Report: Mark Jackson leading Wolves coaching candidate
Posted on June 18th, 2009 – 11:18 PMBy Jerry Zgoda
Pro Basketball News is reporting that ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson is the favorite for the Wolves’ vacant coaching job.
http://www.probasketballnews.com/story/?storyid=580
Jackson has never coached in the NBA, but he played for the Indiana Pacers when David Kahn was GM there and has often said, including as recently as last week, that he wants a head-coaching job in the league.
Their story cites multiple unidentified sources, including one that says Kahn already has decided on Jackson.
Kahn said at his Wednesday press conference that he had no list of candidates — “Not lined up on the back of a napkin, nothing,” he said – and wouldn’t begin compiling one or start his search until the day after the June 25 draft, a week from tonight.
The PBN story also says Kahn was with the Pacers for more than decade (more like six years, including two as a consultant) and said Kahn traded away Jackson and then brought him back with the Pacers (he may have worked on the deals, but Donnie Walsh called the shots when Kahn was there).
Jackson, 44, recently hired an agent to help him get a coaching job after he sought the Knicks’ head job last year and didn’t get it and wasn’t interviewed for any of the league’s openings after this past season.
“I’m just waiting for an opportunity for the right spot to present itself,” Jackson said at an ABC breakfast media breakfast during the NBA Finals. “I look forward to that day. I trust in God. The right situation will come and I look forward to making that guy who has the courage to pull the trigger, I’m looking forward to making him look awfully good.”
95 Responses to "Report: Mark Jackson leading Wolves coaching candidate"
Isn’t this just PBN picking up Charley Walters’ story over on the PP?
Charley is about as reliable as ‘ol Marty McFly was
I would be ok with this but not overly excited
Who’s Marty got in this derby?
I am overly excited about this. I’d guess that the list of reasons that Mark Jackson is likely to succeed as a head coach goes at least 10 deep.
Did you see that before I posted it in the last blog Jerry? 
PBN is quoting multiple unidentified sources, but no little birdies (do they tweet, too?)
He’s a very logical candidate because of his connection to Kahn at Indiana and if Kahn is genuine about wanting his next coach to have the same positive vibe McHale had with players, Jackson seems like he’d be that kind of guy, a player’s kind of coach.
what the marc to slow to go jackson hey he was pretty much a coach on the floor his whole career. jerry, has m.jackson (lol) had any nba coaching expireance?
Sorry, haven’t checked the last blog posting in the last few hours.
I’m cool with Jackson, probably be a nice change of pace to have a coach with a point guards perspective.
Based on Jackson’s commentary I think he may be slightly retarded.
Gendo, his comments do seem a little off kilter now that I read it again.
Why not. Kahn has never been a general manager. Jackson has never been a coach. Let the circus commence.
I’ve never been a blogger.
Jerry give me the reigns! I can introduce basketball sabermatics to your blog and be the resident skeptic.
Jerry, wasn’t the knock on McHale that he was a Glen Taylor crony? Jackson is what, a novice GM’s crony?
This franchise is in free fall. Gird your loins!
Marty I would love to join in your orgy of defeatism, but even though Jackson would not be my ideal choice I’m not going to string Kahn up until he actually makes a move.
Keep in mind we were all pretty sure a week or so ago that Mac was coming back.
So let’s let this and the draft play out before we start buying canned good and ammunition futures.
Also my loins are already well girded.
Mcfly and Gendo are you gals long lost semiretarded twins?
Hey, leave my loins out of this….
Sure the Wild are visionaries when they do the same thing. Instead the Wolves are free falling?
Arenal would you like to explain to the group why implying that either of us are women should somehow be insulting?
i think Jackson would be a good choice if Kahn lets him keep the microphone in his hands
I don’t believe Kahn has already decided on Jackson any more than I believed that he was trading Al for Amare. Kahn has been bluntly honest about everything else, so if he says it starts the 25, then it starts the 25th.
