20/12 player. Jefferson is a 16/11 player and improving. Two first rounders, one of which the Wolves may have to give away from a previous trade. Green is pretty good. An expiring contract gives them some free agent room next year. The starters all 23 or younger. Give the Wolves 2 years. They will be better than ever.
Hey there,
I bet you didn’t see this post comming. I just love the wolves since I have been to MPLS a few years ago and got to see some games. KG is a great athlete, I was amazed to see him on court, his talent and his intensity. However, Since the Cassel plus Spree season they were hopeless. You guys are hard on McHale, but he is the one who took a huge bet as a young GM and took Garnett in the 5th spot of the 1995 draft, nobody knew what will become out of this skinny highschool guy. Moreover, the wolves had no choice but to trade him, he has a huge contract, and bad signings like T-Hud, Jaric and Madsen clogged the salary cap. Being realistic I think the wolves get a fair value for KG: Big Al can be a real beast at the 4 or 5 spot, Green has potential and Theo’s contract is a big relief next year. With Foye, Smith, Green, Jefferson (forget about Mccants and Telfair)and two first rounders the Wolves have a bright future. It’s enough that only two of them will emerge as stars, and the others will be nothing than role players. BTW. You guys should appreciate this hoops team, back before Taylor baught it they were on their way to Nashville or Austin, TX for crying out loud. What’s the big fuss about the twins? At least Taylor is putting money into the wolves unlike your local Mr. Burns who is not going to spend on Torri and will eventually let Johan and Justin go to bigger teams, maybe BoSox or maybe Yanks. Wake up Minnesota!
Tel Aviv,
Israel
Yom tov Tel Aviv T-Wolf. You and Boston Wolf and the Proprietor may all be right, but in two years enough contracts will have expired up so that they could’ve built their team through free agency rather than have players forced on them. Only time will tell but the problem is that you still need a KG to mentor Foye, Smith, McCants, Brewer etc. You don’t want a Ricky Davis in that role. You won’t get Trenton Hassel to do it. Juwan Howard is a veteran but he’s not going to lead by example. You do want a team to grow together in rebuilding - it worked for the mid/late 80s Twins. But the importance of guys like Blyleven and Baylor to that team shouldn’t be understated.
But I like your Mr. Burns reference. In any case, Rotoworld’s reporting Garnett’s on a cruise and the deal may not get finalized until the end of the week.
Tel Aviv has a pretty good point , i think the wolves needed to do this , and i think it will be for the best in the long run. kg will get his shot at a title and we will be way under the cap and have money to go after a player in the 08-09 free agent class which may i say is a slough of high profile big name talents.
Can’t we package McHale to go with The Ticket? That is the real cancer here…
jeff is right that is the truth.garnett and mchale for that package makes a lot of sense to me. by by kevin
Any T’wolf fan that did not see this coming, when FSN had a KG CAM for the last game of the season or When KG said “Thank god for opt-outs”.good move McHale, under the circumstances.thanks for the good times KG.
I love to watch KG play; I think KG is a unique player who will be hard to replace; I hate to see KG leave MN, but . . .
The T’wolves will be better without him. He (rightfully) commanded a high salary, but MN cannot afford to pay it AND surround him with suitable talent. KG is no MJ - he needs a supporting cast to be able to compete at a high level.
Just look at the T’wolves roster for next year with the new players obtained by trading KG. You gotta like next year’s starting 5 from the T’wolves: Foye, Davis, Brewer, Blount and Jefferson (with Smith, McCants, Green, Telfair, Ratcliff and Wallace coming off the bench). In future years, after the Ratcliff and Davis contracts run, add draft picks and free agents to the mix, and T’wolves have a great team.
Unfortunately, the T’wolves will be better without KG.
McFail has done nothing but rebuild the Celtics through the Wolves. Give Boston our best players for their Garbage. Thanks for nothing, McFail. Maybe Telfair will finally get his conceal and carry permit now that he’s coming to Minny. Count on Jefferson to be a free agent after his rookie contract expires to fully consumate this abortion of a deal.
Time will show this to be a good basketball decision and an even better business decison. I give McHale credit for having the guts to make the move. Remember KG had to approve of it to work. I hope McHale is around to enjoy the results. Great Move!
First things first: I’m a little suspicious of a “done deal” in which one team announces who they will trade and the other team annouces who they “may” trade. Hopefully the actual deal is as good as the report.
