RandBall Q&A: ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons, your next Wolves GM?
Posted on May 6th, 2009 – 3:52 PMBy Michael Rand
ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons (AKA “The Sports Guy” … or is it the other way around) has been Tweeting all day in hopes of being taken seriously as a candidate for the vacant Wolves GM job (thanks for the alert, Roughkat). Included:
*T-Wolves prez Chris Wright: wright@timberwolves.com. Lobby him on my behalf. My question to Minny: Why not? You are irrelevant right now.
*PS: Here’s my offer to the T-Wolves. 3-year deal, first year for free as long as I can write a book about Season 1. I am dead-serious.
With time of the essence — the Wolves have reportedly offered the job to David Kahn — we fired off an e-mail to Bill with some follow-up questions. He obliged with more than just answers. It was epic. Anything is possible! Here we go:
RandBall: On a scale of 1-100, how serious are you about being a viable candidate for an NBA GM job? I respect your basketball knowledge, and I know you’ve thrown it out there in the past, but is this something you really believe you could do and would want to do?
Bill Simmons: A solid 93. I just spent the past two years writing a mammoth book trying to figure out everything that ever happened in the NBA, which players and teams mattered more than we thought (or less than we thought), how we got here, and if there’s a secret to winning that we can learn from everything that already happened. I promise you that nobody has ever put more thought into what dynamics make an NBA team succeed or fail. You will understand when the book comes out in October. It’s 700 pages. No, really. It’s 700 pages. I’m not kidding.
But a couple of things bother me here. First, why does the NBA hold onto this old boy’s network thought process of “he failed the last time, maybe he won’t fail this time” with coaches and GMs? We have copious amounts of evidence that there is no correlation between succeeding as a college coach and succeeding as an NBA coach, or succeeding as an NBA player and succeeding as a GM, or succeeding the second time when you failed the first time. The job hinges on having common sense and a high basketball IQ, understanding chemistry and character, following the San Antonio/Boston blueprint and building a team a specific way, not following the mistakes everyone has made in the past, surrounding yourself with smart people, delegating, brainstorming, doing everything to can to get better, grasping the economic realities of the league and where it’s going, understanding human psyche and the effects of a big contract on certain people, and betting on the right players. We overthink this crap and we shouldn’t.
Second, where are the Minnesota Timberwolves going? What is the goal? They are an also-ran in a small market city with a diehard but tiny group of followers. How do you sell basketball in a bad economy to these people? How do you stand out in a 30-team league? Hey, here’s an idea: By thinking unconventionally and picking someone who has a real connection with fans, understands how they think and will do everything possible to keep them caring about the team. You build a fan base by winning and by connecting with your fans. For Minnesota fans to care about the team, they’d have to feel like A.) they have a say (and I would listen to them), B.) they aren’t throwing money away for tickets without protection if things don’t go wrong (and I would give half-price refunds to every season ticket holder for any season starting with a home game after the team has been eliminated from the playoffs), and C.) there’s a real game plan in place.
Minnesota hasn’t had a game plan really ever. The team overpaid the wrong guys, panicked again and again and antagonized its fans. I will never do that. Ever. Hell, I have even made the following offer: I will sign a three-year deal with the numbers for the second and third year to be determined … for the first year, I will work for free. Just let me write a book about being the GM. That’s my only demand.
One last thing: How many people would ever say, “I’d love Minnesota, living there would be cool?” Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Minnesota … these are salt of the earth cities with great people. I would be proud and happy to move my family there for a few years. Also, I feel like Boston owes ‘Sota for KG, Big Papi and Randy Moss. It’s about time we gave you something back. So what better than me, the former Boston Sports Guy? Come on, you have to admit, there’s a certain symmetry here.
RandBall (our turn already!): Specific to the Wolves, please outline your draft plan (3 first-rounders, 2 second-rounders, and I realize some of it is contingent on where they are in the lottery) and your big-picture plan.
Bill Simmons: I have a whole plan. I cannot unveil it yet because I don’t want to give the secret recipe away and then have them sign some retread like David Kahn. That would suck. I am keeping my plan to myself for now.
RandBall: How much of this is fueled by your man-love for Al Jefferson?