That said, I can definitely get behind Jackson as the head coach. He practically coached the Pacers during their earlier contending era (Larry Bird actually said something along the lines of “Jackson is the real coach, I just do substitutions”)
Just…please, don’t let him tell the terrible jokes he does on TV…if we’re going to let the coach gab to the media, we should really go after Jeff Van Gundy then…
BUT regardless of how much truth there is to this report, this is the second time we’ve been in the national media this week.
Even when Kahn does nothing, the interest he generates because of all the decisions he still has to make is putting us in the spotlight. Gotta appreciate that.
Here was my post on Wednesday, regarding Mark Jackson… seems more relevant today.
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For the record, I would also dig Mark Jackson. Credibility, credibility, ridiculous credibility. He’d need an experienced bench though. I would really like to see Jerry Sichsting on the bench one way or another. He was the Xs and Os guy for The Wolves this season and commands a lot of respect out there.
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Would Jackson, assisted by Sichsting, JB and Laimbeer intrigue anybody?
IMO, Laimbeer needs to take a step backwards in NBA responsibility before he goes forward. No way can you go from WNBA head coach to NBA head coach. Make Laimbeer and Sichsting the top two assistants to Jackson. Tons of playing credibility and basketball knowledge there.
I hated Jackson as a player because he was such a cocky s.o.b. but I might just like him as our coach….and if nothing else he’ll help our pg’s
Check out some of the coaches Mark Jackson played for in his 17-year career… lots of elite coaches entrusted Jackson with the “coach on the floor” role.
I tried to post a partial list of the coaches Jackson played for, but one of them must have a flagged last name because the list kept getting caught in the “awaiting moderation” snag.
Pat Riley
Larry Brown
Rick Pitino
Larry Bird
Jeff Van Gundy
Lenny Wilkins
Why can’t I post the name of Utah Jazz’s long-time head coach without it being flagged? Weird…
bryan, you’re right in regards to the Wolves being mentioned in the nat’l sports media. regardless of the reasoning, it is nice/different to see them on TV.
Just hire Jackson and get it over with… I’d love to have him involved in the decision of who we draft to be our future PG… hopefully Jrue Holiday!
I don’t believe anything anymore that cites “anonymous sources.” At this point Kahn has pretty good credibility as he insisted he would take his time with the McHale decision, which he did, and ultimately made a decision that people were not expecting as it dragged on. This being the case, I believe him now when he says he doesn’t have any cadidates picked out yet. I’m sure that’s a stretch as he has most certainly given it some thought but I’m sure he’s far from set on any candidate, much less Jackson.
The Jackson hire does nothing for me. We have no idea what kind of a coach he would be and you cannot base any evaluation solely on his on-court performance…if so Michael Jordan would currently be coaching the Bobcats to their second consecutive title. I actually doubt that Kahn would make this hire as it would be Jackson’s first ever coaching job. It’s like me, having never played organized basketball, signing a contract with the Wolves today simply because I’ve watched them play.
I don’t trust the source of the report at all, but do like the idea. Jackson seems to have the drive for the job - he wants it. And the list of coaches he has played under is extremely impressive.
If the Wolves brought in Jackson as the Head Coach they would have to bring in some very experienced Assistants. Any idea who those guys would be? I don’t like the idea of bringing back any of the current staff. They have done almost nothing to improve the young players on the roster and in some cases players seem to have gone backwards under their teaching.
I half jokingly said Chuck Person, who has connections to Kahn, might be a HC candidate. I wouldn’t be suprised if Jackson brought him in as an Assistant coach. Any chance Patrick Ewing would come over? Didn’t he and Jackson play together for quiet a while with the Knicks?
I think I have a read on Kahn now.
This is my guess as to how it will play out. There will be a lot of activity (trades, etc) around the draft and then the draft. Then a very slow, thorough, meticulous coaching search will begin. 2 weeks minimum. Possibly longer. We have to remember that free agency starts July 1, and I doubt that he’ll get it all wrapped up in a week.
