Pfund withdraws as GM candidate
Posted on May 15th, 2009 – 10:07 AMBy Jerry Zgoda
Former Miami GM Randy Pfund this morning said he has told Wolves CEO Rob Moor to take his name out of the running for the vacant VP/GM position because he is moving on to pursue other NBA opportunities.
“I don’t think it’s the right situation for me right now in Minnesota,” he said. “I obviously had a couple conversations and an interview there and at this point I think I’m moving on from that situation. There are some other things out there that intrigue me and some things out there that may intrigue me and I’m going to turn my efforts into exploring those things.”
Pfund always seemed like something of a longshot to take the job because of the salary he’d command and the requirements he’d want, but the question now is that, five months into this search and with just four days left before the draft lottery and about six weeks before the draft, does anybody want to take this job?
Portland assistant GM Tom Penn is the last known candidate to interview, but he has a good job with a rising team and I imagine, even in this economy, Paul Allen pays him pretty well, so he could be a hard get. He’s also in a pretty good bargaining position right about now.
After that, of the original list of known candidates, that leaves former Indiana GM David Kahn and internal candidates Fred Hoiberg and Jim Stack. San Antonio assistant GM Dennis Lindsey withdrew his name a couple of weeks ago.
UPDATE: The Wolves just had Kevin Love on a conference call to promote his trip next week to New York City, where he will represent the team at Tuesday night’s draft lottery. Here’s what he had to say on a number of topics…
On the delay in naming a new GM and deciding who will coach next season: “I keep hearing, just talking to McHale and Stack and Hoiberg off and on, that it’s kind of just up in the air. They’ve narrowed it down. It’s a little weird not knowing who we turn to next year to make decisions. There have been a lot of firsts for me this past year, whether it’s a coaching change, players getting traded. This is definitely a first for me. I’m not used to that.”
When asked if he has ever won anything by chance: “Not that I can remember. All the Timberwolves media people have been trying to get me to bring a lucky charm. It didn’t work for Hoiberg last year, so I’ll try to figure something else out.”
On whether from his discussions with McHale whether he thinks he’ll come back to coach: “I’m not really sure. Seems to me he’s still up in the air on it, still a big question mark. I hope he comes back. If there’s anything I can say or Bigi Al can say…I think the consensus is everybody likes him and would love to play for him again.”
On what he has been doing in Los Angeles the last month: “I took 2 1/2-3 weeks off. Now I’m doing some yoga, strength training, shooting a lot of jump shots. Get that 15 to 20 footer down. I’m shooting 500 to 600 a day. I’ve got a lot of time on my hands.”
On lottery pick wild-card Brandon Jennings, with whom he played AAU ball, and what kind of NBA player he will become: “It’s tough to say. He shows flashes of brilliance. He’s very skinny, very frail. With his quickness and the fact he’s left-handed and unorthodox and makes spectacular plays, I have more than enough confidence he’s going to be a great player. His (lack of) size will be a factor against strong guards.”
106 Responses to "Pfund withdraws as GM candidate"
Gotta believe it’s Penn and that Chuck Daly’s funeral is the only thing holding things up.
Just to clarify, the two people that were interviewed who had the most experience and probably the most best chance to turn this thing around both told the organization thanks but no thanks?
That does not bode well for the fans of this organization.
I don’t think Chuck Daly’s funeral had anything to do with this, unless they were trying to bring him in for another interview. This might be a tougher deal to close and take longer than Penn’s one-day trip to Florida for the funeral. If they don’t get Penn, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they go into the draft without a new VP/GM named.
Well my boy Hoiberg looks like he has a great shot. Hire him and let’s get this thing rolling. I could care less what the other debbie downers on here think.
Things are not looking good for the Wolves organization. And you can cite two factors for the reason candidates outside the organization are not interested.
1) Taylor’s Blueprint- Whatever it is people do not like it. So we could assume it means sharing power with Hoiberg and/or not being able to name their own coach due to a demand to keep McHale.
2) Taylor is not willing to pay market price and is looking for a cheap solution. Hoiberg and Stack are on the payroll, adding another person just increases it so keep the cost as minimal as possible.
In the end, my prediction is the only people we see at the GM position are current employees of the team.
