A Love Letter

Dear Kevin,

I didn’t sleep much last night, and, well, you’ve been on my mind a lot lately.  So perhaps telling you how I feel, or at least putting these feelings into words, will help me to rest a little bit easier.

It’s been a tough couple of months, to be honest.  Since it became clear back in May that you wanted to leave, I’ve gone through what seems to be the usual string of emotions.  First, denial: I didn’t believe it was true, didn’t want to believe it.  Then, anger.  Then, sadness and resignation.  And now, well, I just feel numb.

It didn’t help when you visited Boston.  I guess I never thought about what it’d be like to see you with someone else.  But there you were, hanging with Rajon Rondo, Rob Gronkowski, and who knows who else.  Let me tell you, Kevin, it hurt.  There’s just no way around it.

I’ll never forget the day you came into my life.  Sure, I’d known about you, known that you were a high school phenom in Oregon and a star freshman at UCLA.  But it wasn’t until June 27, 2008, my 23rd birthday, when Kevin McHale traded for you and our lives really began together.  You were the best birthday present a guy could ask for, really.

I admit, I wasn’t convinced, at least initially.  I really wanted Derrick Rose or Mike Beasley, but O.J. Mayo was a stud himself, and #3 was the highest we’ve ever picked, and we needed a stud.  I wasn’t sure he was worth giving up for you, but hey, we got Mike Miller out of the deal and got rid of Marko Jaric, so I was in (even if it meant Marko’s gf wouldn’t be around).

But you eventually won me over, first with your efforts on the boards and then your outside shooting.  That night when you grabbed 30 rebounds to go along with 30 points, the Target Center was a different place.  There was an energy that had not been enjoyed since the days of that other Kevin.  For a little while there, you made us forget about the other Kevin.  I really mean that.

When a man fills up the boxscore to historic proportions, night after night, when he plays a key role on an Olympic Gold Medal team (defensively, even!), when all inclinations are that he’ll sign a long term contract where nobody wants to sign a long-term contract, it’s hard not to fall in Love.

And I did, Kevin, I fell for you.  Hard.  And that’s what makes this hurt so bad.

And since we’re being honest, it was Love that made me overlook your imperfections.  The lackluster effort on defense.  The complete unwillingness to foul somebody.  The multiple possessions a game where you didn’t bother to cross half court to join your team on defense.  The curious habit of the best rebounder in the game excusing himself from offensive rebound opportunities on opponents’ free throws, in order to get to the other end of the court without having to… jog?

Not to mention your complete unwillingness to pass up a somewhat uncontested jump shot to pass to a more-open teammate.  More forgivable, given that none of your teammates could hit a jump shot, even a more-open one.  But still.

No, I knew you weren’t perfect.  And sure, there was a sneaking feeling that you were a player capable of incredible stats yet incapable of helping his team finish in the top 16 out of 30 teams.  But you were a Timberwolf, and I loved you for it.

But I started getting worried when you complained about the $60+ million contract you signed in January 2012, almost as soon as you signed it.  I get it, you wanted a fifth year.  But it seems like an either-or proposition to me.  As in, either you sign a contract with the team and pledge your allegiance to it, or you don’t, and then you can talk all the shit you want.

Instead, you signed the contract, then explained how you would play with a chip on your shoulder, a phrase typically referring to proving enemies wrong, not your employer.  That following December, you curiously decided to air out your dirty laundry to Yahoo! Sports about the contract negotiation, team roster moves, and even your hurt feelings when people in the organization supposedly didn’t buy that your broken hand came from those now-infamous knuckle push-ups.

Let me let you in on a little secret, Kevin: nobody buys that your broken hand came from knuckle push-ups.  And yeah, we were pissed.  But we got over it.  And, believe it or not, we could get over this.

What’s “this” you say?  Let me be clear: I don’t want you here against your will.  If you do indeed walk out that door and out of my life forever, it would hurt.  But I can’t make you Love me, if you don’t.  Just show some respect along the way, bro.  This organization traded a top-3 pick for you (Mayo), traded away an all-star caliber player (Al Jefferson) to put you in the driver seat, paid you over $43 million, and would be happy to pay you the rest of the $31+ mil left on your contract, and then some.

The “this” that I’m talking about, that we could get over, is you dissing us, the fans! NBA basketball is a business, yadda yadda yadda, and the Timberwolves aren’t going to have anybody feel sorry for them.  But we fans have had your back for the past six years.  And it’s our hard-earned cash that ultimately pays your contract.

So far, you seem to have forgotten about us.  In an interview in LA last month, you said, “In six years I haven't been in the playoffs, and I think it's time for people to be watching me.”  Hey, Kevin, what are we, chopped liver?  We’ve been watching you for six years.  Cheering for you, even.  And yeah, we noticed you haven’t made the playoffs.