One plus of going that way, is I think our line-up will be a lot more attractive in a few weeks, than it is now. That should attract a wider range of candidates who see a really good situation.
The coach will be very positive (as he stated), and will be willing to teach a young squad rather than need short term reward (no Larry Brown types). I think that was the main problem with McHale is he wanted to make the push to win now, and whoever comes in will have to be more patient than that.
Mark Jackson certainly fit that. I do think he’ll be a leading candidate. There was a lot of talk for him as the Knicks coach but they went with D’Antoni. I think he’d be a good fit.
But we are going to see a lot of names surface over the next month.
This Jackson talk reminds me of the Hoiberg for GM talk a month ago…Someone please make a better case for Jackson other than the generic “he would be a good fit.” Why? He has never been a head coach at any level. We have no clue of what his coaching style would be, of how he would manage line-ups and games, or how he would motivate players. Frankly, I have very little interest because what we end up with is a very young team being led by a very inexperienced coach. Sure, I like the idea of organically growing a competitive team but this only seems to make the road to legitimacy longer as Jackson would go through at least one full season of learning how to coach and would make myriad mistakes.
A current top assistant or former head coach makes much more sense for a young team needing discipline and guidance.
“A lot more attractive” how so ?
I’m amusing myself thinking about the possible pairing of McHale and Jeff Van Gundy on the ABC broadcasts next year.
That would actually be a good broadcast team.
Is there any chance Kahn could use his UCLA connections to bring Ben Howland to the NBA? I normally think hiring a College Coach is the wrong approach but I don’t see a lot of better options available right now.
Howland brings some discipline and defense while still knowing how to connect with the young players.
Swan,
If we have a good draft and pull off a trade or two. No matter what, our line-up is going to look better after the draft.
Mike,
The case for Jackson is pretty simple. He’s a pg who played for a long list of great coaches. Those who know him said he was a floor general type of guy and has a great mind for the game.
While I agree with many of your sentiments about having someone with experience, there are always exceptions to the rules. I think he is one.
So people think that the new honcho, in his first chance at the brass ring is going to entrust a team that is and will be in flux for 16 months and loaded with youngsters to a guy who has never coached?
Right.
If Mr. Jackson is so driven to be a head coach then why hasn’t he had the drive to sit on a bench as an NBA assistant or D-league coach? He couldn’t be bothered to even coach the women in the WNBA to show he has the chops.
If Kahn is smart enough to get the job and smart enough to get rid of McHale I assume he’s smart enough not to entrust his own future success to a guy who is a coaching cipher.
I think it is more likely that he will reach into his background and select someone he has interacted with in the D-league (especially since the Wolves of the next two years will look like an advanced D-league team) and pair him with an experienced guy in the first assistant’s chair.
If Mr. Jackson wants to get into coaching he can be 2nd or 3rd assistant and learn. I think he likes the caish and won’t do that.
Two big IFS Rodman.
Marvin Webster,
You were slow as hell in your career, but still you’d be the best center in Wolves history if you played here.
Hey, a lot of people were fine with McHale doing it, and he’s dumb as rocks.
Personally, I like PGs as coaches, rather than big men (though Phil Jackson is OK).
Just because he says some preposterious things during broadcasts doesn’t mean he can’t coach. I like the pick, every HOF’er needs to start somewhere. Why not us? …oh wait we’re the tpups.
Swan, Big ifs? Yes. Attainable ifs? Definitely.
Bmac,
I agree. And one plus for Jackson is I think he’d be a guy who would stick around.
A guy like JVG is always looking for the bigger better deal.
Trust me, you do not want to watch 82 games of Howland-Ball. It might be nice if he could convince Jefferson to play D, but chances are he’d just try to get rid of him.
Now enough of this coaching speculation. Can’t one of you sneak in and scout the PG workout this morning?
5&10,
I think you’re an ESPN Insider. I saw a headline that said, it’s down to three candidates for the Wolves job. Can you check it out?