As much as I hate to see KG leave, I think this is the best the Wolves could have done at this time. There was no possible way the Wolves could have improved within the next two years to compete with the likes of Phoenix, San Anton, and Dallas had they kept KG. It was time to rebuild.
If they had let KG stay until the beginning of the season, they would have swamped with lowball offers all season (like Phili was last season). Like Phili, they probably would have been forced to accept one of them. Does anyone honestly think that this deal is worse than the one the Sixers accepted for Iverson?
I’ve heard a lot about a potential Phoenix deal, but I don’t think the Suns were ever going to part with the kind of young talent we’re getting from Boston. They were never going to trade Stodemire, but even if they had, he’s a player that could very well end up having a Chris Webber-like career.
With the young players we’re adding to Foye, Smith, and McCants, the Wolves will have young depth at several positions. While those players mature over the next couple years, the top Western conference will have aged. The Wolves might then be in a position to trade away for the right missing pieces (probably another big or a reliable perimeter threat).
And in the meantime, we’ve still got a few nasty contracts to unload. But on the whole, I can’t say this is a bad deal for the Wolves.
Compare KG’s early stats to Big Al’s — it took 4 seasons for KG to get to 11 RPG. This is good for KG, it may prove good for the T-dogs. Look at Chi and their youth of a few years ago and where they were last year. There may be some light at the end of this tunnel after all……And, last but not least, you can put a worthwhile Timberdoodle on your fantasy team without spending 1/2 your cap
The fact is, this team had its legs cut out from under it with the CBA and the Joe Smith deal. Garnett’s crippling salary kept them from bringing in free agents, and they couldn’t draft any talent. Letting Spreewell’s contract expire was the straw that broke the camel’s back. By the time they could have built up the talent again, Garnett would be too far gone. Making a big move was a must, and this actually seems like a good one.
Well, this was a trade that had to happen for all the reasons many people stated above. I applaud the move, and actually need to give McHale some credit for having the cajones to pull the trigger, knowing full well what the emotional reaction would be from so many fans. He believes this will help the team (and I think he’s right) and he made the unpopular decision.
I just hope KG knows how much we will miss him. And not just on the floor. He was a Minnesotan icon. A role model for every kid in sports. I am almost positive I will cry the first time I see him in a green uni. I hope that he wins his championship in Boston, and I hope he remembers us fondly here in ’sota, like we will him.
Good luck, Ticket.
As much as I love KG attitude and style, it is time for a change for both parties. While Boston gets a chance at greatness for 2-3 years, we have a chance for the next decade.
A.J. can play center, he is 6′10″ and a solid 260. Put Howard or Smith at PF, Ricky Davis (who will be traded during the season) at SF, Green at SG and run Foye out at PG. If dumb ars coach has a clue he would run like the Suns b/c NO team can match the youth that this team will be putting on the floor next year. We will have 9 guys getting regular playing time under the age of 25, sure they are going to make mistakes, but they will be fun to watch.
As much as I love KG attitude and style, it is time for a change for both parties. While Boston gets a chance at greatness for 2-3 years, we have a chance for the next decade.
A.J. can play center, he is 6′10″ and a solid 260. Put Howard or Smith at PF, Ricky Davis (who will be traded during the season) at SF, Green at SG and run Foye out at PG. If dumb ars coach has a clue he would run like the Suns b/c NO team can match the youth that this team will be putting on the floor next year. We will have 9 guys getting regular playing time under the age of 25, sure they are going to make mistakes, but they will be fun to watch.
The Boston Celtics just became my favorite team.
KG is my all-time favorite player. I hate to see him leave. However, I am a Timberwolves fan first and foremost. I just didn’t see the Wolves getting much better with KG and that huge contract. I am excited for the blind reason of a new and fresh begining and the greatest of four letter words. HOPE.
Goodbye Garnett, you are the greatest athlete in Minnesota sports history.
Kevin McHale resign… you are worthless, and you disgust me.
I hate the Celtics, and now I just have to think of Kevin Garnett as retired.
Glen Taylor what the hell is wrong with you? The only human being more inept at their job in the entire world than Kevin McFailed Miserably is george bush jr.
Not that it means much to you and your billions, but I will NEVER go to another Timberwolves game again.
I have an autographed team basketball from Marbury’s 1st game. KG, Marburry, Googs…
I think I’m going to go shoot hoops with it tomorrow… it’s freaking worthless to me now…
Glen, as long as you own the team, and McHale runs this team into the ground the Timberwolves no longer exist to me… You killed the entire NBA for me.