Bill Simmons: It’s no secret, we’ve had a one-sided bromance for years now and he’s my single favorite non-Celtic. The thing I loved about him in Boston was that he had some bad luck — every time he seemed like he was putting together, he’d sprain or pull or tear something — but when the team was tanking down the stretch in 2007, he really played his ass off and turned it into a positive experience. Kept working on his game, busting his ass, mastering his footwork and so on. You could see the results as that season went on. I said somewhere during that season that he was morphing into the best under-25 post player in basketball and it was proven by what he did last year before he got hurt. He has to be double-teamed and he can score on anyone. he also hits his free throws which you have to love. And he’s a fantastic dude. The Celtics organization loved him to death. He’s exactly who you’d want as a franchise guy. The one fallback with him is obviously defense, but there’s a good track record of talented All-Star forwards getting better defensively with age — look at Karl Malone, for instance. If a healthy Big Al is your best guy for the next few years, you’re in great shape.
RandBall: Which three current GMs would you immediately try to fleece in a trade if given an actual GM job, and why?
Bill Simmons: First, Chris Wallace. It’s like becoming a star actor or singer and having sex with Lindsay Lohan — you just have to do it so you can say you did it, and it’s so easy, why wouldn’t you do it? Second, Ernie Grunfeld. He’s panicking and that whole franchise is panicking, they are a dumb blockbuster trade waiting to happen. Third, and most obviously, Mike Dunleavy. You cannot go wrong making a trade with Mike Dunleavy. You just can’t. He’s the perfect storm of fleeceable — bad at his job, unaware of the salary cap, ignorant of character issues with players, desperate to keep his job. What’s better? It’s like being served a good trade platter. “I’ll be your maitre’d, Mike Dunleavy, can I offer you an Eric Gordon to start?”
RandBall: Plain and simple: why should the Wolves hire you?
Bill Simmons: I would twist that around: Why SHOULDN’T they hire me? Do you really think David Kahn is going to be a water cooler topic in Minnesota this month? It’s just like when Milwaukee hired John Hammond last year … congrats, you just brought in a perfectly average GM who will have zero impact on your visibility locally. If you’re a big market team, yeah, you don’t need your GM to sell tickets and get people talking. If you’re a small market team? It’s a much more significant hire in a non-basketball sense.
Not to steal from my rant on today’s podcast, but let’s say Minny hires me. Wouldn’t “Timberwolves hire ESPN.com sports columnist as GM” immediately become one of the most talked-about NBA stories of the year? How else would the T-Wolves ever lead PTI or get a cover of Sports Illustrated? It’s just smart business. You are a floundering franchise that needs to get people talking … how do you do this? How do you connect with your fans? How do you make a splash? By hiring me. Obviously you don’t make that move if I’d suck at the job, but that’s thing, I wouldn’t suck at the job. I follow this league as closely and as diligently and as thoughtfully as anyone on the planet. So I didn’t play or coach. So I didn’t get fired from a previous GM job. Who cares?
I would think outside the box, and really, that’s what a team like Minnesota needs from their GM. I would go out to dinner with every [original] Minny season ticket holder — and there can’t be many — in groups of eight or 10 just to let them know that someone appreciates that they stuck with the franchise for this long. I would make a vow that, if we are ever eliminated from the playoffs in any season, from that point on, every home game is half-price and all season ticket holders get a half-price refund on the remaining games so they aren’t paying for crappy tank jobs. I would make myself accountable at every game and via email. I would make a rule that any T-Wolves fan could trade in a jersey of a player no longer on the team and get 40% off a new one. I would have a contest to find two T-Wolves fans to announce all our home games on Timberwolves.com, kinda like Mystery Science Theater but with diehard fans of the team. Etc etc etc. I have a million ideas. Really, you have to be an idea guy to be an NBA GM - you deal with a lot of stuff beyond “Which players should I pick?” And anyone who reads my column knows that I never, ever, EVER run out of ideas.
