Surprise, surprise… It’s late July and there’s very little Timberwolves news out there on this fine Monday morning. Here’s what we managed to scrounge up for you today.
Chris Paul to the Wolves???
via Joe Gerrity at Hornets247.com
But if he won’t listen to reason then get number three out of New Orleans for the best talent possible no matter who offers it. Chris Paul doesn’t want to play for David Kahn and the Timberwolves? Tough. Nobody cares.
I really don’t see this happening, and neither do the folks at H247.com. Needless to say, it’s never a good thing when a trade to your team is considered the ultimate “eff you” to a star who’s worn out his welcome.
HoopsWorld Ranks Wolves Last in the West
by Susan Bible
15. Minnesota Timberwolves – The rebuilding process continues. David Kahn, President of Basketball Operations, was frank last year in saying they are a couple years away from making any noise. And so the changes just keep on coming, presumably leading them on a path to perceived glory when Ricky Rubio finally makes the move to the NBA next year. Still, sending your best player away (Al Jefferson with 17.1 points per game/9.3 boards last year) doesn’t seem exactly sound, but Kahn is focused on giving Kevin Love his chance. Most eyes will be squarely on how new acquisition, Michael Beasley, performs in Minnesota. People scoffed at the Darko Milicic re-signing, but Kahn is a believer. The latest move was adding Luke Ridnour, and his goal is to challenge promising Johnny Flynn for the starting point guard position. Funny, that’s what Rubio’s goal will be, too. The Wolves have signed their two first-round picks in the 2010 draft, Wesley Johnson (taken fourth overall and should impact right away) and Lazar Hayward.
Hey, if the above trade goes through, the #14 Hornets could eeeeeeeeasily swap places with us. All hope is not lost!
Kahn off limits?
via Jerry Zgoda’s Twitter acount
How long do you think new #Timberwolves media policy – all requests for David Kahn go thru PR, no more texting or calling him – will last?
Could this be some backlash from the Be Easy “smoked too much marajuana” comment? I know that this personally upsets me. The Jeff VanGundy/David Kahn interview was such a rousing success. The fact that a road block has been set up for a repeat is a little frustrating.
On a semi-related note, how much do you think the Kahnster makes per year? I was thinking that if I were fined $50k, I’d be seriously hurting financially. Obviously the Kahn Man is pocketing significantly more coin than I am, but how much more? What is Kahn’s “value” to the team? Does Glen Taylor, who has to be losing tons of money from this team, spend $500k, $1M, or even more for Kahn’s basketball “expertise”? And what makes Kahn soooooo qualified that he would deserve a massive salary like that over, say, you or I?
Granted, Taylor is trusting Kahn to run his franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars and relying on him to wisely spend tens of millions each year in salaries for the team’s players. That alone probably makes Kahn’s salary in the seven figures annually. But it does raise some questions. I get that Kobe Bryant makes $10 Million plus per season because he can do things that I physically can’t and get millions of people to watch him do it. But what does the Kahnster do that you or I can’t do? Pick Wes Johnson over DMC?
I’m not saying that Kahn doesn’t deserve what he’s making (I dont’ even know what he’s making) or that he’s bad at his job. I’m just wondering what qualifies somebody to earn that kind of coin for their basketball insight. Even a guy like McHale, who’s an NBA legend, might add some prestige or credibility to the position (ironic as that is), so I get where he could be worth a large salary as compared to any knowledgeable fan off the street.
What are your thoughts?