Rob
What in the world is taking Taylor so long to get a GM in place? Does anyone have any legitimate explanation for this delay other than the likelihood that he is proving to any appealing candidates that he is completely inflexible and will insist that 90% of the coaching staff and front office remains intact?
Jerry, I am getting frustrated with the lack of information the media is getting from the organization on this. I think Taylor should be getting hammered in a high-profile manner right now until he can publicly prove that he has some sort of plan or is at the very least, competent.
Mike, there is no information on this. Taylor hasn’t returned calls in weeks and the organization in turn has maintained complete radio silence on the subject until (if?) the team names someone. The Wolves don’t understand they’re in the entertainment business and that any buzz about the team, particularly at this time of year, is good for business. The Wild, on the other hand, do get it and have allowed their search for a new GM to be followed by the media in a regular way so that they continue to get regular publicity as their search progresses. Maybe one small reason why one building is filled every night and the other isn’t.
Jerry, I understand that and I guess it might speak more to the general malaise about this franchise amongst the public. Perhaps if the Favre drama wasn’t playing out simultaneously people might care more. I guess my frustration lies a little more with Sid, Souhan, Powers, etc., sports radio, and other opinionmakers in the local media who should be calling Taylor out.
Jerry,
I’m still holding out hope for Hinkie. Any chance that Taylor interviews more potential GM’s before he makes a decision. It seems like Penn came out of no where, any chance there are more candidates out there that haven’t been discussed yet?
Jerry, I posted my last comment before seeing your complete response…I think you are right on and wish you could write an opinion piece for the Sunday edition stating just that very point!
I wouldn’t have a problem with Taylor being quiet on the subject (like the Vikings with Favre)…except that he stated publicly the position would have already been filled by now. Doesn’t look good for credibility.
That said, what happens after the playoffs end is more important than what happens now. Whether it’s Fred, Penn, etc., there are picks and moves to be made. The Target Center will stay empty or fill up based more on who is on the court/how well they do and less on who is the coach or GM.
The bigger question than who is GM may be what hand they are dealt in terms of salary budget. Will they be able to pursue acquisitions this summer and next? Doesn’t seem like we know yet.
Yes, Jama, I’m sure there could be candidates out there we haven’t heard about. Or, more likely, there could be more candidates gathered on short notice, as Penn appeared to be.
Well, the Wolves are a joke. Jerry, I’m sorry you are subjected to having to work with these clowns on a semi-daily basis. You are right - they just don’t get it.
Jerry,
Any hunch about possible candidates from the franchises still alive? That’s the only credible explanation why there hasn’t been a hire.
Any names you can think of?
Jerry,
If Penn is the guy and Hoiberg is retained do you have any idea how other NBA people view Hoiberg as a talent evaluator and would that end up being any upgrade at all?
I wonder how young Haskins feels about his job security right now?
Taylor is obviously telling these guys who has to stay and hamstringing the new guy coming in. Maybe he will reconsider and keep Kevin.
The real problem in all of this is that Taylor has such a terrible track record of planning and decision-making for the franchise. If he had a better history of decision making, people wouldn’t be frustrated by his taking more time and keeping things close to the vest. But under the circumstances, the longer this drags on, and the more secretive it is, the more we have no choice but to assume that Taylor is botching things again.
Rodman, I don’t think whether a team is still in the playoffs or not is any factor. Lindsey interviewed with the Spurs still in it. If they’re going for an assistant GM, teams usually won’t stand in the way of a guy getting a promotion, although we’re getting awfully close to the draft and I imagine teams pretty soon, if not already, will want to know if a guy is going to be in their draft room or somebody’s else after he’s already done a season’s worth of work on their own dime.
SK77, I think Fred around the league is considered a really nice guy but nobody is sure what kind of talent evaluator he is because there isn’t a track record there. Taylor might have a better idea because he’s been listening to Fred’s opinions for a couple years and now, in retrospect, has an idea if Fred knows what he’s talking about. Given that it looks like Taylor wants to keep him as his main personnel guy, that would mean he thinks Fred knows talent.
Jerry,
Does McHale have any say in whether he returns or is completely up to the new GM? Obviously he can decide he doesn’t want to coach anymore but if he would like to return do you think he will. Is that part of the reason these candidates are pulling out?
