but he hasn't figured out the solution is to resign as g.m.
--------------------------------------
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-timberwolveswrapup
Kevin McHale "It's my fault"
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Kevin McHale isn't going anywhere. Neither, he
says, is Kevin Garnett.
McHale, the Minnesota Timberwolves' vice president of basketball
operations, and coach Dwane Casey reflected Thursday on the franchise's
second straight disappointing season that included just 33 wins, the
team's lowest total since 1996.
"It was a very frustrating year, a very bad year for us," McHale said
in a rare press conference. "I'm in charge of the basketball
department, so everything that happens is on me. The bad year was my
fault. ... The buck stops with me. There's absolutely no excuses for
anything. I wish we had a lot better year and we didn't."
In recent seasons, McHale has retreated to his cabin in Northern
Minnesota to contemplate whether he wanted to return as the team's
basketball boss, a position he has held since owner Glen Taylor hired
him 11 years ago. No such retreat was needed this time around.
"I've already talked to Glen," McHale said. "***I'm coming back***.
Glen and I had a talk a couple weeks ago and he said, 'What do you
think?' I said, 'I'm very disappointed with this year' and I said,
'Glen this is not the way that I want to leave the Timberwolves, after
a 33-win season.' It's not the way I want to leave this team in this
spot."
ADVERTISEMENT
[0]
He pledged to roll up his sleeves this offseason and be "very active"
with trades and free agency to turn around a young team that often
looked lost during the season, even before backup center Mark Madsen
chucked seven 3-pointers in the final 12 minutes of a double-overtime
loss to Memphis in the season finale on Wednesday night.
Turnovers, poor defense and an inability to close out games plagued the
Wolves for most of this season, and the team never was able to forge a
working chemistry after a major midseason trade brought in four new
players from Boston and shipped longtime forward Wally Szczerbiak to
the Celtics.
With the losses piling up and their playoff hopes dashed by early
April, Casey and McHale decided to shut down Garnett and Ricky Davis
for the final six games of the season.
The move ensured that their two most important players were not
seriously injured in the final, meaningless, games of the season, their
younger players gained some valuable experience, and their draft
position improved.
While Garnett stewed on the sidelines, a vantage point he isn't used
to, the Timberwolves lost four of their last five games to finish tied
with Boston for the sixth-worst record in the league.
Garnett, who will turn 30 in May and is growing increasingly eager for
a better supporting cast, left the arena on Wednesday night without
commenting to the media, and he is certain to be the center of trade
rumors in the summer.
"Oh, by the way, Kevin Garnett's staying here," McHale said
definitively. "He's under contract, he wants to be here, he wants this
thing to work. ... He wants to make it work."
Just how much patience Garnett has with the process is unknown. He
hasn't spoken publicly since he last played on April 7. But McHale said
adding a perimeter shooter and a big rebounder are the two biggest
priorities heading into the offseason.
The team has the mid-level exception and a $4.2 million trade exception
to use on free agents this offseason, and also wants to re-sign
restricted free agent Justin Reed and unrestricted free agent point
guard Marcus Banks. But hefty contracts given to Garnett, Troy Hudson,
and Marko Jaric are eating up the team's salary cap room.
"Glen Taylor is very committed to extending the resources to get this
thing done," McHale said. "He's not going to worry about that. He's
going to do what it takes to get it done."
Whatever happens with trades and free agency, Casey said the team will
have to be better on defense and more mature down the stretch of close
games to avoid another losing season.
"There was nothing about this year that we're happy about," Casey said.
"There's frustration for everyone. But we do have a plan. The plan is
to get better in a lot of areas."
Perhaps forward Eddie Griffin summed it up best, after this agonizing
season was prolonged another 10 minutes on Wednesday night against
Memphis.
"It's definitely a relief that it's over," Griffin said. "It's been a
long season with a lot of ups and downs. We just want to put it behind
us."
FAQ
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