Peter Vescey of NY Post said this:
“Mark Jackson is at the top (along with Mike Fratello and Sam Mitchell) of David Kahn’s interview list. The two enjoyed a solid relationship when the recently hired Timberwolves president was Pacers assistant GM under Donnie Walsh. Then again, I thought Kahn and I were boys when we worked at NBC and he still hasn’t told me he even applied for the Minnesota opening.”
Hahahahaha doesn’t everyone know that Vescey is an utter joke ?
Rodman,
It’s Jackson, Mitchell and Fratello.
Here’s an interesting report on the Knicks recent workout:
http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/blog/2009/06/most_underrated_player_in_the.html
Terrance Williams gets a lot of praise. It is said that Jordan Hill showed that he can hit the outside jumpshot. It is also said that Jennings more than held his own in a head to head with Evans.
I’m really starting to like the idea of Terrance Williams on the Wolves.
No Mitchell !
On the last post jama referenced Mark Eaton in a comparison to Thabeet. Keep in mind, Eaton was a two time defensive player of the year and an all star once. He was also on the all defensive first team 3 times and second team twice.
If Al Jefferson could develop into a Karl Malone like player and Thabeet a Marc Eaton type player then why wouldn’t a Jefferson/Thabeet frontcourt have a chance to be as good as Malone/Eaton. The Wolves would still need a star PG and a star SG or SF, but that is what this and next year’s draft and FA/trades can address.
Barring any trades to move up, I don’t think it likely the Wolves have a chance at Thabeet anyway.
Grizzlies hold key to 2009 draft
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
*
Buzz up!
*
Print
More From Adrian Wojnarowski
* Scout’s eye helped Bryant focus on title drive Jun 17, 2009
* Wolves’ new GM ousts head coach McHale Jun 17, 2009
Yahoo! Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies are trying to talk tough, saying they’re unafraid to draft Ricky Rubio with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, but no one believes them.
Nevertheless, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace finds himself in a tough spot. He has a volatile owner, Michael Heisley, puffing out his chest, and a player agent, Dan Fegan, threatening to embarrass the franchise should it try to take Rubio.
Apparently, Heisley has been as impatient as ever with Wallace. This ebbs and flows, but league sources say Pau Gasol’s(notes) marvelous play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship run has Heisley coming down on Wallace all over again for last year’s trade. Of course, Heisley pushed for the lousy Lakers deal, but that’s been lost in the revisionist history.
The Sacramento Kings had been the most likely team to cut a deal with Memphis to move into the second spot to take Rubio, but league sources say the Kings’ motivation to do so has waned. The Kings don’t want to give up Jason Thompson(notes) and their fourth pick to get to No. 2, especially considering there’s a chance Rubio could drop to Sacramento anyway. Fegan has no issues with Rubio in Oklahoma City or Sacramento, but he’ll be difficult if the point guard ends up in Memphis.
Minnesota’s offer of a package that includes Kevin Love(notes) and a first-round pick intrigues Wallace too, sources say.
Wallace is enamored with University of Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans but thinks he could move down and still draft him. Nothing happens in this draft until the Grizzlies make a decision; then the dominos will start to fall.
The Chicago Bulls are trying to convince the New Jersey Nets to take their 16th and 26th picks to move to No. 11, and one Eastern Conference executive says Chicago’s target is Wake Forest forward James Johnson.
Some say Johnson has been slipping and could be available at No. 16, but no one seems sure about anything in this draft.
The Nets are considering the proposal. They’ve been intrigued by Louisville shooting guard Terrence Williams at No. 11, but could be willing to drop down with the belief that North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough could be available at 16.
As for Johnson, if he somehow drops to No. 21, you can count on the New Orleans Hornets letting him pass. After playing pick-up ball with Johnson in Winston-Salem the past two summers, Hornets star Chris Paul(notes) has no use for him, several league sources said.
“He talked way too much trash to Chris,” one source insisted. “Bad idea.”