You would be in good hands. I think like a fan, and I am connected to fans. I would never leave them disenfranchised. That much I could guarantee you. They would always feel like they were invested in my team. And not just that, but I am fortunate enough to have an army of loyal readers who like me. Most of those people would love to see me succeed and turn the NBA upside down. You know what that means? More T-Wolves fans across the country. More people buying T-Wolves merchandise and hitting the website. More national attention. Etc etc etc. And what about the national media? What’s a better during the season story than my first T-Wolves season, my first trade deadline, my first draft pick, my first trade and everything else? I would be the fountain of stories that keeps on giving. You have to admit, people would be talking. Isn’t that the fundamental goal as a sports team, not just to win, but to get people talking for the right reasons and not the wrong ones? And who knows how to deal with the media better than me? I’d be like a young Donnie Walsh, feeding stories and info, keeping everyone happy, controlling how every opinion is shaped through the media in a variety of ways. Michael Rand, you should be rooting for this more than anyone. I will be buttering you up like a two-pound lobster. You’ll LOVE having me as a GM. I know how the game works.
RandBall: What got you going with this idea today on Twitter in the first place?
I read a story that the T-Wolves couldn’t find a good GM candidate. I couldn’t believe it. I had to offer my services. And by the way, I am extending the same offer to the Los Angeles Clippers for all the same reasons you just read. I would take either job in a heartbeat. I know I could do it. And if I fail for whatever reason, at least the book will be good.
In fact, that’s my campaign slogan: “SIMMONS FOR GM: AT LEAST THE BOOK WOULD BE GOOD.”
105 Responses to "RandBall Q&A: ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons, your next Wolves GM?"
This Q&A was like when Daniel LaRusso…oh, forget it.
Do it, Glen Taylor. I mean, why the hell not?
I haven’t paid attention in years. I probably won’t unless there’s something like the potential of Simmons having a complete train-wreck of a GM career. If he succeeds, that would be equally ridiculous.
Put it this way, he can’t possibly be worse than Kevin McHale. Ever.
Stu +1, although, I thought it was more like that episode of Friday Night Lights…
Snark aside, yes, why not?
I wonder which team is going to try to hire me next? I mean, I’m a failed GM now, and a former player, and a former coach. I’m a triple threat!
He had me until “Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Minnesota … these are salt of the earth cities with great people.” Then again, how important is geography to the NBA?
I don’t like basketball much, I haven’t been to a Wolves game in years but I would buy two season tickets tomorrow if they hired Bill Simmons as GM. He’s bright, he’s interesting and he’s the only writer who can make me get interested in basketball. And he follows the game and knows everyone involved better than almost anyone.
Your call, Mr. Taylor: More mediocrity, or instant ticket sales!
If they hired the Sports Guy I would be tempted to watch a T-Wolves game for the first time since their last playoff appearance.
Can we just call it the “Brett Favre Corollary”? It might kill the franchise and cause die-hard fans (all 3 of them) to light themselves on fire, but it would show [redacted] and be entertaining as [redacted].
What Goalieguy said (kind of). The Wolves hire Bill, and I immediately become interested enough to spend money on the team. I won’t go as far as season tickets, but I’ll definitely go to and watch games.
Oh, and you can bet your [redacted] that I emailed Mr. Wright those very thoughts.
Yes please.
Favre as the Vikes QB and the Sports Guy as T’wolves GM? I think my head is going to explode. It makes way too much sense to happen but sign me up for season tickets if it would.
He should be in sales, I’m sold.
I find the idea of the sports guy as GM quite interesting… After all, how much worse could it be than what we’ve already had?
Yes We Can!
Please do this. I love Bill Simmons. It would be great for this franchise, someone who actually understands basketball. I love nothing more then reading about him making fun of the Clippers. Lets not become the Clippers.
I too would buy season tickets tomorrow with Simmons as GM. For the Wolves, I honestly think there is nothing to lose!
I’m a kinda-sorta fan and have ripped Simmons my fair share (sorry Bill!), but I’d re-purchase season tix faster than you can say “yup, these are my readers” if he was given the job. Honestly would be tickled pink. He really does know his hoops.
I think it would be a refreshing twist for an NBA team to hire someone who is regularly beaten BY his wife.
Write Chris Wright and let him know you’ll buy season tickets if Simmons is hired as GM:
C’MON TWOLVES HIRE BILL SIMMONS AKA THE SPORTS GENIUS!
