From Steve Aschburner/SI.com: McHale’s ouster appears to be latest in long line of bad decisions
McHale’s 16-year association with the Wolves, which began immediately after his Hall of Fame stay of 13 years with the Celtics and rapidly advanced him into the role of Minnesota’s chief basketball officer from May 1995 to December 2008, ended Wednesday not with a bang, not even with a whimper, but with a tweet. Forward Kevin Love, letting technology get ahead of the task, passed along info he had gotten privately from McHale by posting to Twitter for all the world to see: “Today is a sad day … Kevin McHale will NOT be back as head coach this season.”

That’s how the news got out, a bit of bad form that should earn the franchise a new nickname — consider them the Tweet-Wolves now. Beyond the style, though, there’s this substance: McHale did a pretty good job as coach over the final 63 games of the 2008-09 season. Certainly respectable (13-18 with Al Jefferson in the lineup, 20-43 overall) given the team’s 6-13 mark when he took over for Randy Wittman…

Politics matter. In this case, it is office politics. The belief within the basketball department — and in various corners of the NBA, too — is that front-office maneuverings are dictating the Wolves’ decisions these days. The team’s CEO, Rob Moor, is one of Taylor’s two sons-in-law working in executive capacities. Moor took a larger role in Kahn’s recruiting and hiring. Previously, he also never had much clout with the basketball side, with McHale & Co. routinely bypassing him in dealing directly with Taylor, and that didn’t necessarily stop when McHale was “demoted” to the bench in December, his executive privileges allegedly curtailed. That bit back Wednesday.

From Stop-n-Pop/Canis Hoopus: McHale fires the first shot
Have we just encountered our first sports news story broken on Twitter? K-Love reveals that “Today is a sad day…Kevin McHale will NOT be back as head coach for this season.” Al Jefferson has also threatened to be  “very, very upset” if the Ostrich goes. Closed circuit to both of them — get over it. Can we, once and for all, obliterate the mythology that has attempted to turn Ostrich into a legend on the basis of one good month?
Depends on whom you ask. At least Kahn finally came to the decision that it was a necessary day. It took him almost four weeks to announce what really was a no-brainer. McHale had to go. It doesn’t matter how well he coached. The public perception is that he has put the Wolves in a bind through his failings as general manager.

This franchise is struggling. A new GM brings new hope. But the change had to go beyond that. The coach had to go, too. And some of these players are going to have to go. This was no time for partial measures. Again, I thought McHale was solid behind the bench. But the organization had to make a break. The only thing it has to sell to the public right now is change.

Kahn took so long to make a decision, really stretched it out, as sort of a sign of respect to McHale. Yet I can’t believe he ever seriously considered keeping him.

From Scott Henneboehle/Wolves Watch: McHale ousted as coach, 15 year reign over
Despite his love of the game, McHale never hid the fact that he loathed the coaching lifestyle: the travel, the relentless scrutiny, having to deal with the media, etc. That in mind, our guess is that his players are more disappointed at the news than he is.
From Tony Sullivan/Bleacher Report: Kevin McHale’s “Making a Mistake” Comment Oozes with Irony