Mark Jackson is the top candidate for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ coaching job, with Bill Laimbeer as a likely member of his staff.
League executives say new GM David Kahn will hire a coach whom he can hold a hammer over, and certainly Jackson would owe him. Jackson has wanted to become a head coach since his retirement five years ago, but no one has shown an inclination to hire him right out of the television booth. Kahn’s ex-boss, New York Knicks GM Donnie Walsh, came the closest to taking that leap of faith until Mike D’Antoni became available.
Kahn was an executive in Indiana when Jackson played point guard for the Pacers.
Mike Fratello is eager for the job, too, but it’s unlikely he’ll be given the chance to coach a young team. Fratello pursued the Sacramento Kings’ job hard, but was rebuffed. Fratello and Kahn worked together at NBC Sports in the 1990s.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-draftnotes061909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Thanks for the post Forge. Lots of interesting stuff in there.
No problem Rodman. If Kahn get’s up to #2, is it more likely he takes Thabeet or Rubio? From what others have said, it seems he like Thabeet.
That’s a tough call. How can you pass on Rubio? But I do think he’s after Thabeet.
If they did Love and the 18 or 28 I could live this that. I wouldn’t trade Love and the 6.
Your right, Love is a proven commodity and from that article it looks like they are in a bit of predicament. I would like to hold on to #18 as well. Not sure what Kahn has up his sleeve.
I agree. Love should have just about equal value of everyone short of Blake Griffin. There are others with a higher ceiling though.
Sludge on KFAN is talking about the workouts now. Said Flynn looked good with all effort all the time. Said Evan seemed to look too relaxed and just the opposite of Flynn.
A higher ceiling than a walking double double ?
Just like McHale was supposed to help our bigs learn the game, what better coach to help Telfair and the PG that we (hopefully) draft than the second place all time assist man?
Love + a pick for Thabeet: At best, Thabeet can start, you move Al to 4, your team is has an inside presence, is marginally better defensively, no better at rebounding, and is worse offensively. A first round perimeter player is lost. More realistically, Thabeet is not a starter, and there is a significant hole in the front court, with no upgrade in the backcourt (assuming the #6 is lost) or you don’t get to gamble on an athletic wing/PG with the 18.
Love + a pick for Rubio. I like Rubio a lot, but now there is an enormous hole in the front court that is not going to be filled by Hill at 6, assuming the Wolves even keep that pick. The interior defense is even worse. No outside shooting help is obtained through the draft.
Keep Love and the #6+18: You draft a PG who has a 25-50% chance to be as good as Rubio over his career, albeit with a different style, improves the perimeter D, which helps make the it viable to keep a front court duo who can both bring a double/double each game. Then add a wing with big upside at the 18 to improve perimeter shooting.
Honestly I don’t see how giving up Love and a pick is worth either Thabeet or Rubio.
A guy who has established himself as a double double machine in the making (given more minutes) and hasn’t even got to his mature body (remember twig KG ?) should warrant us getting more.
Like Love for the #2 & a future second rounder. Love & a pick for either player seems like we are selling low and buying high…aka the complete thing Kahn didn’t want to do.
As per my Howland commetn earlier (and in regards to Holiday’s disappointing season at UCLA), this from SI:
“One general manager said of Holiday: “[UCLA’s] Ben Howland is an excellent college coach, but he had his thumb down so hard on that kid that he was afraid to take a shot at 15 feet. … I think the coach had him scared to take most shots.” The counter, of course, is that Howland’s primary job is to win at UCLA, not run a farm club for the pros.”
Let me ask the board this…all outside factors aside (i.e. our roster personnel) who do you think is the better player ? Love or Thabeet ?
Love, because you can’t question his basketball IQ.
Swan,
Love is a solid player. But Al’s not a center. Yeah I know. “It’s the perimeter defense that is poor.”
Please tell the one good team ever, that had soft big men, and good perimeter defenders, and that translated to a good defense. I’m genuinely curious.