Mike 2, my thoughts exactly! I don’t know that I would’ve felt any better had he made a decisive move right after the season concluded but as we get no information from the organization and as candidates remove themselves, we have no choice but to assume this is a disaster in the making.
Jama, I think McHale wants to return depending on money and terms or he might have said he’s done by now. I think he’s waiting to see who the new GM is. How much clout the new GM has also will determine whether he stays or not, and considering that Lindsey and Pfund have already declined, I’d guess Taylor probably wants Mac back. I hear my colleague Sid floated something the other day that McHale would return if he gets a Flipesque deal — four years, $18 million. That’d be completely insane. We know the big guy can motivate, but we have no clue if he can coach for a whole training camp and a whole season, let alone three or four seasons.
Even if they hire someone today, do you really want them making personnel decisions without really knowing the personalities or capabilities of the current roster?
My hope is to just use the draft choices wisely and keep the personnel moves to a minimum. OK maybe move Foye.
I think they badly need an outside person with substantial NBA managerial experience who can come in and take a more objective look at where the team is now and what moves need to be made for the future. Someone who is not emotionally tied to decisions that have been made in the past, who would be willing to wipe the slate clean if they thought that was really the best strategy.
They need a person like that to be making decisions about the upcoming draft, about which current players to keep around and build with, what possible trades to make and what potential free agents they should try to sign.
Only with a good basketball mind at the top making all of these decision will they be able to begin to turn things around. It is not enough to simply have removed McHale from this position. They need someone with the power to take charge without undue interference from Taylor. Taylor has proven himself to be inept when it comes to basketball decisions.
Jerry,
How much is the amount of salary Taylor is willing to pay these guys factoring in? It was reported Kahn was offered 700k. I realize he is the most likely to take that offer but is Taylor lowballing all these candidates? Don’t you have to pay the going rate to entice some of these guys if you want them?
Minnesota has an ingrained cultural mentality of promoting from within and eschewing the “big name hire”. There is a minor league cultural ethos here…(Bill Smith anyone?)
Wow. Just F’ing Wow….
This is becoming almost comical. I go back to a question I had before Jerry: does Glen have any clue how bad this is making him and his team look? I suppose he could pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and announce a great candidate..but at this point it really looks like it’ll be mainly status quo. I have no issues with Fred..but the general public is NOT going to buy off on that.
Maybe they’re waiting for the Favre signing to announce thier pick to take the heat off of them. No one will notice.
I saw Chris Wright in the skyway yesterday. I should have stopped him and voiced my displeasure with this whole sham as a season ticket holder.
pauly
If these candidates don’t have a feel for these players they have no business being a candidate for the job. All these guys should know plenty about every player in the NBA. These guys, except for Kahn, are already with other organizations that have scouted every player enter the NBA. If they don’t know what each player brings to the floor they shouldn’t even be with their current teams.
My basic take as of a week ago is still the same: The Wolves want to be able to sit down at the upcoming press conference and answer a handful of questions at once:
Who’s the new VP / person in charge?
Is our coach still Kevin McHale?
Who’s the player personnel guy in charge of the draft now?
The fact that they’ve recently cut back even on internal communications about the search is one indication that they’ve got all those irons in the fire at once. They want to get those done together, you’d think — because if they announce Penn or whoever without the others, then the resulting press conference is going to turn into a referendum on McHale as coach or something like that.
This needs to get done, sure, but if they manage to give us a coherent picture of where they’re going at the end of this process I’ll be okay with the wait. If in a week’s time we get the complete picture, then we’ll know they had their act together.
I’m skeptical, of course, but willing to be convinced.
I just added an update to my original post to include some quotes from a conference-call conversation with Kevin Love this morning.
Thanks Jerry, good stuff, interesting to hear Kevin’s take on Jennings.
jama
If everyone is so damn in tune with players in this league why do knuckleheads keep getting passed around to other teams??
Maybe it is because of know-it-all attitudes like you represent.
I really hope the only thing holding it back is that Taylor is just taking his time vetting Bill Simmons. Its started as a joke, but the SportsGuy is really the only hire who stands a chance at success
Bill Simmons? Are you all insane? It’s a gimmick, a shtick, a publicity stunt…
puddy,
Simmons may be one of the only ones left with any intrest in taking the job…
Actually, I hear Bill Simmons just withdrew his name from consideration.