I was following Simmons’ thing on twitter and wrote it off as funny-ha-ha. But he really has a point. David Kahn? Whatever.
It’s sad that it will never happen, because Taylor is too straight-laced to rock the boat (toying with not only his own franchise, but also the NBA).
But this much is true: GM Sports Guy = butts in seats and puts the Wolves back on the map, if only from a what’s-gonna-happen perspective.
Imagine the ESPN coverage, with one of their own at the helm.
On one side of town, people are lining up to have a chance to be the Wild’s GM.
On the other, fans are actually saying, “Ah, why the hell not?” about hiring a columnist with no previous experience to run the team.
The NBA: It’s FAN-tastic! (/simmons)
The San Antonio/Boston blue print?!? How is Boston anything like San Antonio. More like the Miami/Boston blue print (trade it all away to win 1 championship. San Antonio won 4. Nuff Said (btw, I’m a Laker Fan)
As long as Simmons quits calling it f*cking “Minny.”
Minnesota (or Minneapolis) has never been, and never shall be, nicknamed “Minny.”
-Born and Raised in NE Mpls
Say yes in a heartbeat. I 2nd Simmons as GM.
Signed,
Future Season Ticket Holder.
This would put butts in seats, but it could actually work in terms of on-court results, too. This isn’t like thinking you could be a doctor because you watched House and Scrubs. I’m an English teacher with a master’s degree, but I believe someone who thinks deeply about literature, is patient enough to deal with annoying teenagers, and is not socially retarded could become a good teacher without going through an education program. Same deal here.
“Isn’t that the fundamental goal as a sports team, not just to win, but to get people talking for the right reasons and not the wrong ones?”
There’s a 0.00001% chance that Taylor would perceive hiring Simmons as “for the right reasons. That’s just the way it is. This is the guy who refused to fire McHale for seemingly 25 years.
But yeah, I would actually give a crap about the Timberwolves. Imagine that.
I think the T-wolves should absolutely think about hiring him as GM or even President. I’ve found that Bill has knowledge in the league that is second to none. The thing that is more impressive is that he’s not just a fan he’s a total analyst. He’s been picking Rockets GM Morey for all the statistical nuggets.
Plus he’s been an pioneer on the web and podcasts. Think having his multimedia background would help the organization?
Go for it!!
Programming note: I had another post lined up for the TFD, but I think I’ll let this one stand for the last of the night. I like the other one, too, and I don’t want it to get buried.
– Your humble man-servant.
Do it, what else do we have going for us?
You’re looking for a mind at work when you hire someone. You want someone who can talk with mastery on the subject. How does Bill Simmons not have a GM job? Think of him as a Walsh/Cuban combo
Chris Wright has an email from me to delete.
I don’t see why if Pierre McGuire of TSN is a lead candidate for the Wild GM position, Simmons can’t be seriously considered for the T-wolves post.
Who the hell is Bill Simmons? seriously
Are these Access Timberwolves commentators?
OK, I’ll bite. This idea is absurd, and perhaps just crazy enough to salvage a dying franchise.
Plus, if I vote for the Vikings to sign Favre I have to vote for this, right?
Simmons as GM will never happen. Why? Because the media attention would kill the ESPN East Coast bias complaints, leaving Minnesota sports fans with nothing to talk about…
I agree with every statement about making this franchise relevant again. As an avid Minnesota sports fan, it would be nice to hear a little coverage about MY teams and less about the coasts.
I believe Simmons has done the research into what it takes to win a championship. Hire him. I’m graduating from college and moving back to MN and I would spend what little income I have on T-Wolves tickets.
No NBA GM (other than perhaps the guy in Houston, who he’s buds with) would dare to make a trade with him, for fear of being upstaged by someone from outside of the clique.
Of course, considering how well that Garnett deal worked out for them, maybe that’s a plus.
I am not a T-Wolves fan as I live in DC. But they would immediately become my second favorite NBA team. Do it.
I like it! You’re hired! Bring some faith with you, because we have none in MN right now.
Mr Wright - PLEASE, just consider Simmons, seriously! If you want to mix things up and make some real changes, this is a perfect opportunity!
Yes we can!!!
I have also added to Mr. Wright’s “to be deleted” inbox.
