As a die-hard Timberwolves fan, this season was probably the most
frustrating season of the Garnett era. At the beginning of the season, we were hopeful that two new rookies (Foye and Smith) would add some pep to the lineup and that the return of McCants from injury would bolster the outside shooting. Not to mention the MVP quality play of KG, the inside presence of Mark Blount, and the lane slashing abilities of Ricky Davis. I was definitely of the mind that the Wolves would sneak into the playoffs with a record slightly over .500.
Then, when the Wolves were an “inconsistent” 20-20, McHale decided to fire head coach Dwayne Casey and replace him with assistant Randy Wittman. This is not handled well at all. Casey was not aware that his job was on the line at that point in time and the actual firing was hastily carried out. Plus, how is winning every other game inconsistent?!? Isn’t that the definition of consistency?!
Well fine. Wittman comes in and says he’s tougher and expects more from the team. He’s going to push them to do great things this year. WRONG! His record with the team was 12-30, far worse than Casey’s 20-20, and the Wolves missed the playoffs by a mile. Granted, they retained their first round pick in this years draft by being among the ten worst records (otherwise they would have had to forfeit the pick to the L.A. Clippers due to yet another bone-headed trade package).
Today, McHale announced that he will return next year, that he will not trade KG, and that he’ll overhaul the roster and make it competitive again. Yikes. With guarenteed contracts on guys like Troy Hudson and Mike James, McHale will have to use the draft and trades to get new blood into the roster (free agent signings are almost impossible due to their current contracts). With McHale’s trade history, I’m very afraid. He’s lible to trade McCants and Foye (two bright young talents) and all of next years draft picks for an unproven point guard and two aging bench players. Ugh.
Stargazing in Winter 