Simmons should be the guy! Its the only way that this GM hire could create any buzz. And he would do a very good job.
There’s a chance that he could do a really good job, that’s certainly no guarantee. It is a publicity stunt on his part but I think its something Taylor should at least consider.
Come on Taylor and Co. get off your arse and do something.. This should have been resolved already. There are models a winning franchise could follow. I’m a big fan and was ready to purchase season tickets for next year…. Until, the organization continued to move in a nonsensical direction. Hands off Glen.. Lets let a proven, experienced GM take over and you can participate by cheering from your court side seats.
There’s a chance Brandon you could do a really good job, too. What chance that is, I don’t know, but there’s a chance, sort of like that scene with Lloyd and Mary in Dumb and Dumber
The wierdest thing is that I’d think the Wolves job would be very attractive.
I’d think it would be kind of like the following, from worst to best opportunities:
6) Bad team, cheap owner with no aspirations for greatness (Grizzlies)
5) Bad team locked into bad contracts with few assets (Wolves a few years ago)
4) Previously good team that got old and is on the way down. High payroll, painful decisions and rebuilding ahead (Mavs)
3) Bad team that has started rebuilding, few bad contracts, some assets (Wolves, OKC)
2) Good young team that is improving, some assets (Portland)
1) Very good team with assets (Cleveland)
Are all these guys waiting for #2 or #1?
I’ll do the job. Could pay me table scraps.
Wile - What bad contracts do we have ? None. All the “bad ones” are good now…they all expire this year.
I got a suggestion for K. Love… bring a black cat to the draft. Seriously, how funny would it be when they introduce every rep on the two-tiered stand and Love produces the cat from under the table. It would be great publicity for the team with rotten draft luck. Plus, it’s a whole lot better than that crap that other reps bring. I mean really, is the tribal charm from Africa or any other that crap going to help our odds?
Jerry, I think it’s just generational difference. Those that grew up before the internet age beleive that experience is a necessity to improving the odds of success in a position.
Those growing up in the internet age understand that access to information evens the playing field. With so much information at your disposal on almost every subject, experience for all sorts of positions barring those that actually require physical coordination can be learned in many different ways rather than the traditional route of on the job training.
What this effectively means is that now that so much information is available for anyone to look up and research, TALENT becomes the key factor in any hiring decision for any organization.
Those of us clamoring for Simmons believe his Talent at evaluating the NBA game is superior to some of the other candidates.
The only candidate I like better than Simmons at this point, publicity stunt aside, is Penn and I hope he gets the job.
I agree - was just making some general categories.
In my experience most jobs are much, much harder and more complex than they appear. If the modern focus is on making fact-based decisions based on past success, Simmons brings nothing to the table.
Not to mention that as a father of young children, avid TV/movie watcher, intense fan of many sports, author, and famous personality, I have zero confidence he would be able to put in the required hours to do the job correctly. Simmons thinks this job is dreaming about the draft and making 5 team deals at the deadline.
The job is a 363 other important days that deal with boring financial/cap details, dealing cordially with 29 other GMs laying the groundwork for deals, and scouting fringe guys in Yugoslavia.
Wile E Coyote:
Good points, but let me state my points a little different. 15 Years ago, if I didn’t know about an issue with the collective bargaining agreement, new forms of statistical analysis, an unknown prospect in Europe, etc., my only way to solve that was to have contacts in the game who I could call and hopefully get introduced to somebody who can provide me with that information.
It would take a network of people all with a specific set of information so that I could call on the right people to help me answer my specific question.
Those skills are still helpful, but now when I have one of those issues, if I know where to look and how to access information, I can have a ton of information on how other people have answered that same question before I contact someone else and can be that much more efficient with my time and my questions.
My point here is that learning the more complex nuances of a job is simpler, access to information puts those out of the networking loop on a much more even playing field, so as I don’t need to hire Randy Pfund just because he knows 50 people to ask questions to regarding decisions he may be faced with, when Bill Simmons may only 5, because their is a lot more information available besides people to help you with a decision.
Jerry Zgoda says:
May 15th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Actually, I hear Bill Simmons just withdrew his name from consideration
Jerry, I about spit out my coffee laughing so hard. Thank you!!!!