The thought of having multiple segments on ESPN discussing the Timberwolves is almost too much excitement to stand.
I live in Hawaii and i have no plans to visit Minnesota any time in the near future, but i would buy a season ticket to the T-wolves and donate it to charity if Bill Simmons were to get the job. i’m sure i’m not alone in this and that many fans from around the country would do the same.
I am a Philly fan living in Florida but if this happened the T-Wolves would become my new second favorite team…Yes We Can!
i love the TWolves. Let me say that again, i LOVE the Timberwolves. I watch their games on the internet whenever i can’t watch them on TV.
I would so estatic to have Bill Simmons as our GM. I’m sure the first impulse is to think that he’s just a writer and couldn’t be good at the job but after listening to him for the past couple of years, i think he’d actually be pretty good.
Please Glen, let us know you’re considering it.
As a diehard Sonics fan, I can’t thank Simmons enough for backing us and (continually) slamming everybody involved in the creation of “The Team That Shall Not Be Named”. I would instantly adopt ‘Sota for as long as Simmons was GM.
If we do crazy things like elect Jesse Ventura and reelect Bachmann, we can hire Simmons.
I love the idea given the circumstance of the team. As long as the core players we want to have moving forward don’t find it offensive, I think it would be a lot of fun as a fan.
This Simmons guy makes my COW’s seem like Twitters. Or is it Tweets? Whatever you Twits call it…
Anyways, he did say one thing that bothered me regarding Al Jefferson’s time in Boston:
“…every time he seemed like he was putting together, he’d sprain or pull or tear something…”
Doesn’t that bother anyone else?
The Wolves should definitely do this. I haven’t watched the NBA in years but if the Wolves hired Simmons I would watch every game. I live in Vegas and would go to the nearest sports book and probably bet on the games also.
I would sell my house and live out of my car for a year to ensure that I had season tickets for the Wolves if they hired Simmons. I’m not joking.
i don’t what’s tougher to believe: simmons as a gm or the fact that i’ve actually met this mythical david kahn at the nba pre-draft camp in chicago a few weeks after moving here to be a sportswriter. nice guy, he gave me 10 minutes of his time for useless q&a. also memorable from that 03 PDC: a freshly fired isiah thomas showing up in a von dutch trucker hat and tight jeans; antoine walker blowing a fuse because his boys couldn’t get in to watch a bunch of second rounders run, or chris wallace talking to me for a half hour, sharing his basketball wisdom, and me quoting him for months before realizing he’s an idiot.
100% in. They’re kidding themselves if they think Kahn is going to turn this thing around. It depresses me how sports are so resistant to actual intelligence. Maybe having “basketball smarts” means you’re just not that smart.
Glen Taylor, do u have a better option?
Not that I have heard of thus far. I’m still a die hard T-Wolves fan and I don’t know if i can go through another season similar to the last couple. Simmons is a sign of hope for the few fans like me, and I hope you can bring him in and make this season one to remember. I’m a young 17 and I have followed the wolves for as long as i can remember and i dont know how many times i have yelled at my tv saying fire Kevin Mchale. Its time for a Barack Obama change in the T-Wolves organization. Put us back on the map and give me some stories to tell my kids in the future.
I live in San Diego and have no basketball loyalties. With Bill Simmons as the Timberwolves GM I would immediately become a loyal Timberwolves fan. Bill’s basketball knowledge is second to none. How could this not work?
Life long mn resident, Jazz fan last ten years. Only usually go to Jazz games and a few others. I would actually go to a game to see the wolves (haven’t gone to see the wolves since KG) if Simmons was running the team. Read him religiously and LOVE the things he has to say.
Not even funny. Bill Simmons is a Boston homer.
Do it and I will buy 4 season tickets packages. and not the $3 a seat ones! Bill for GM!
Mark me down for a pair of season tickets if they hire Bill. If not, it’ll probably be my third straight season without purchasing a single ticket.
Bill Simmon’s knows his stuff and would completely turn the T-Wolves franchise in the right direction! GIVE HIM A SHOT!!!
65 comments on Randball. Which is diverting attention away from the fact that Stu should be delivering a COW about this time.
