Zepplin, can you believe you and I predicted 35 wins for the Wolves?!

[BleedGopher]

Wow, the last two nights (heck, the entire season...heck, the last few years...) have just been BRUTAL.

I don't know how Whittman keeps his job by Tuesday night's game. It's clear the little talent we have has no interest in playing for him. This franchise is in complete disarray.

Combine how high NBA tickets are priced at + how bad the Wolves are + how bad the economy is = a disaster.

I'm not sure what firing Whittman will do other than to show that the powers that be actually have a pulse over there, but I can't think of a bigger disaster than we currently have. It's very frustrating and disappointing.

Howl Wolves!!

[BleedGopher]

ESPN.com article RIPS the Wolves, says Whittman and McHale ran the franchise into the ground:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=kmwittman-081206

Howl Wolves!!

[coolhandgopher]

I thought Wittman would be sitting in the stands of Williams Arena today, having been fired by now, but for some reason this franchise just keeps trudging along with Wittman and McHale although nothing is working for them.

Edit: I see that Wittman was at the game, but I thought by now he wouldn't have his night job to run off to.

[MNSnowman]

Did you guys predict 35 wins in one year? I thought it was over two seasons.

[BleedGopher]

From Zgoda's blog:

"The Wolves play again Tuesday against Utah at Target Center. Interesting tidbit. Tuesday, Dec. 9, is the 20th anniversary of Utah’s hiring Jerry Sloan, now the longest tenured coach in any pro sport. In their 19-plus seasons, the Wolves already have gone through Bill Musselman, Jimmy Rodgers, Sidney Lowe, Bill Blair, Flip Saunders, Dwane Casey, Kevin McHale and now Randy Wittman."

And this part, which I totally agree with:

"To whoever coaches them Tuesday, here are my two bits, for all that it’s worth: Except for rare exceptions, forget shaping the lineup and rotation due to nightly matchups. Put the guys you’ve committed yourself to out there and play them together, every night for 30 or 35 minutes or more for the next four months and see what they do. Then decide how to proceed.

Let Randy Foye play the point for the entire season. Keep him there and let him float or sink. (Yes, of course he’s not a true point, but see if he can become an effective “scoring point.”) Mike Miller’s your 2 guard, Ryan Gomes your starting 3 man, Love your power forward and Jefferson your center, or vice versa. Let them go and see if any of them can fly. Telfair, Craig Smith, Jason Collins and Rashad McCants (if he doesn’t drive you completely crazy when he’s in there) are your guys off the bench.

If you get to April and you’re convinced there’s no way Foye can be a consistent NBA point guard but he can be score at the other guard spot, draft the best point guard you can get or make a deal for one next summer. Then try to trade McCants for something, anything or simply don’t make him an offer when his option comes up in July and make Foye your instant offense guy off the bench."

http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/wolves/2008/12/07/rock-bottom-do-wolves-hit-it-with-disheartened-loss-to-clippers/?location_refer=Homepage:PromoScroller:Blogs

Howl Wolves!!

[Zeppelin Gopher]

I'm shocked that Wittman hasn't been fired already. The fact that he still has a job tells me that something bigger could be in play here. Zgoda mentions in his blog that McHale was seen hugging both Jefferson and Foye in the trainers room after the game last night. Could McHale be on his way out along with Wittman?

I agree with Zgoda's take on the roster and the coaching situation. The team may lack talent but it is no where near as bad as it has looked. Wittman's crazy roster shuffles and lineup changes are the act of a desperate man. This is McHale's mess and if he is kept around than he needs to clean it up. Install him as the coach and see what happens for the rest of the season.

[rychart45]

the problem is who do you put in place as the interim coach if you fire wittman? sichting might be a worse option than wittman from a player morale standpoint, jb bickerstaff is much too inexperienced to be an option, and dean cooper has been a player personnel guy the past handful of years. mchale could take over but i'm not sure anyone would show up at the target center if that happened. and i can't see hoiberg as an option. they would have to look outside the organization, and i'm pretty sure flip is enjoying his year off. bad situation for the pups.

[Bad Gopher]

Adding insult to injury...

From the game summary of the New Orleans vs Memphis game Saturday: "Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, giving him double-figures scoring in his first 20 NBA games, the longest such streak since Larry Bird hit double digits in his first 20 games with Boston in 1979-80."

Oh, and Mario Chalmers scored 15, including shooting 3-for-6 on three-pointers, and added a steal for the 11-9 Miami Heat.

I think the biggest vice of people like McHale and Isaiah Thomas, who casually take jobs they're not qualified or able to do, is conceit. Because of their playing prowess, they're pretty sure they can do anything well because they're, well, Kevin McHale and Isaiah Thomas. That's also what empowers and emboldens them to do crazy, stupid things when given the power. They're just that conceited.

[weezy]

Firing Wittman during the season won't solve anything. They needed to get rid of him before the season started. Unless they plan on bringing in a coach from outside the franchise, i don't see any benefit in having one of the assistants step in to finish out the year.
The wolves are pretty hopeless. They are a team of one dimensional players. I can't think of a single player that excels (or even is average) at both offense and defense. Guys like Jefferson, Foye, Miller, and McCants can score but can't defend, and guys like Brewer and Smith can defend but can't consistently score. They are a team full of roll players. Jefferson is a top level scorer but he isn't a superstar.
How long until they are the Las Vegas Timberwolves?

[weezy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3753352

sounds like Wittman is on his way out ...

[jamiche]

Since he doesn't want to add extra salary and since nobody in house wants to go near the squad maybe Taylor should coach the team. He sits right there next to the team every night so all he would have to do would be to move over a couple of seats and tell Foye to pass the ball to Jefferson and then get back on defense. His wife could be an assistant coach so they could stay together.

Another option might be to have the forty or so fans who regularly attend games each take a turn as coach.

[rychart45]

this could get real ugly. time to sink or swim with the young guys. also time to start watching lots of college basketball to see who the wolves can get with that top 3 pick.