Matt
10-29-2007, 09:51 AM
Monday, October 29, 2007
Chris McCosky: Commentary
Owner blames Pistons' Saunders for Timberwolves' woes (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION03/710290388/1127/SPORTS0102)
AUBURN HILLS -- Your franchise is a mess. Your team has little to no chance of being competitive this season. Your general manager is being shredded in the media. What do you do?
Well, if you are Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, you blame it all on Flip Saunders, the guy he fired three years ago, just months after Saunders led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals.
Talk about revisionist history -- this is a classic.
In a rambling and bizarre interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Taylor said, "I probably would say, just as I like Flip and he's a good friend of mine and he gets a lot of the credit, I think a lot of these things people are saying Kevin (McHale, the general manager) did, I would tell you probably Flip did them and Kevin got criticized for them."
One example Taylor cited was the Timberwolves losing free agent Chauncey Billups to the Pistons in 2002.
"Kevin came to me and asked me for the money," Taylor said. "He wanted to keep Chauncey, and I OK'd it. And Flip didn't think Chauncey was going to make it. So Kevin said we're crazy to spend this kind of money on a guy if the coach is saying that Chauncey isn't going to make it."
That isn't at all what actually happened.
"Yeah, I don't remember it happening like that," Billups said Sunday.
What happened was, Taylor and McHale were paying Terrell Brandon $8 million a year to be the point guard. Saunders was up front with Billups, telling him honestly that Brandon was still the first-team point guard. You don't pay a guy $8 million to sit on the bench, not in a small market like Minnesota.
"I probably could have gotten the money, but if I came back, I would still be coming off the bench and that was my reason for leaving," Billups said.
Taylor went on to say that players like Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell and Kevin Garnett had quit on Saunders, which is odd because Saunders to this day maintains a close relationship with all three.
Even Taylor seems to contradict himself on this issue.
"I'm just saying, a lot of the guys that left here, KG (Garnett) kind of points out that it was (because of) Kevin," Taylor said. "I say, 'KG, you even know better. You were here on the gosh-darn team.' KG says, 'Well, I really liked it when Flip was here; when we got rid of Flip, that's what made it bad for me.' I says, 'well, KG, where were you when I asked you, do you want Flip? You didn't want Flip.' He says (he wanted him) now."
Taylor went on: "We knew that (Sam) Cassell and (Latrell) Sprewell had given up on Flip. That was a problem. But I was willing to deal with that issue. As a matter of fact, I told Flip to sit them on the bench and don't even play them, if that's a problem. And he didn't do it."
This is laughable. If Cassell and Sprewell had any problem, it was with McHale and Taylor because they steadfastly refused to give either a contract extension after the team went to the conference finals. It had nothing to do with Saunders.
Saunders, of course, is exasperated by all of this.
"It's been three years," he said. "At some point you have to let it go. If I was running for president, I would say, 'Are you better off today than you were three years ago? If you are, then you made a smart decision. If you are not, maybe there were other factors involved.'"
Let's see, three years ago, the Timberwolves were 58-24, having posted five straight winning seasons and eight straight playoff appearances. They haven't made the playoffs since, were 33-49 last year and have traded Garnett to Boston.
I would say that Taylor picked the wrong scapegoat, and, judging from the rest of the interview, Taylor may agree. He skewers McHale just about as much as he does Saunders.
"That's not to say Kevin hasn't done some things wrong that I got kind of ticked at him for," Taylor said. "But they're kind of other things, some of the trades, some of this type of stuff that he probably should have looked at more, checked into the character of guys more, done more work on them."
Really? Just little things like trades, knowing how to judge talent and character -- little things?
Taylor also went on to say that if he thought Fred Hoiberg (assistant general manager) was ready, he would ask McHale to step down. How's that for a ringing endorsement?
Taylor just sounds like a guy who's in way over his head. The more he points fingers at others, the worse he makes himself look. He hired McHale, after all. He did oversee the whole Joe Smith fiasco that cost the Timberwolves several first-round draft picks.
To blame the collapse of the organization on the one guy who managed to make it somewhat successful is shameful and I hope the good fans in Minneapolis-St. Paul aren't buying his nonsense.
Not interested
In another classic Timberwolves move, they are trying to buy Juwan Howard out of the $14 million he's owed over the next two years. They had acquired him from Houston for Mike James last summer when they thought they would still have Garnett. So, the organization will eat another large chunk of money without getting anything to show for it.
That's probably Flip's fault, too.
By the way, the Pistons are not likely to pursue Howard should he get his buyout. Joe Dumars has said repeatedly he's not interested in having four veteran big men on the team, which is one of the reasons Chris Webber was not re-signed.
Back soon
Jason Maxiell was excused from practice on Sunday to tend to a family matter. He is expected back today.
Interesting fodder for debate.
Remember, the NBA season isn't the NBA season without a condescending McCosky article.