Checkout my myspace page.
Without Kevin Garnett and with McHale running this team WHAT KIND OF FREE AGENTS WILL COME HERE??? Mercenaries, and lumps of coal, and horse dung…
People are excited about this trade?
This team is going to be terrible for as long as Randy Wittless coaches it with his what .230 lifetime winning percentage, and Kevin McChump bringing in one worthless player after another.
Jefferson will get 15 and 10 this year because he’s the only rebounding option on the team, He’s no KG, and never will be. Green is a Rickey Davis type ball player that only believes in shooting, and has never understood team ball.
Sebastian Telfair is Marburry without talent.
Way to go.
We get the Celtics first round picks great 23rd pick in the 1st round in 2009 isn’t going to help… McChump can’t draft… look how he wasted the 2nd round pick again this year on a player that won’t make the team, and may get cut from the NBDL…
Wolves are a joke, they are the Twins circa the Otis Nixon years…
You want to see the future of the Timberwolves? Look at the Pittsburgh Pirates after Barry Bonds left. Hate Bonds all you want, but without him what have the Pirates done?
I think kg i one of the best all around players in the game today. I will miss watching the Twolves play because i will try to watch boston now that KG will be there. I wish him the best.
I think kg i one of the best all around players in the game today. I will miss watching the Twolves play because i will try to watch boston now that KG will be there. I wish him the best.
I think kg i one of the best all around players in the game today. I will miss watching the Twolves play because i will try to watch boston now that KG will be there. I wish him the best.
Does this mean we will have to take down all the championship banners in the Target center?
Ironic how KG will agree to go to Boston now that Ray Allen is there. Wonder what it would have been like if McHale kept Allen instead of trading him for Starbury all of those years (and many awful decisions) ago.
All the positive talk about being young and building for the future, miss the point. To WIN a championship.
It astounds me that a sub par team, with an average all-star player in Pierce, can maneuver to put around him the tools to make a legitimate run… while trading Szczerbiak as part of this process. What is Boston’s end cost of this experiment going to be, rebuilding again in 2-3 yrs from scratch?
What’s the difference between rebuilding in a few years, or starting right now? What’s the hurry to stink it up and be forced to consider what “might happen” w/prospects, when we know what DID happen when we got talent around KG for a year?
Boston has the stones to make a run while there is gas in the tank. Sota just traded in the Ferrari for a minivan to hold the car seats.
Maybe I need to start cheering for Sota-East… Ortiz, Moss, now KG. One has a ring and the other 2 at least have a fighter’s chance. I hear there’s talk to move Gaborik to the Bruins.
I guess we’ll always have ‘87 & ‘91. See how good that feels knowing Minnesota actually won something!?!?
Jesse
Huntington Beach,CA
I just don’t see how people can be excited about this trade. This is an organization that has proven it can’t evaluate talent, it can’t develop talent, and it can’t maximize the on-floor performance of the talent it does have. There is no reason to believe that trading a proven commodity in Garnett for a bunch of question marks is going to turn out OK.
Al Jefferson will be a decent player (his numbers are clearly inflated from playing on the Celtics, though). Randy Foye will be a decent player (although I think he’s a third guard on a championship-caliber team). Corey Brewer will be a good player. But I’m not at all sold on McCants (who was bricktacular in Las Vegas this summer). Craig Smith is a nice second round pick, but if he is playing more than 15 minutes a game, you’ve got problems. Green may be OK, but he’s a Brewer clone from a physical perspective and his game is rather Ricky Davis-like at this point.
Kirk:
Foye, Jefferson, Smith, Brewer, & McCants? That sounds like a contending team? Wake up homer! Not one of those guys is a go to scorer and not one of those guys is feared or demands a double team. Don’t even try to sell me on McCants. He is a crybaby. I’m a UNC fan. It was a great day when he went pro. If he doesn’t score early or get all of the shots, he loses interest and focus and pouts up and down the court.
The only good thing about this trade are the future 1st round picks.
BC had so much piss and vinegar in him, it took two comments to get it all out.
Oh, and I still think “GM Cuckoo Bananas” is a more creative name than “McFail”
For years people have been begging for the Wolves to get younger and more athletic, instead they added role players. Finally they get younger and more athletic, now people are wanting them to keep Garnett and add role players? Come on. Get a grip you hypocritical [redacted].
