March 18, 2008

read story | posted by lilnemo to Basketball at 5:27 PM CDT (21 comments total)

Wow. Those grapes are so sour. KG is the only good thing that has ever happened to the T'wolves you'd think the owner would show a little more respect even if he's gone now.

As for the tanking, I don't really care. 50+ losses and a chance at DurOden is enough to make anyone's quad hurt. I was openly rooting against my bucks last year at about this time and I'm not sure why Davis would want ping pong ball stealing victories so badly.

posted by tron7 at 6:25 PM CDT on March 18

Attn: News Media
Re: Trolls

Don't feed them.

posted by yerfatma at 7:34 PM CDT on March 18

As a Minnesotan (and only a loose NBA fan when the Wolves are relevant), this is an embarrassing and stupid thing for Taylor to say. Talking about Garnett tanking when you have Mark Madsen -- a guy who shoots slam dunks at around 50% -- jacking up 3s during OT sessions is flat out ridiculous. Even if Garnett was tanking, there is no way one can say it wasn't a full team effort.

posted by TheQatarian at 10:41 PM CDT on March 18

Attn: News Media
Re: Trolls

Don't feed them.

But... that's their job. You can't fill 24 hours a day on sports talk radio without building up some controversy here and there. It's not every day that an owner calls out a franchises only star in it's history for "tanking".

posted by tron7 at 11:01 AM CDT on March 19

Attn: News Media
Re: Trolls

Don't feed them.

I'm trying to see what Taylor gets out of this. Its not as if he's trying to shield himself from bad publicity over the trade. In most circles, people are glad Taylor allowed Garnett to move on to a team with actual title aspirations. He really hasn't gotten much criticism (to my eye) over the pieces of the trade (not that they were all that bad). Any blame for that has largely fallen on McHale.

Maybe this was just an owner lashing out during a losing season (we've seen it before, this season even. Thank you Mr. Sterling). Maybe Taylor was feeling trader's remorse. I don't know. Any way you spin it, this was a stupid statement. In a few years, Garnett is going to retire. He's going to get into the Hall of Fame. Is it a good idea to alienate the defining player of your franchise?

posted by lilnemo at 11:32 AM CDT on March 19

KG's reaction to the comments is in this article in today's Boston Globe. If there are any potential free agents who might be considering Minnesota as a place to play, pay heed to Mr. Taylor's words.

posted by Howard_T at 12:12 PM CDT on March 19

From the article that Howard linked:

"Kevin's Kevin," said Cassell. "Ask anyone in this organization if Kevin tanks anything. Games? Practice? I wish he did tank a couple practices."

posted by Venicemenace at 1:35 PM CDT on March 19

Wow. I mean, I can understand the Minnesota fans maybe being disgruntled that their team is going absolutely NO WHERE, and their management gave up one of the best players in basketball...etc, etc. But why would you even make a comment like that from an official position? Taylor just made himself look like an idiot, especially to people in Minnesota who actually appreciated KG while he was there.

posted by revsfan_3313 at 5:17 PM CDT on March 19

Yeah right. Does this really looks like a guy that tanks it or that doesn't care?

Sounds like sour grapes to me. Like the old saying goes, "You never know what you had until it's gone."

posted by BornIcon at 7:51 AM CDT on March 20

I hope it not something in the water that KM drank while he was playing in Boston. This is very similiar to what appears to be happening at Indiana, and he and LB drank the same water. I am a very loyal Bird fan but it seems that he and Kevin should have stayed out of the management end of the business and rode their white horse into the sunset after they retired from playing the game.
Maybe there was a reason the Celtics did not want either player after they retired.
The same goes for the situation in New York, with their current coach.
IT was not offered anything in Detriot after his retirement.

posted by sportnut at 10:48 AM CDT on March 20

Well, other than Bird being terrific as a coach and the fact the Celtics did want him, spot on.

posted by yerfatma at 11:01 AM CDT on March 20

As much as I rag on McHale, he did what he could with the money Taylor afforded him. The one time he was given the green light to spend, the Wolves ended up in the WC Finals. Though the Joe Smith deal pretty much overshadows anything he's done since.

Bird took over a playoff team, ousted Isiah, hired Carlisle, and was on the verge of a huge playoff run. And then his club went apeshit in Detroit. I don't really see how you can blame him for that. Until Bird shakes loose the rest of the remnants of that squad (Tinsley, Jermaine O'Neal), and their bad contracts, its going to be hard to judge his work with the club. The question is whether he wants to stick around long enough to rebuild.

posted by lilnemo at 11:44 AM CDT on March 20

Well it's bullshit. KG couldn't tank a charity game with Special Olympians. It's a sorry excuse for a sorry year, sorry trade and general sorry state.