:mccosky:
You're all stupid.
Chris McCosky: Commentary
Owner blames Pistons' Saunders for Timberwolves' woes (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION03/710290388/1127/SPORTS0102)
AUBURN HILLS -- Your franchise is a mess. Your team has little to no chance of being competitive this season. Your general manager is being shredded in the media. What do you do?
Well, if you are Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, you blame it all on Flip Saunders, the guy he fired three years ago, just months after Saunders led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals.
Talk about revisionist history -- this is a classic.
In a rambling and bizarre interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Taylor said, "I probably would say, just as I like Flip and he's a good friend of mine and he gets a lot of the credit, I think a lot of these things people are saying Kevin (McHale, the general manager) did, I would tell you probably Flip did them and Kevin got criticized for them."
One example Taylor cited was the Timberwolves losing free agent Chauncey Billups to the Pistons in 2002.
"Kevin came to me and asked me for the money," Taylor said. "He wanted to keep Chauncey, and I OK'd it. And Flip didn't think Chauncey was going to make it. So Kevin said we're crazy to spend this kind of money on a guy if the coach is saying that Chauncey isn't going to make it."
That isn't at all what actually happened.
"Yeah, I don't remember it happening like that," Billups said Sunday.
What happened was, Taylor and McHale were paying Terrell Brandon $8 million a year to be the point guard. Saunders was up front with Billups, telling him honestly that Brandon was still the first-team point guard. You don't pay a guy $8 million to sit on the bench, not in a small market like Minnesota.
"I probably could have gotten the money, but if I came back, I would still be coming off the bench and that was my reason for leaving," Billups said.
Taylor went on to say that players like Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell and Kevin Garnett had quit on Saunders, which is odd because Saunders to this day maintains a close relationship with all three.
Even Taylor seems to contradict himself on this issue.
"I'm just saying, a lot of the guys that left here, KG (Garnett) kind of points out that it was (because of) Kevin," Taylor said. "I say, 'KG, you even know better. You were here on the gosh-darn team.' KG says, 'Well, I really liked it when Flip was here; when we got rid of Flip, that's what made it bad for me.' I says, 'well, KG, where were you when I asked you, do you want Flip? You didn't want Flip.' He says (he wanted him) now."
Taylor went on: "We knew that (Sam) Cassell and (Latrell) Sprewell had given up on Flip. That was a problem. But I was willing to deal with that issue. As a matter of fact, I told Flip to sit them on the bench and don't even play them, if that's a problem. And he didn't do it."
This is laughable. If Cassell and Sprewell had any problem, it was with McHale and Taylor because they steadfastly refused to give either a contract extension after the team went to the conference finals. It had nothing to do with Saunders.
Saunders, of course, is exasperated by all of this.
"It's been three years," he said. "At some point you have to let it go. If I was running for president, I would say, 'Are you better off today than you were three years ago? If you are, then you made a smart decision. If you are not, maybe there were other factors involved.'"
Let's see, three years ago, the Timberwolves were 58-24, having posted five straight winning seasons and eight straight playoff appearances. They haven't made the playoffs since, were 33-49 last year and have traded Garnett to Boston.
I would say that Taylor picked the wrong scapegoat, and, judging from the rest of the interview, Taylor may agree. He skewers McHale just about as much as he does Saunders.
"That's not to say Kevin hasn't done some things wrong that I got kind of ticked at him for," Taylor said. "But they're kind of other things, some of the trades, some of this type of stuff that he probably should have looked at more, checked into the character of guys more, done more work on them."
Really? Just little things like trades, knowing how to judge talent and character -- little things?
Taylor also went on to say that if he thought Fred Hoiberg (assistant general manager) was ready, he would ask McHale to step down. How's that for a ringing endorsement?
Taylor just sounds like a guy who's in way over his head. The more he points fingers at others, the worse he makes himself look. He hired McHale, after all. He did oversee the whole Joe Smith fiasco that cost the Timberwolves several first-round draft picks.
To blame the collapse of the organization on the one guy who managed to make it somewhat successful is shameful and I hope the good fans in Minneapolis-St. Paul aren't buying his nonsense.
Not interested
In another classic Timberwolves move, they are trying to buy Juwan Howard out of the $14 million he's owed over the next two years. They had acquired him from Houston for Mike James last summer when they thought they would still have Garnett. So, the organization will eat another large chunk of money without getting anything to show for it.
That's probably Flip's fault, too.
By the way, the Pistons are not likely to pursue Howard should he get his buyout. Joe Dumars has said repeatedly he's not interested in having four veteran big men on the team, which is one of the reasons Chris Webber was not re-signed.
Back soon
Jason Maxiell was excused from practice on Sunday to tend to a family matter. He is expected back today.
Interesting fodder for debate.
Remember, the NBA season isn't the NBA season without a condescending McCosky article.
:mccosky:
You're all stupid.