I would prefer Pfund who used to work with the heat. but simmons would be MUCH better than kahn. Cmon Glen!! can you not see the fans trying to tell you something..i mean check out this already http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=113000274&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=78020500641&ref=mf
Facebook group already has about 850 ppl in it and Simmons just said this prob like 10 hours earlier.
Hope is a good thing, Bill. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.
Bill Simmons, the only person on the planet who could get me following the Wolves on a day-to-day basis next season. SIMMONS 2009 - YES WE CAN!!!
Go out the the T-wolves site, Contact Us and flood them with “Hire Simmons” emails…
I’ve never followed the Wolves other than casually and I would be two season tix tomorrow if Bill Simmons was the GM. No question.
Simmons GM? I’m also in for season tix.
I am a hockey fan, and have never been into the Wolves or the NBA for that matter. If they hired Simmons I would instantly become a fan and even a paying customer… do you hear me Mr. Taylor?
If the Viking get Favre and the Wolves hire Simmons I will instanly purchase the needed dish packages to watch every game next year. The following year, after I pass the bar exam, I will move back to Minnesota so I can practice law there and buy season tickets to the Wolves.
Simmons knows basketball. Think outside the box for once and hire him! Everyone should flood wright@timberwolves.com with emails. Taylor owes us for 20 years of McHale
I live in NYC and I PROMISE you I (and others in the area) would follow the T-wolves closer than the knicks they did this.
Forget what’s been done in the past, Bill’s ideas make sense. Go for it.
This makes so much sense that there is no way that the Wolves will hire Simmons.
But this HAS TO happen. Look at the excitement in the posts on this page! Almost none of these people would care at all about the Wolves if not for this story.
It’s a slam-dunk guarantee that The Sports Guy will succeed. He knows every nuance about every player and team and he looks at the NBA in such a different way that he would instantly be a top-10 GM at worst. And not to mention the instant ticket sales. How else are the Wolves going to sell tickets next year? David Kahn? Jim Stack? Freddy Hoiberg? HA! It’s a no-risk, huge reward potential move for the Wolves.
I am a Wolves fan but hate the direction they would be going in with Kahn. Same boring and uninteresting marketing, re-tread hire at GM, they certainly would have a re-tread failure at coach who costs nothing.
Glen Taylor, PLEASE hire Bill Simmons.
This would be the best idea Glen Taylor has had. Please God yes.
Hiring a knowledgeable, popular sports media personality is a surefire way to success. Look what happened to the Lions when they hired Matt Millen.
Look what happened to the Lions when they hired Matt Millen.
They continued to suck?
Two words - Matt Millan
Part of me thinks this would be awesome, and part of me thinks it would be an absolute disaster. First of all, has he run the numbers on these half-price plans? I think the franchise would go belly up if he enacted that. The jersey thing is a good idea though.
Also, keep dissing those GMs in public Bill, and we’ll see how many times they deal with you, much less return a phone call from you if Bill was the GM of the TWolves.
Next, Bill does has some interesting “outside the box” ideas about how to run the team, but he’s also had a ton of awful ideas that would have made him look bad if he didn’t completely neglect to ever mention them after the fact.
Also, Bill has been a life long Boston Celtics fan. And avid, die hard Celtics fan. You might think its easy to just drop that associate and turn them into “just another team”. And in a lot of cases he would. I have no doubt that Bill would work his butt off as the TWolves GM, and would say all the right things, etc. But can you honestly tell me that if Bill is dealing with Danny Ainge, and there is a deal on the table that, as a Celtics fan, he would not agree with, but as a TWolves GM he would accept, that he would pull the trigger? What if it is a decision that Bill feels would cripple the Celtics for years if the trade is made? Can he put his loyalty aside in order to make the trade? What if the trade is more even, but Bill thinks he can get more from the Celtics? If he pulls the trade as is, no one will think twice, but if he works for another asset, he can get it. Will he take that extra step to ensure the deal works out best for the Wolves at the expense of his Celtics?
My final point is that this will never happen because it will turn your TWolves into a traveling circus. Most of you might not mind the national exposure, but what if Simmons fails? Your franchise has been ruined because management decided to make a spectacle of your team and hired an unqualified internet columnist to be in charge of managing the talent on your team. Then you start wondering if they hired Bill because they thought it would work, or they hired Bill because it would put more fans in the seats. How long will it take for the TWolves to be taken seriously after that? How long will it take for you to take the TWolves seriously again?