They may be a few years away from competing for anything, but at least there is a direction, rather than continually mired in mediocrity (which is the Minnesota MO. See: Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins). They’ll buy-out or move either Davis or Hudson. They’ll try to package Jaric, Hassell or Blount. They’ve seen what getting young can do for a franchise by looking toward Chicago. It can be successful, and they can play exciting basketball. They may not win a lot, but at least there can be some sense of the future.
As much as I hate to admit it, we weren’t going to be winning any championships in the next few years with KG. Basically I accepted that we were going to have to fully rebuild at some point, I guess we might as well get started now. Unfortunately we still have the same leadership that got us into this mess, which doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.
It’s obvious the Wolves didn’t get equal value back in the trade, but no one ever does for a superstar. Look what the Lakers got for Shaq a couple of years ago. I think we made out better than them. I’m not incredibly excited about any of the players, but I think it should be a fun team to watch. We need to get Ricky off the team though so he isn’t hoisting 30 shots a night and corrupting the young guys with his attitude. Hopefully Juwan and Theo can provide some good leadership for the kids even if they can’t play much anymore.
That said, I’ve been a Wolves fan for years and I still am. I wish KG luck and will be cheering for the Celtics every night they don’t play the Wolves.
Hmmm…greatest athlete in MN sports history? That sounds like a great debate…
People wanted the Wolves to get younger and more athletic around Garnett, not without him.
People should also remember that it’s Chicago’s second wave of young players that have made the difference. Their first shot at it failed.
Sean: Because Chicago failed in their first attempt, MP109 has to fail too? That seems like a bit of a reach. I mean, I understand the pessimism…the team hasn’t really given any reason to feel otherwise lately, but I don’t think that “going young” is an automatic failure on first attempt.
Also, getting younger and more athletic around Garnett was going to take a long time. It would probably take until Garnett was out of his prime. MP109 is saddled with a bunch of marginal talent that’s difficult to trade (especially those with sizable contracts). They weren’t going to get younger until they could jettison those players or until their contracts ran out. Unfortunately, Garnett’s contract was the one thing that, if eliminated, could give the team some breathing room in terms of trying to improve.
Will it be two steps back to go one step forward? Maybe…
Will it be a chance to actually become somewhat of a player in the West again? Maybe…
Right now it’s all murky. We know how good Garnett is, but we also know he’s not enough on his own to take this team all the way, and options were limited in terms of bringing people in.
I can’t get excited for anything that the Wolves do as long as the current management team is in place.
Of course, the failure of the Bulls 1st group of young players doesn’t mean that the Wolves will fail. I’m merely pointing out that even a management team with a much higher level of achievement than ours tried this approach and failed in the past.
The Wolves dug their own hole — they weren’t “saddled” with anything. They did it to themselves!
The best answer would have been to blow McHale out years ago — when they were in the midst of their 7-year first round losing streak (as I advocated on this newpaper’s message boards at that time) — and put somebody competent in place to build a team around Garnett.
When push came to shove, they couldn’t even do a good job of trading the one asset they did have.
Sean, I agree. And, I guess, I don’t actually believe that things are going to get better for MP109. You’re right that the Bulls had a much more competent front office and they still couldn’t get it right the first time. So, we’ll have to wait for the third wave of youngsters. Good! I might be 40 before I have to care about basketball in Minnesota again (I’m not yet 30). I can focus my energies toward other sports. Maybe I’ll be bored with those once MP109 starts to matter again…
I think that the real sticking point in the deal was that McHale was trying to include himself in the deal. This is a tragic trade regardless of the talent that the wolves received back. The fact that in 12 years the Wolves were not creative enough to surround Garnett with a competitive team is ridiculous ( San Antonio). The fact that ownership tolerated this consistent apathy from McHale and the team is amazing. Garnett is a once in a lifetime and once in a franchise player and to not have done more with him is sad.
Well, at least Sebastian Telfair is a good shooter…with a gun
Once again, the fans are betrayed and blackmailed into ADD which stands for ANOTHER DUMBASS DECISION by Taylor and McHale and the 2 of them are probably the type to blame the iceberg for sinking the Titanic and causing the terror attacks in New York also! For the last 3 years, all the fans kept hearing from management was GARNETT IS THE FRANCHISE, WE WONT TRADE HIM and that news was brainwashed millions of times over and over like a public address announcement. And look how that news just suddenly contradicted itself in a heartbeat. The bottom line: Taylor and McHale are friends with Pinocchio when it comes to telling the truth and being honest, right and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if their own mascot, Crunch could be a more competent manager of the team than what is currently in place.
