The Wolves Case Scenario

Hey, everybody! There’s a line! Let’s all get in line!

What are we in line for?

“Oh, this is the line to talk about how the Wolves didn’t screw up by drafting two point guards, only getting one, not addressing their painful void at small guard, drafting a Jonas brother reject even though it was painfully obvious he had strong feelings about where he wanted to be drafted, and now have not only managed to look impotent, but gave away a significant trade asset in Foye and Miller’s contract, and how’s it’s totally cool that they got rebuffed by a kid who can barely buy porn in this country.”

But, the Wolves did screw up. They did get played.

“SILENCE! TAKING RUBIO WAS THE ONLY OPTION! BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE! BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE!”

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Give me a break. Kahn got worked. You have the 5th highest player drafted in his class eating Tapas while you audition hobos off the street to play small guard, after three viable small guards went in the top ten. Don’t get me started on Stephon Curry being a point. In that fantasy world, OJ Mayo is a point, Gerald Wallace is a power forward, and me (censored) tastes like rainbow sherbet. Curry’s a small guard. DeRozan’s a small guard. And let’s say you don’t want to go that route with either of them. Trade the pick. We’re not talking about the Knicks being stuck with Jordan Hill as the BPA. You’ve got teams falling over themselves to get this kid. The only reason Sacramento didn’t take him is because they’re smart enough to know they’re getting suckered and that schooling Euroboys< being a 6’5” combo guard who can destroy anyone at the rim. You could have moved that pick.

Don’t think New York had the pieces? Get a third team involved. If Kahn’s so ambitious and so smart, why didn’t he go that route? Because he bought into the myth of Rubio the Savior while ignoring the storm clouds forming over his house.

“They say this point guard is a cloud over their franchise! But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say ‘Sh*t, he’s not coming to Minnesota!’”

Kahn’s first major decision of his tenure as GM was to trade his best trade asset, the glorious ‘movable veteran contracts’ for a draft pick than ended up not bearing fruit for two years. I would love to applaud this move. I would. I think that planning for your long-term success is a great thing.  I think a hallmark of truly great franchise leadership is not only going out and trying to build assets that will benefit you years down the line. But in order to get to where you can do that, you need to have a culture of success now. I don’t think it’s right that the NBA has such a culture of immediate winning. But it does. Kahn believes in Rubio now. But what if Kahn fails to produce anything in the next two years, even if only because of injury, and he gets released? Then you have a new GM coming in to handle a remarkably delicate situation with a kid who doesn’t trust the new guy and who may not have the time to pamper the 20 year old playboy with the dazzling babyface.

Let me put it this way. If I’m staring at the gigantic hole in the side of my boat and the water rushing in, I’m not going to start planning on what to do when I get to shore. I’m worried about drowning. I’ll plug the hole so I don’t go under, then I’ll worry about what’s on shore.

This probably seems like I don’t think Kahn’s got any shot. I really want him to succeed. I mean, after all, he’s a former journalist and a D-League guy. Sure, all of his D-League teams either went under or were sold off in the midst of epic failure. but it’s a volatile business. I like the fact that he’s at least trying to improve the team. But I can’t sit here and give him props for trying something that was obviously flawed from the beginning.

Minnesotans hate that the market issue is at play here. And trust me, they have good reasons for believing it isn’t, that it’s all about the money. To me, there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence that leads me to believe the market had something to do with this. It’s an opinion, not something I’d want to try and prove in court. But it sure seems like there are an awful lot of people that are hinting he doesn’t want to be in Minnesota. And maybe it’s all part of some vast media conspiracy propogated by that pro-Knick media (will someone please invite the Post to that party? They’re one step away from pitchforks and burning Walsh in effigy. It’s a two man mob down there.).  But the most damning fact still remains. Rubio didn’t come to Minnesota, when he had an opportunity to.

The question most are asking is “What would you have Kahn do?” and it’s a fair point. You can’t just have trade deals formulate out of thin air. That one, I’m willing to take. If the ONLY offer on the table was a straight up deal with New York, who have no desirable assets, then yeah, he did what he should have, given the position he was in. Of course, I don’t agree with being in that position anyway.