Like I said, half of me feels like this would be a good idea, a thought outside the box, a fresh perspective on how to run a basketball team. But since all the remarks about this idea have been overwhelmingly positive, I decided to write about the other side of the argument.
no one would trade with this guy after all the stuff he’s written. ESPECIALLY the guys that are easy to rip off. seriously, this guy is such a douche.
Tony, we already saw your Celtics situation happen last year between two former Celtics teammates.
Everyone in this league has an affiliation to some team or has been a fan of a different team in their lifetime. Do you honestly think that all of the current GMs in the NBA liked every team equally prior to taking their position? Hell, did anyone think that Joe Dumars was going to have an issue if a trade between the Raptors and the Pistons came up?
Unfortunately for fans, and fortunately for Bill Simmons, the Wolves have already had a terrible GM. They’ve had one for many years. The idea of another NBA “suit” in the front office is enough to make most fans groan. Seriously, this team isn’t going to be terribly interesting anytime soon, so why not build some external (if only temporary and artificial) interest?
I think the lesson learned from the good and bad GMs in the league, is that it doesn’t matter where you come from, whether you played, coached, were an assistant GM, a GM for another team, or just some random dude off the street who knows his basketball, there is no guarantee that any of them will know what the hell they’re doing or do a good job. It seems to be the biggest crapshoot in the universe. Why not pick an interesting candidate rather than a guy who has been the GM of an NBA Development-league team?
Just sayin’
Go Simmons!!
Show me a quote (even an anonymous one) from ANY NBA executive, coach, scout, owner or any employee, even the locker room attendant, that says they think Simmons would be a good GM.
The point isn’t that Simmons would or wouldn’t make a good GM. No one will want to deal with him after everything he’s said or written.
Professional sports is an old boys’ club and if you want in you need to play nice. If Simmons wants to be a GM he should quit writing and take any job with an NBA team he can find (including the aforementioned locker room attendant).
There is a way to have some of Simmons’ ideas and energy w/o the hullabaloo. Hire him as a consultant and make him sign the most restrictive non-disclosure agreement ever. If he is serious and not just trolling for book sales (for the record I believe he is), he would jump at the opportunity to have some input in the process.
F*ck it, why not? I vote Simmons.
This absolutely has to happen.
“First of all, has he run the numbers on these half-price plans? I think the franchise would go belly up if he enacted that.”
That’s actually a pretty safe bet for Simmons. Given that the TWolves or any team for that matter aren’t eliminated from the playoffs until about 1/4 left in the season, that leaves roughly 20 games left. Of those, 10 would be home games. If they’re out of it by then, they’re not going to be selling a lot of tickets anyway to those games. But half-price tickets would bring in a lot more fans which would lead to more concession sales, TWolves gear, etc. I think it’s a great idea.
I think a 700 disertation on the NBA overqualifies him for this position–give him a pen and get him signed!
This would make The Wolf at least as relevant as the Minnesota Swarm. Even if it doesn’t work out it couldn’t crack the top 10 worst Timberwolves signings in franchise history. Mr. Taylor, sign this Sports Guy.
Let’s make this happen. Everyone keep hounding Chris Wright (wright@timberwolves.com). Glen Taylor is a good dude and if we show enough interest he will consider it. SIMMONS!
Hey, Bill, the state of Minnesota already went the gimmick route with our governor a few years ago. Not at all coincidentally, all Jesse Ventura got out of it was the sale of a few books and a longer run in the spotlight.
We’d rather not see it again.
To anyone here suggesting this is a good idea, Simmons has bashed every coach, GM and owner in the NBA. Do you honestly think ANYONE would make a deal with him, knowing: A.) Whatever the deal is automatically becomes the most scrutinized transaction in the NBA, and the risk of getting it wrong is enough to dissuade other teams from locking it, and B.)he’s writing a book about the whole thing. Can you trust any decision he’d make to be in the best interest of the team, or of his future best-seller?
This says nothing of the fact he’d absolutely hate everything about the Twin Cities area, and would end up simply continuing the same joke he makes of anyone not in a major market.