Didn’t McHale admit that he didn’t even work 40 hours a week when he was VP/GM and Taylor knew that was the case their agreement with one another?
The whole waiting game with this situation is pretty pathetic? Glen obviously has no idea what direction he wants to go.
Jerry,
I agree that I would love to see an article or a columnist sounding off on the lack of progress for hiring a GM. I’ve seen some articles on the Wild having interviewed some people. The Wolves ownership needs to take some public heat for the way they are going about this process and having credible candidates like Pfund and Lindsey dropping out. I’d love to see Jerry or a columnist calling Taylor out in the Sunday Sports page for being cheap and having control issues that are making the GM search go nowhere. This team is at a crucial point in its development with the 3 1st round picks and some upcoming salary cap space. We need to know if Glen Taylor is serious about turning this team into a winner.
Taylor is not named Donald Sterling so I believe he is serious about turning the team into a winner.
Pretty tough to ask a beat writer to spew poison. He has to work with these guys every day next fall you know.
This should be the job of guys like Patrick Reusse. Unfortunately, they have criticized everything and anything re: the Wolves for so long that they’ve lost all credibility and impact.
i know the Simmons thing is a joke, and a stunt . . . but I’d rather have him than the guy from Indiana who listed Jamal Tinsley and Jeff Foster as the two trades he was most happy with.
Can it really be that hard to be an NBA GM? I honestly say no.
Quick, without looking it upon, when does Rafer Alston’s contract expire? Can you trade two players for a traded player exception? What will the luxury cap number likely be in 2010? Who is the best player in Europe, does he want to play in the NBA, and if so when can he likely be bought out of his Euro League contract? What are Morey’s top 3 needs in Houston? How much is our #1 from the Heat worth, in trade terms.
These are the things I expect a competent GM to know without looking it up. You can bet Pritchard knows. And Morey. And Walsh. And Petrie.
This situation is agonizing. A few thoughts:
1. Signing David Kahn would be dreadful for the franchise. I hate the irrational, constant complaining amongst our fan base, but this would be a total slap in the noggin. Jerry, is there any update on Khan? I have seen his name resurface in the last 24 hours.
2. I am convinced Hoiberg will be promoted and we will not bring in an outsider this season.
3. All this talk about Hoiberg has left one burning question that I have not heard a single person ask yet anywhere: what is happening with Jim Stack? He is the GM after all (McC was VPoBO)…?
4. Thanks Jerry for keeping us in the loop during your time off.
Also, some Friday afternoon food to chew on:
Glen Taylor is having trouble finding someone to commit to an every-man dream job.
How can he not get someone to rebuild this team with the assets they would have? It’s borderline outrageous.
Tom Penn is off the radar folks, and won’t be coming back. Just my hunch.
I don’t follow college hoops much anymore and just start to watch clips of these guys around draft time. What’s the take on Harden? I like what Ford has to say about him.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=PreDraftTour-090515
I don’t think this process can get much worse at this point. What a disappointing offseason.
The Harden post was mine…I have no idea why it posted under fiveanddime, but your e-mail address showed up in my browser afterwards.
Matt you have to take those opportunities ! I once was Jerry and muffed it up. Should have ranted !
Jerry,
What Matt just said about someone else’s email address and name appearing on his browser, happened to me once too.
There must be a bug/glitch in the system.
PS Good Dumb&Dumber reference. The natives are getting so restless that Bill Simmons is starting to look like a good idea. I suppose Detroit Loins fans would take Carrot Top for a GM.
Identity Theft!!!
Haha…just got a call from the Wolves about the draft lottery party…free booze ! They know the keys to my heart.
Swan,
I bet they are breaking out the 3.2 beer for that one!
3.2 eh ? I like Mich Golden Light !
I wonder if I’ll go…last year I was at a bar and made the following conditions:
1) If the Wolves moved up to the 1 or 2 (Rose or Beasley) I’d buy everyone at the rail a round !
2) If they didn’t, I’d immediately take a shot of the cheap gross tequila.
I’m thinking I’m drinkin tequila again this year !
Tequila would be the only way to go.
Enjoy it!