Over the next 5 years even, I will answer that as Love is better than Thabeet. Long term, given work, improvement, and health, maybe Thabeet realizes a ceiling that is higher than Love.
I like Love for the intangibles in his game as much as his double-double game. I would love to see him run a pick & roll with a good PG.
The simple fact is we have two power forwards. If Al was a beast on the defensive end, we could live with his size but he’s not.
So the more appropriate question is who do you keep, Big Al or Love? They are two of our most tradeable assets. To get better you have to get rid of one.
Maybe Thabeet isn’t the big you go for. But you have to move one of those guys. Because Al and Love won’t cut it.
Rodman - Thats not the point of my question. The point of the Love or Thabeet as a better player was that you sell a quarter for a half dollar and not the other way around.
The only way you do Love + pick for Thabeet is if you think Thabeet > Love & Pick.
Which I don’t think is true in the least.
The other acceptable reason is if you go with the “fit” argument. But we haven’t even seen them together enough to know and we also don’t know if finding some other big man who can 10-20 minutes of D, screens and garbage putbacks alonside both Al & Love would work.
And neither Love or Al is soft. Guys who get hacked all the time and keep getting up (Al’s wasn’t because of a hack) aren’t soft…guys who get to the line as often as they do aren’t soft. Semantics I know, but just say their defense is suspect.
Love plus a pick for #2 is preposterous. Love was #5 in a better draft and now has one year of NBA experience. Straight-up is an interesting call. We know Love tries. We don’t know that Thabeet does.
I think keep Love, don’t move up, get the PG who comes to us, or take Evans and a PG (Maynor? Teague?) at #18. Get the center in free agency.
Or see if we can get Washington’s pick (plus filler) for Miller, Cardinal, Foye, and our lower first-rounder next year. Then Harden and Curry (or Holiday).
I would prefer to keep Love on the team and then get a real center.
But I just don’t think we have the assets.
My gut tells me that Thabeet is going to be like Mutumbo. And if that’s the case, then I’d trade him for Love in a heartbeat, because we’d be set for years at center. But honestly, I don’t know enough about him (i.e. seeing workouts, etc.) to make an informed enough opinion.
People may disagree, but I think Love and David Lee are very similar. They both put up double doubles, have nice offensive games, hustle and do a lot of intangibles, but both are disinterested on D (probably a better word than soft). Lee had to play center and that was disaster for the Knicks.
Lee is the reigning double-double champ this past year, and now is going to be able to cash in for close to $10 million per. Is he worth it? No way. Not for a team without a center.
So it’s my humble opinion, that we will have to move Love eventually.
I also think, and you’ll like this Swan, that we’re not going to be able to move up, so it’s all probably a moot point.
[…] Report claims ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson is the leading candidate to be the new Minnesota Timberwolves head […]
I do like that…unless its to move up to get Harden.
I say that this isn’t the year to give up on Love or Jefferson for a draft pick, especially on Thabeet. Love is more movable right now because of Jefferson’s injury. Great. Listen to offers. If you get a can’t miss deal, take it. Thabeet is not that deal.
Let Love/Jefferson play out this year. We see if Love gets better, which I think he will this coming season. We see if Jefferson is healthy and recovered. We then use either as an asset in what promises to be a better draft and explosive FA market. In fact, we start looking for deals starting at this year’s trade deadline as teams lock into position for the ‘10 FA market.
The only way you trade Love now is if you’re certain that his ceiling is pretty much how he played this past year. Then you sell high now… just not for Thabeet.
Rodman, I think you’re completely off with in thinking that Love is disinterested in D. I think he works hard on low post D, fighting for positoin with the same intensity he fights for rebounding space. He will get worked by faster, more explosive PFs, but hopefully he can improve on that. I just don’t think it’s from lack of effort.