To those folks who think patience is a virtue, may I remind them that the Wolves are basically nothing more than an expansion team ever since they even joined the league from the beginning even before Garnett graduated from high school? And furthermore, the Wolves are such losers that they wouldnt even make the playoffs if they had SHAQ O’NEAL, TIM DUNCAN, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Manu Ginobli, Shawn Marion, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Nash on the team. And they could still have Phil Jackson as coach but at the end of the year or season their record would be 20 wins and 62 losses so what makes Taylor and Co. think they made a wise investment?
As far as I am concerned, the terrorists in Baghdad should start sending IED’S and chemical weapons to the houses where Taylor lives in Mankato and where McHale lives in Hibbing because Kevin McHale belonged on that TV farce called McHale’s Navy which starred Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway, and Joe Flynn as Capt. Binghampton. I can see them now in their version of the Yellow Submarine by the Beatles because they sure are a Nowhere Man in my life. When I get older, when I’m 64. would you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of whine! who could ask for more????????
McHale and Taylor would literally have to bribe and blackmail the fans to fill the seats at Target Center because it wont take long for the season ticket holders to hold one massive going out of business sale. WHO WOULD EVEN WANT TO waste their money, time, pride, and other assets on a team that resembles the Edsel and we know what a winner that was, don’t we little kiddies? The wolves are like that Columbia disaster in which all those astronauts lost their lives when they came back from space!
Please post my comments and feelings because I have too much pride in my heart to watch a single game when the season starts. I can almost bet the team wont win more than 30 games in the next year BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO FACE teams like San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Sacramento, Lakers, Clippers, and others. I knew the wolves had drastic and serious problems when they let Chauncey Billups, Stephon Marbury, Tom Gugliotta, Latrell Sprewell, and Sam Cassel, Sam Mitchell, and others go and that doesnt even begin to justify what happened to Dwayne Casey who didnt even last more than 18 months too. Then how can ya forget the old Flip Saunders problem and whose fault that was?
If Taylor doesnt fire McHale, the fans will take the law into their own hands.
Yowza…
The anger has now reached it’s peak (and gone a little further) when threats of physical violence come from a sports-related event (trade, stupid signing, loss, etc)
Then again, people shoot each other for not going fast enough on the highway…
I think I’m doomed to be disappointed in people.
When will they hang a jersey for Glen Taylor in Boston Garden? Certainly Kevin McHale still bleeds Celtic green. You’d have to be a Celtic to be a Timberwolves fan anymore.
A season ticket holder I think this is
a very bad move. The wrong Kevin is
being traded. Mchale dealing with Boston again, bringing in 5 players which only 1 possibly will be a star
(Jefferson). That leaves 17 players on
the roster, how many are you allowed on a team 13 to 15. The other 4 players are a waste. I cannot see this move helping the T-wolves. I will not be renewing my tickets.
good for KG, about time he gets a chance to play for a title. If Mc “Wrong move” Hale wasn’t a Minnesota legend he would be out the door long ago. Enough of him….
All I have to say is that now that all of this is done, there is only one more person to go: McHale. He has done nothing as a GM and it’s time to usher in a new era. I can’t believe we had KG for 12 years and we couldn’t win one championship. Just goes to show you how good McHale is!!!
Thanks KG!
You came to work every day, I hope you get a ring with your next team.
It’s the quality that KG has as a person that can’t be replaced. He always played hard—always!!!! He played hurt–I watched him roll his ankle, get up and stay in the game the same night LeBron rolled his and missed ten days. He did so much for the community behind the scenes, without fanfair, and that can’t be taught. I am being asked to be patient at $165/game for my two tickets, plus the 145 mile one way drive? I have gone to 25-30 games/year for several years and have already renewed for this year. Maybe a person who just watched on TV thinks it’s a good deal, but with the investment of time and money a season ticketholder has to make, two or three more years can be an eternity. My three main ticket users have already told me–not this year. The decision becomes—-is it worth over $6500/year to hold 2 good seats and watch a young team develop, without my favorite NBA player of all time? I ordered my KG #5 Celtics jersey today and that’s what I’m wearing to any game I go to. I hope the Twins are smarter when it comes to Torii.
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