According to Mark Stein, somebody on the Wolves staff has stated that Penn has already received an offer…and that Taylor has now stated that the new GM must accept that it’s Kevin McHale’s decision to stay or go. Here’s the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4170433
Un-be-lieve-a-ble. Glen is asking the new GM to retain the guy who used to be GM, doesn’t want to coach, and wants the GM job back. Does he have to point a loaded gun at himself too?
PS: The black cat to the lottery suggestion was hilarious. I could see Love doing something a little less wild but still contrarian like that.
Contrary to the negativity in here, I think this is a good move, bring Penn in to run the show, let McHale continue to coach, keep Hoiberg for Personnel assistance. Hopefully this happens so we can stop talking about the boring front office and start focusing on the draft.
I agree that Penn + Hoiberg seems like a FO good team. I also think McHale did an OK job as coach.
But I think it is pretty ridiculous to *require* a new, young GM to retain (1) the long term GM who didn’t want to quit, and (2) the young GM-in-training who also wants the GM job. Awkward.
I like McHale as coach… for 50k a year…
I just read through all 50 some comments on here, and I get that dreaded sense that any decent Twins fan feels come January… All the talk of changes, and new players was a lie or a cruel joke played upon the fans.
Apparently I’m the only one that thinks that for his CRIMES AGAINST BASKETBALL Kevin McHale no matter what kind of job he did last year (and folks it wasn’t that impressive) should be fired, and should have been fired 10 flipping seasons ago after the Joe Smith debacle, and every mistake afterwards isn’t just a blight against him, but against Glen Taylor for refusing to admit the mistake, and correct the team’s downfall at 20,000 ft, instead of picking up the pieces after the plane wreck. Now it appears rather than picking up the pieces, they are just letting the weeds grow over the wreckage in hopes that people are dumb enough not to noice.
We need a new GM, a new Head Coach, a new Coaching staff, and we need someone that has the freedom to wheel and deal if need be.
Glen Taylor has to be smart enough as a business man to step back and leave the basketball decisions to basketball experts. He has not proven he is smart enough to do that as the best candidates… the most qualified candidates have declined, and walked away.
I think it’s a fair question to ask Glen Taylor, and demand answers as a newspaper, and as fans… the people that actually pay for tickets, and merch… what his reasons are for wanting to keep the staff that he has? What in the world have they shown in the last few years that shows that they are on the right track? What have they done that shows they have the potential to do MORE good work if any good work has been done?
Being a Timberwolves fan is a horrible form of Masochism, but I’ve been here since Pooh, and I’ve been here through the McFailedabortion apocolypse… I am sure that at 36 I will live long enough to see a new owner eventually, and hopefully someone that can run this team successfully.
If Taylor did tell potential candidates that it was up to McHale whether he wantes to return or not, why would any qualified person take this job seriously.
Please come to Minnesota and be my GM, but that does’nt mean you have the power to run the team.
Glen Taylor is the Al Davis of the NBA. What a joke.
“wants” my bad
ESPN is reporting that Penn has been offered the job and is almost certain to accept it, and soon.
Expression, I want him gone too.
Funny thought,
How awkward is it going to be if the Wolves win the lottery and Kevin Love is sitting there, knowing that Blake Griffin is heading to town?
For the record, I do like Love and root for him.
Well, the good news is no matter what happens, McHale won’t be here long. We don’t even know if he’s coming back next year even. But we do know he won’t coach us for a decade or anything like that.
I’m ok with him staying another year. Al and Love both want him back, so he’s the players’ choice. And I did want to see how Corey Brewer does with a coach who runs a more open offense, so I’d get to see that too.
I’m so tired of front-office ineptitude posts. Here’s my attempt to change the subject:
Stephen Curry Sucks!
Are there some assistant coaches that are still under contract? That would explain why GT wants to keep McHale.
IMO, if the new GM thought that McHale had done a decent job of coaching the team last year, and wanted to keep him around, I would’nt be happy about it, but I would deal with it, because he at least got to decide whether or not he wanted to keep McHale around.
The fact that Taylor has decided to tie the hands, and fate of the new GM to McHale has once again shown everyone in the league that he is more concerned with being McHale’s buddy than he is with building a winner.
Most of you guys are way bigger fans of the team than I am, but this just blows my mind. I’m sure that at some point this will be funny, but right now it just PMO.
