Thursday, April 14, 2005

Implosion

Timberwolves Owner Says Sprewell-Cassell Experiment Failed

As if missing the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade didn't hurt enough, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor decided that yesterday would be a good day to stir things up and tell two of the team's stars during last year's great run, through the newspaper, that they should probably pack their bags. Something tells me that, having tried once to scale the heights of the NBA and failing, Taylor is going to be content to surround Kevin Garnett with B-list talent, let the team find its way into the lower half of the Western Conference bracket each year, and stop forking over big contracts to attract stars who could help KG advance in the playoffs. It's sad, but the team's best season may be behind it.

2 comments:

Paul V. Allen said...

This is a rather doomy and gloomy outlook, especially since there's still playoff hope!

Seriously, I know it's hard for a fan not to feel way right now, I know, but I think there's hope for the future.

I don't think they'll get much in return for Sam and Latrell, and I really wish Flip hadn't been fired for something that wasn't his fault, but I still think the team is the right piece (or pieces) away from dominating.

Richard said...

Playoff hope? What have you been smoking, Paul? As I understand it, Minnesota makes the playoffs if Memphis agrees to fold its franchise.

Yes, it's possible they could make the playoffs, but it ain't happening. I hope they put the right pieces around KG and find a way to dominate in the future; I agree that they have a strong nucleus and should be able to succeed. I just don't see Taylor opening up the wallet again to bring in the missing piece, and I think a KG-Wally-Hudson driven team is a reliable 6 seed, not a championship-caliber club. We'll see.