Can McHale Defrost the Wolves?

Everyone who has visited or lived in the Twin Cities during this time of year knows how ridiculously cold it can get. What almost no one can figure out in Minnesota and around the NBA is the deep freeze the Timberwolves have plunged into.

Kevin McHale, Minnesota’s VP of Basketball Operations, finally took his team’s temperature on Saturday and decided to call 911. Actually, he called long time Timberwolves coach and longer time friend Flip Saunders to inform him he was being relieved of his coaching duties. Then McHale announced that he had a replacement for Saunders waiting in the wings - himself.

Nearly every preseason forecast had the Wolves and San Antonio meeting in the Western Conference finals, and many felt this would be Minnesota‘s year to win it all. Yet if the playoffs started today, Minnesota would be on the outside looking in, with Los Angeles - yes the Clippers, and Denver only one game back in the loss column for the 9th seed. How does a team that was the #1 seed in the West last year, two wins from the NBA Finals, and returning all their key players, go so far south so quickly? For starters, their home record is dismal for any team that has playoff hopes. Through Saturday, only five teams in the league have lost more games at home than the 12 the Wolves have dropped, and those five teams (Utah, Golden State, Charlotte, Atlanta, and New Orleans) are the five worst teams in the league. Their record against the Eastern Conference is an equally disturbing 7-13, one of only four teams in the West that don’t have a winning record against the East (again, see Utah, Golden State, New Orleans). If you can’t dominate at home, and against the East, you aren’t going far in the West.

At least give McHale credit for trying to clean up the mess he largely created. The blame for the NBA’s biggest bust this season sits squarely on his shoulders. Saunders is a quality guy and a good coach who truly paid his coaching dues on the way to the NBA. But he wasn’t the right guy for the Wolves, and McHale let his friendship with Saunders cloud that reality. If Saunders had coached anywhere else, in any pro sport, he would have been gone long before having the chance to lose in the first round of the playoffs his first seven tries. Regular season wins are nice, playoff series wins are mandatory. McHale was apparently satisfied with that nice regular season record, until a shortage of those wins jeopardized another trip to the playoffs.

The Wolves’ current roster presents some serious challenges for any coach. McHale had to know he was playing with fire by obtaining Latrell Sprewell, and it’s coming back to burn him. Sprewell has become an aging two guard who can’t feed his family on $14+ million a year. Sam Cassell was brilliant last year but is suddenly an aging point guard, and he followed Spree’s opening with his own contract demands. Then there’s Michael Olowokandi, who must have finally realized his NBA gravy train is parked on a side track, given his recent auditions as a closing time nightclub act and a boxer. McHale made this bed, and he has less than two weeks to extricate himself before the trade deadline. All three players need to go, but with contract and cap issues, can you move them, and what can you get in return to salvage the Wolves’ season? McHale’s cell phone better be charged, with extra batteries in his pocket, because this task is going to require a lot of talking, much of it from the sides of his mouth. The best guess is McHale probably can’t make the kind of changes needed by the trade deadline to right the Timberwolves. He no doubt realized this, and figures his best chance is to try and coach a turn around with the talent he has.

Which brings us to McHale’s ace in the hole, MVP Kevin Garnett. The Wolves are often referred to as “Kevin’s Team”, and many are quick to cite what a great leader he is. Garnett may be the best all around basketball player on the planet, but great leaders don’t ever let their teams implode. Saunders let KG run the show, which lately has meant far too many no and one pass possessions. Maybe Garnett has lost confidence in his teammates abilities, or maybe he is just playing for his own stats. If McHale can get Garnett on his page, both on the floor and in the locker room, the Wolves have a chance to make the playoffs, perhaps a draw with San Antonio in the first round instead of the conference finals.

That’s a long way from the lofty expectations, and probably means the Timberwolves will have a chance to warm up quickly - on the golf course.