Jefferson I don’t think puts in a lot of effort or concentration on the defensive end. I don’t think he’ll be a better defender at the 4 than in the center. I don’t think he wants to move out of the post to set screens, run pick and rolls and do the stuff that Love does as the 4 on the offensive end. So, if you want to get a textbook low post big, I think you pair him with Love, and deal Jefferson who should bring a better player in return. With Jefferson at the 4, you might need a more mobile, active center who will roam the floor on offense. I’d pair him with a guy like Biedrens, whose best offense is cutting to the basket in a ball movement offense, and who can bring the shot blocking and defend the big man in the post.
I agree with Jake in that I pair Jefferson and Love together this year. I am in no rush to fix that problem for the time being. Assuming that they solve any continuing front court problems by trading one of those guys for an established veteran rather than a prospect, you don’t need to get the center of the future in now so that he has time to develop along with the rest of the young club.
Most importantly, I want to bring in some offensive firepower so we can evaluate how Jefferson handles being one cog in the offensive machinery. Some of the decision going forward will come from that piece of information.
I am not interested in Evans or Derozan in the slightest. Flynn, Curry, or Holiday is what this team needs.
From Ford today….
Think the Timberwolves are looking for a point guard? They’ve got a huge workout today with most of the top point guard prospects attending. This morning Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague and Nando De Colo are all grinding it out. Later in the afternoon, Tyreke Evans will be in the house.
However, the two guys highest on the Wolves’ radar aren’t there — Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry.
The Wolves have been talking to the Grizzlies about moving up in the draft for the No. 2 pick and a shot at Rubio. However, a deal isn’t done yet and it’s unclear whether Rubio’s camp (which is being very selective about what team he plays for) wants anything to do with Minnesota.
Curry was supposed to shut down workouts after his visit with the Knicks, but since then he’s worked out in Washington and is scheduled to be in Sacramento on Saturday.
I’d love to have front row seats for that.
I’m open to trading Love or Al, but would prefer to keep them both next year. Al will average 20-10+ again, prove he’s healthy and likely make his first All-Star team. Love will get 30-35 mpg and wind up averaging 16-12 (not a huge stretch based on additional minutes). The value will be quite a bit higher on both of them 12 months from now.
The only type of pre-draft trade I’m personally interested in is packaging either Foye or Miller with some of our lower picks for either a Top-5 pick or a starter-quality “young veteran.” No interest in moving No. 6, Al or Love.
Love and Jefferson are very similar players. Trade one or the other and get a center, point guard or wing player. We can absorb the loss of Love or Jefferson if we draft a stud who plays the 2 or 3. Our offense centers too much on Jefferson; he should be option #2 on a contending team, which we have the opportunity to become with a few shrewd moves.
Trade Love, draft Thabeet and Flynn, bring in Jackson and Laimbeer… There are still options with Miller, Foye, etc. for trades to pick up a veteran wing player.
In Kahn we trust!
I don’t know where all the take about trading Love for Thabeet came up, but I think the most likely scenario that is being talked by the press about is trading Love for #2 to select Rubio and not Thabeet.
It’s also a consensus from most sports pundits that the Thunder have locked into Harden whether or not Thabeet is available.
If the top 5 plays out like the following
1. Girffin
2. Rubio (Wolves trade Love + 18)
3. Harden
4. Flynn, Evans, Curry or Jennings
5. Wizards? But they did just pick McGee who is a defensive center last year.
It’s possible you could trade Love + 18 to get Rubio at 2, sit tight, and watch Thabeet fall to you at #6.
Centrist,
I’d be o.k. with that scenario if there was a guarantee that Rubio would actually play for the Wolves. Sounds like his agent is threatening to “embarrass” the owner of the Grizzlies if they draft him. I’m concerned that he would do the same with us. Also, he hasn’t worked out for anybody. We just had several prospects in for the point guard extravaganza today! I would rather take Harden at 2 than Rubio. I do think that you are right and that there is a strong possibility that Thabeet falls down the board. IMO, Thabeet is a rare find and we would kick ourselves for not taking him if we can. We can still find a point guard with star potential at #6.
In Kahn we trust!