Let me put it this way. If you believe, as many do, that Ricky Rubio was the best player available at that point, that the 18 year old, Euro, primadonna, scrawny, massively-hyped, under-vetted point guard with Pete Maravich (warning sign!) comparisons was the Best Player Available, then Kahn did absolutely nothing wrong. But the Raptors now have a potentially brilliant small guard to come off the bench and the Warriors actually have some shred of maneuverability in moving Jackson/Ellis/whoever Nelly has pissed off this week, because they have Curry. I’m not a Curry guy, and even I would have taken Curry first. I would have scraped and clawed to get Tyreke Evans, but then I’m a sucker for big athletic guys who can attack the rim and destroy teams littered with NBA-caliber players. Well, that and Conference USA guys.

The minute the Wolves bought into that hype of Rubio being BPA, they were screwed. Because, as everyone under the sun has mentioned, if they don’t select him based on the fact that he’s unlikely to want to come to Minnesota, they’re the team that passed on RICKY FREAKING RUBIO. We’re assigning that at this point, even though in six months we could be talking about how the Wolves were the team that didn’t draft STEPHEN FREAKING CURRY or hell, maybe even JORDAN F’ING HILL or whoever it is that ends up exploding. The draft is a crapshoot! If I were a GM , it would be my least favorite part of the year. Trying to figure out which immature, raw, undeveloped 18 year old with a giant noggin’ is going to end up being the one that makes all my colleagues look like morons for not drafting? That’s a nightmare. So I would argue the best tactic is to not worry about it and take whoever is best for your club. And even if in this scenario Rubio is the BPA, he’s clearly not what’s best for your franchise, since he’s elected to not only stay home this season, but he decided that after coming to an agreement with you.

I can understand not wanting to condemn Kahn for an unfortunate situation he was placed in, but to ignore the fact that that an NBA GM got crossed up in negotiations by an extra from High School Musical is a little too soft. Kahn wants to be bold. He wants to be progressive. Playing hardball with this kid’s rights and sacrificing a player that the Wolves need right now is not something I can support. Trading his rights to the Knicks for some combination may have not netted them equal value on what Rubio’s worth right now as a player. But it would have been the best thing for a franchise that needs assets and needs to get started with kicking their reputation as a joke right now.

But then again, maybe they’re not so bad off. I love the rest of this squad. Brewer-Love-Jefferson? Hell, yes. I’m not wildfire about Flynn, but then, I hate Syracuse and everything it stands for. He could very well be a better player than any of the other disasters they’ve had in the backcourt the last three seasons. This team could be okay, even without whoever Rubio could have been instead. But what if they’re not? What’s the worst case scenario for this team?

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We could go the injury route. I mean, after all, with as thin as they are, and with Big Al coming off of one of those “Oh, God, No” injuries, it’s certainly possible. But every team has that, right? Ask the Rockets/Wizards. So let’s ignore that. What’s difficult to ignore is that last year they had arguably more talent than they do this year, and were still terrible. Factor in the possibility that Flynn is a miss, and that’s a pretty frightening prospect.

You now have a situation where the first year of Kahn’s reign is rocky and no progress is made. Jefferson is frustrated. Love is chill, because Love is a chill bro, but he’s got a Twitter so you’ll want to keep an eye on him. They’ll have cap space, but are in the same position as most small market clubs with cap space. Who wants to sign in a small market with a terrible team, no matter the dough? If they whif in the free agency, that means the draft. But hooray! The Timberwolves won the #1 seed! We’re saved!

Oh.

The number one overall is, barring a phenomenal shift in everything DX holds to be true, undeniably John Wall. A point guard.

The number two overall is likely to be Derrick Favors. Power forward.

Awkward.

Now, in this scenario, Flynn wasn’t so hot, so you could potentially take Wall. And then have Flynn, Rubio, and Wall in 2011. Fleet O’ Point Guards!

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The best case scenario is entirely possible. Flynn works out as a combo point, Jefferson and Love turn into the Ambiguously Effective Duo, Brewer manages to cover defensively at both the 2 and the 3, and Rambis turns out to be an absolute genius after his tutelage under Jackson. They get to a nice amount of wins, snag a nice lottery pick, and grab a decent small guard. Rubio comes over in 2011, Flynn slides over, Rubio gets his Pedro De Pistola on, and Kahn looks like a genius. It just seems like an awful long way from where we are.