But the TWolves certainly wanted to tank. I seem to recall Mark Madsen becoming quite the crunch-time player late in the year. I assume that's because he's awesome.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 4:24 PM CDT on March 20

I guess I'm showing my ignorance but when was Bird a head coach in the NBA? I'm serious, when was Bird a head coach in the NBA, was it with the Pacers? I'm embarassed that I don't know when.
Please don't get me wrong , like I said I'm a huge Larry Bird fan. I would like to know why the Pistons got over the fall-out from the fight, and a few seasons later the Pacers are still in shock.
I really don't think Jermaine can be blamed he has not had a very good supporting cast the last 2 seasons.

posted by sportnut at 5:22 PM CDT on March 20

when was Bird a head coach in the NBA?

Its right here. He coached the Pacers from 1998-2000. They lost the EC Finals in 98 and 99. They advanced to the NBA Finals in 2000 and lost to the Lakers.

I would like to know why the Pistons got over the fall-out from the fight, and a few seasons later the Pacers are still in shock.

The Pacers had finished the 2004 season with a 61-21 record. They lost the EC Finals 4 games to 2 in a closely contested series to the eventual NBA champion Pistons. The following season they opened up the season with a 6-2 record heading into the palace. This is a team that hadn't missed the playoffs since 97, all while rebuilding on the fly around O'Neal. This was a team that was prepared to make the next step. In the fallout from the brawl Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games) and postseason (13 games), Stephen Jackson for 30 games, Jermaine for 25 games (later reduced to 25), Anthony Johnson for 5, Reggie for 1.

And the Pistons? Ben Wallace 6 games, Billups, Campbell, Coleman 1 game.

With the Pacers short 2 of their leading scorers, and forced to rely on green players like James Jones, Fred Jones, Eddie Gill and Tremaine Fowlkes, the quick start they had enjoyed ground to a halt. The Pistons ran away with the Central Division while the Pacers clawed their way into the 6th seed of the playoffs. The teams met in the playoffs, and the Pistons won the series. Much of the personnel from the Pacers 05 squad still bare the stigma of the incident. Most notably Artest and Jackson. The coverage of the incident over the season adversely effected both players value, to the team and on the open market. As such, when the groundswell of bad sentiment rose against the players from the Pacers fans, the team was forced to deal Artest and Jackson for somewhat less than fair value. Which goes a long way to explaining why the Pacers, a small market team, are paying close to the cap maximum and yet possess the 5th worst record in their conference. 2005, the season of the Brawl, was the last time the Pacers finished with a record above .500

06 record 41-41
07 record 35-47
08 record 27-41

posted by lilnemo at 7:10 PM CDT on March 20

Well at least one of them is a class act. I liked the fact that KG didn't go back and forth with Taylor... He obviously had a good run with the T-wolves over the years and he now can play with a team that can win... Sounds like an owner was ticked for losing a great player that wanted a chance to win...

posted by bruce2ww at 8:03 AM CDT on March 21

Thanks lilemo

posted by sportnut at 9:23 AM CDT on March 21

Maybe there was a reason the Celtics did not want either player after they retired.

And where are you geetting this from? Bird had the Pacers one step away from the NBA Finals, and came in as Eastern Conference runner-up twice as a head coach. He worked as a Special Assistant in the Celtics' front office from '92 - '97, and could have taken over for Chris Ford as Boston's Head Coach if he'd wanted the position.

As for McHale, for all the stupid things he's done with the T'Wolves, he did hire Flip Saunders as the franchise's first Head Coach, and he drafted KG in the first place.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:10 AM CDT on March 21

speaking KG what an amazing job he did on guarding nowinski...........absolutely amazing!

the celetics have become the team to watch.....................just to enjoy seeing basic principals of the game at their best

posted by feetxxxl at 10:18 AM CDT on March 21

ok,ok, I admit ignorance. I am not a professional basketball fan so I didn't know those stats. It's the NBA, I guess you could call that basketball.
But I do know enough to know that KM also fired Flip Saunders and couldn't do anything with one of the best players of our time. Play-off appearences don't count, did they win the title,NO.
So I guess his so called genius is a wash.

posted by sportnut at 3:18 PM CDT on March 21

I never called McHale a genius, and while Bird never won the title as coach, I think your assesment of him...

I am a very loyal Bird fan but it seems that he and Kevin should have stayed out of the management end of the business and rode their white horse into the sunset after they retired from playing the game.
Maybe there was a reason the Celtics did not want either player after they retired.

...was a bit off the mark. That's all.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:14 PM CDT on March 21

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