Tom Penn is an extremely happy man. The Timberwolves, who have been searching for a new GM, have been conducting a thorough search for the vacant management position. Having interviewed Dennis Lindsay and being shot down because he promised the Spurs to remain with the team for several years after the team lost Assistant GM’s for 2 years in a row, the Timberwolves interviewed David Kahn and Randy Pfund. After not being impressed by Kahn, who came recommended by David Stern at the league office, they also decided not to an extend an immediate offer to Pfund. Pfund not wanting to be perceived that he didn’t get the job, publicly withdrew as a candidate once he knew the job would likely be given to Penn.
Penn will be hired agreeing to give Kevin McHale the option to remain as head coach; however if McHale should fail, he will have free reign to replace him with him a head coach of his choosing. Not only does Penn get to come to a roster than is soon to be purged of bad contracts, he also will get to work with promising young players such as Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and 3 draft picks in the 2009 draft. The team also could have a valuable trade chip in the expiring contract of Mike Miller due to make over $8 Million in 2009. The team should be at least $15 Million under the cap in the 2010 free agency period as even with the qualifying offer to Foye, and Telfair exercising his player option, they only have $33 Million committed to Payroll for Jefferson, Love, Foye, Telfair, Brewer, and their 3 1st round draft picks in June’s draft.
Penn also knows that if he can guide this ship to success like his former boss Kevin Pritchard did in Portland, he is likely to receive a loyal response from Glen Taylor and ownership, knowing how long Taylor stood by McHale and being patient for results. Taylor has also shown that he is willing to spend money on payroll when the team is competitive and this must also give Penn reason for optimism in returning this franchise to the playoffs.
That’s a nice summery Centrist.
Maybe it’s just low expectations, but I like what I hear about him.
Just re-read Mark Stein’s article and it is oh so ripe with irony.
Apparently GT only wants to offer McHale a one year deal, and McHale wants a two year deal. Perhaps this is how GT gets rid of people and look good (in his mind) in the process.
It reminds me of a reverse situation with Sprewell. Spree told him he only wanted to play two years, GT offers a 3 year deal. Spree turns it down and GT gets to say, hey, I offered him a good deal.
Centrist, and I mean this genuinely, I admire your ability to remain positive in the face of all this. I wish I saw the silver linings you do.
Rodman: thats not it at all. Spree wanted 15m/yr. Taylor offered like 11/12M a year. If it was the years, then he would’ve just retired after the 2nd year thus voiding the last year of the contract.
Arenal,
We’ll never know the truth of that one.
The “official” word was they offered him 3 years at $7mil per.
My point was they didn’t want him back and threw out an offer they knew he didn’t want so he wouldn’t come back, and they’d look good in the process.
I’m not saying it wasn’t an OK deal, just that it was something he clearly didn’t want.
And you can’t void the last year of a deal against the cap. Only if it was a player option year. There are players who retired to due medical reasons (Mobley on the Knicks), who still count against the cap.
Stephen Curry Sucks!
Tuesday’s Draft Lottery can’t come fast enough… hopefully something happens with our draft placement so we have something new to talk about.
I’d rather get this GM thing figured out before the lottery. We have a ton of scouting to do and workouts to set up, but with no GM, who does all of that? Right now I bet it’s Hoiberg, but the longer he does that without an official GM he reports to, the more likely it is we keep Stack by default.
Well this is interesting. It appears Chad Ford has switched into the Thabeet camp after months of guaranteeing he’d be a bust…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=PreDraftTour-090514
We’ve said for several months that Thabeet likely will be a top-five pick. The NBA mantra — that you can’t teach size — has helped him greatly. But watching him in the gym, it’s a little easier to see why he could be a high pick for more reasons than just his height. His combination of size, athleticism and emerging skills is rare — especially in this draft.
To be the next Dikembe Mutombo, Thabeet still has work to do. He has to get stronger. He needs to keep up his conditioning. He needs more experience. He has to let the game come to him. And he has to improve his decision-making on the court. But most importantly, he needs to go to a team that gives him confidence.
Put him in a bad situation with a coach who’s an obsessive faultfinder, and he could fail. Put him in a good situation with a coach and teammates who give him reason to believe, and maybe those Mutombo comparisons aren’t as far off as I once believed.