He’s said it before, we’re irrelevant, we don’t matter in sports. But now that he can further his reputation for his gain - win or lose - all of a sudden we’re supposed to just fall in love with him, much like how he loves himself?
No thanks. But he is right, we really don’t care about the Timberwolves. If we need a gimmick that badly to start caring, then maybe the team shouldn’t be here.
“…I would go out to dinner with every [original] Minny season ticket holder — and there can’t be many — in groups of eight or 10 just to let them know that someone appreciates that they stuck with the franchise for this long.”
Gee, Bill, REALLY?!? Gosh, I’ve been going to Timberwolves games since I was three years old, and my main problem with the franchise in that time has nothing to do with anything other than me not getting the chance to have a placating dinner with a smarmy wise-ass columnist who watches games on TV and never sets foot inside a locker room.
Maybe you don’t need to be in the locker room to learn the game, but you sure as hell have to be around the team to negotiate contracts and trades. Who are you gonna get as your negotiator? J-Bug?
I hope everyone has emailed Wright. Flood his inbox and make it impossible to ignore us… ok, maybe not flood his inbox, but everyone needs to send one.
As George Steinbrenner said to George Costanza: “Hire this man.”
How about the wolves sign him as assistant GM?
I believe in him! almost every article he writes is dead on in my book. Glen Taylor, step up and make a play… It will increase your fan base & make the team better. Go for it! nothing to lose
I just fired my email off to Chris Wright to at least interview The Sports Guy. Even granting him an INTERVIEW would generate more buzz about this franchise than they’ve had since KG left. Outside of drafting that little white point guard from Spain (or wherever he’s from) - I don’t know what will bring me back to the TWolves other than BS being hired as GM.
Funny thing is….as our GM, The Sports Guy would find a way to get the little Spanish white point guard on the Wolves!
David Kahn isn’t the answer. I know that. The issue with a GM isn’t that they “know basketball”. The issue is that they understand the NBA. Isiah Thomas, McHale, Dunleavey, they all “know basketball”. But there’s overwhelming evidence they don’t know how to build a team in the NBA.
The argument that other GMs wouldn’t deal with Simmons because he “trashed them” is ludicrous. Because no GM ever spoke ill about another GM while one of them was a player, coach, or TV talking head, right?
Why the f*&^ not???
Have you read his articles on the NBA?? Friends, they make sense. He knows his stuff.
Perhaps he can lure Chad Ford from Hawaii and make him an assistant GM.
I for one would buy 2 season tickets in a heartbeat.
Simmons could have all the knowledge in the world to make the T-Wolves a successful francise but he isn’t connected.
Marc Cuban is the only person I’ve seen pull off something similar to what Simmons wants to do, but he could only get away with it because he’s a multibillionaire. He could care less what the other team owners thought because he didn’t have to.
Those same team owners are going to lobby Stern to squash anything Simmons would try to do the minute he started to make them look bad. In the NBA, you are as successful as Stern and the big shot owner’s let you be.
I totally agree. Simmons has spent his entire career ripping apart NBA owners and the commissioner. How can he epxect to now run a team after he’s burned all those bridges - before he even had a chance to cross them!
I am about to graduate college and looking for a job and there is no doubt in my mind that I would move to MN and get atleast a 10 game pack in Simmons was hired. If the T-Wolves do not hire him, they could not “build on this.”
I live in Houston and am an avid Sports Guy reader. I cannot say that I have ever watched a T’Wolves game other than when they play the Rockets, but I can guarantee you I would start tuning in whenever possible (which would be a lot more often, seeing as they would get much more media attention and national telecasts if this actually happened), and I would probably even buy some Wolves merchandise. Bottom line is, this move would make the team relevant and honestly I think Simmons would make a hell of a GM. He knows his stuff, and he would definitely connect with the fans. I’m a little jealous that we have such a good GM in Morey right now, but trust me Simmons practically idolizes him and would use many of his successful tactics. The guy knows his sports, hence the nickname The Sports Guy. This idea may seem crazy, but rather than the “Why not?” rationale, seriously consider the fact that this move WILL LEAD TO MORE EXPOSURE, MORE FANFARE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MORE WINS.