Also, guys, make sure you click on the link and WATCH THE VIDEO. At about the 3:30 mark Hasheem starts just raining in 15 foot jumpers. I’ve never seen him do that in three years at UConn. But think about it; if he can consistently hit a 10-15 foot jump shot (and Chad Ford notes his near perfect mechanics on the shot), this guy would be a monster next to Al Jefferson. A lot of you have mentioned how good Camby would be next to Al because he can step out and hit the mid-range shot on offense and that’s what this is.
This is really encouraging to me to find out he has this potential in his arsenal. This really pars down his perceived bust potential, because now people can see he does indeed have some genuine skill on offense.
Interesting to read the Portland Trail Blazers blog about Tom Penn and how they seem to like him (”salary cap genius”) and want him to stay with Portland. It seems like a combination of Hoiberg and Penn might be a good idea if Taylor doesn’t meddle too much.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2009/05/timberwolves_may_have_offered.html
What Love should do is take along a copy of “Good Vibrations” on his smartphone or iPod.
anybody care to guess how many GM’s would want to put their names back into the running if the Wolves beat the odds and win the Lottery on Tuesday??
Do we even need to win the lottery. If we were to, I bet half the GMs out there would just pick Rubio first overall for us anyway…
Chad Ford said that Thabeet needs a coach and teammates “who give him reason to believe.” Would say McHale as the Twolves coach and the team be a good situation for Thabeet? Given the close relationships Kevin Love has with both McHale and Big Al, I would think so.
I think so too. McHale’s patient and encouraging, and not a guy that will get hung up on mistakes (which is really what I believe killed Darko’s career…that kid had all the potential in the world, but Larry Brown screamed at him over everything).
Plus McHale has that ability to make a connection with big men, seeing as he was one as a player himself. There would be a little bit of a disconnect there since McHale is all offense and Thabeet is all defense, but I mean, think of how great Hasheem could be if he picked up on even just the basics of Mac’s arsenal.
I believe just as much as anybody else that McHale should be crucified for his work with The Wolves over the year and I believe that Taylor is just as culpable for everything.
But I do agree that McHale has a great demeanor for a young team that needs encouragement and positivity. That’s McHale’s style and I believe it speaks volumes that our two best players have both publically lobied for McHale’s return to the bench. He’s got a “great job, boys” demeanor about him that keeps things light and keeps players motivated to grow.
With a team that is still 2 years away from contending (if everything goes right in that time frame), the last thing The Wolves need is a negative coach. That’s why Casey was so effective in getting this team to over-achieve and why Wittman was so ineffective as a negative yeller who could challenge Rashad McCants in the Biggest Sulker Competition.
Perhaps after these next two years, this group will have advanced enough to the point where a more critical coach could be a good fit. Once you become a contending team, the “attaboy” style coach begins to phase himself out and a coach who will push, critique and yell is more effective to get a team to the next level. Then, ironically, once a team becomes a legit, elite, TITLE contender with veteran stars, you need to go back to that positive, “attaboy” style coach because the veterans begin to earn the inter-team credibility to be able to keep their teammates accountable and the coach can just transition to a stoic, white-board, strategy guy.
Stockholm syndrome?
Bryan - nice link to Chad Ford’s Thabeet story… I read it all and watched the video.
Somebody on this board was saying that all Thabeet will be able to do is stand on the opposite block from Al and that would be a problem.
Sounds like Coach Roth and Chad Ford believe he’ll have a very strong 15-17 foot jumper and become a very good pick-and-pop guy. I was impressed by their opinion that he’s actually got very strong shooting techniques and fundamentals.
Either way, I firmly believe the top-3 will go Griffin-Rubio-Thabeet. If we move up into the top-3, I believe we can bank on who our pick will be. If we fall in the 5-8 range, there will be more intrigue and pros-and-cons to discuss regarding folks like Harden, Jennings, Evans and DeRozen.
“anybody care to guess how many GM’s would want to put their names back into the running if the Wolves beat the odds and win the Lottery on Tuesday??”
0.
Penn would rather be the assistant GM for a bad Portland team than run the Wolves?
Taylor has to settle for unemployed ex-Pacers GM Kahn? Since Taylor can afford anybody he wants, and he has now been turned down 3 times, it shows you what the rest of the league thinks of this franchise.