We’ve had to endure you talking about the Timberwolves as “they” and you fielding questions about how desirable such locations as New York and Cleveland (!) would be for you.  How was your trip to Boston, Kevin?  I hear Big Papi was offering advice on making the move there from Minny.  Maybe he can help you find some steroids too???  (I’m sorry, Papi, I didn’t mean that, honest.  This is just a tough time for me.  You know, with Kevin and everything…)

On SportsNation, you said that you received some advice.  And if that advice was for you to get out of Minnesota, I can’t find any fault in that.  It’s a free country, there’s probably more endorsement money to be made elsewhere, and there are definitely better teams out there.  And then there’s the winter…

But at what cost?  Was that advice to weasel your way out of your contract a year early, abandon your teammates and insult them on the way out, and all the while seem completely oblivious to the big “f--- you” you’re giving to your loyal and supportive fanbase?  I sure hope not.  If it was, you need to find somebody else from whom to take advice.

Eff yous notwithstanding, I still care about you, Kevin, so I’m going to offer you some free advice of my own.  Look yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you signed a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and by extension, their fans.  Request a trade, sure.  And if you have beefs with the organization, then by all means, take it up with them.

But here’s an idea: play out your contract!  Put in your work without being a complete baby about it.  Leave it up to the team as to whether they want to risk losing you in free agency.  The Wolves will likely be better this year, and guess what, they’ll pay you over $15 million bucks either way.

If not?  You do still owe something to the fans, and we’re not asking for much.  If you’re sick of losing and missing the playoffs, you don’t think that’s going to change, and you want to play somewhere else?  Fine.  We get it.  We’re sick of the losing, too, and can’t quite blame you.  Just don’t play the martyr.  As Flip put it best, “you’re either part of the problem, or part of the solution.”  And as Marcellus Wiley was fair to point out, don’t hide behind your agent.  You make the decisions, so stand behind them.

And do yourself a favor.  If you do end up with a new team, play some defense.  Don’t take plays off.  Work on your body language, and consider the team to be greater than yourself.

And, hey, did you hear about our new draft pick?  He went to UCLA and Flip calls him the best athlete in the draft, even if he is a bit of a project…  Oh, never mind.

But one last thing: if you ever run into Stephon, have him call me?

Fatherhood and Baseball, in that Order

I grew up watching NFL football in the mid-nineties, back when Norman Julius Esiason’s nickname, Boomer, spoke more to his strong arm as a quarterback than to his pontificating on sports talk radio.

Regrettably, I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing him in utero, when he apparently received the nickname from Mama Esiason.  According to the New York Times, it was his prolific prenatal kicking that made him Boomer.

It’s unclear as to whether said kicking was truly an effort to encourage labor at an earlier time or if it was just to call attention to himself.  Which is not unlike his recent rant against New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy’s decision to miss the first two games of the baseball season.

On April 2, Esiason’s co-host, Craig Carton, bemoaned the fact that the Mets had to call up a minor league replacement as they awaited Murphy’s return from paternity leave.  Carton clarified that Murphy’s wife gave birth on Monday (around noon) and it would have been legitimate, in his mind, to miss the game that day.

However, especially since the Mets’ second game was not until Wednesday, Carton wondered aloud about the legitimacy of Murphy missing Wednesday’s game as well.  “I mean, what are you doing?” Carlton said.

Esiason then took it a step further: “Quite frankly, I would have said ‘C-section before the season starts, I need to be at opening day…’”  His explanation had something to do with being able to send his kids to college.  In conclusion, Boomer said, “Get your ass back to work.”

Esiason has since offered a statement to apologize.  And, as far as predictable and presumably involuntary apologetic statements go, this one seemed fairly sincere:

My deep apologies to both Daniel and Tori Murphy for creating an intrusion into a very sacred and personal moment in their lives, and that’s the birth of their son, Noah. Daniel is the Mets’ second baseman, whose brief paternity leave led to a flippant and insensitive remark that I sincerely regret. (In the) meantime, I’m very grateful to my many friends over at the March of Dimes who graciously reached out and re-educated me that if a pregnancy is healthy, it is medically beneficial to let the labor begin on its own rather than to schedule a C-section for convenience. In fact, babies born just a few weeks early have double the risk of death compared to babies born after 39 full weeks of pregnancy. As their promotional campaign says, ‘Healthy babies are worth the wait.’ And as a proud father, I couldn’t agree more.” ( From CBS Local)

In fact, I must admit I was fairly impressed by the depth of his apology.  He went past the threshold of “I’m sorry if you were offended” and went on to explain exactly where he felt he had offended and even sought to remedy his wrongdoing with education.  Perhaps some of us are more aware than others about the inherent risks associated with major surgeries, but that’s another story.  Again as far as politically-correct sorrys go, bravo.  Truly.

What’s still unresolved, however, is what seems to me to be a curious cluelessness regarding the point of paternity leave, particularly in reference to Carlton’s intimation that any time off “now that she’s had the baby,” is essentially overkill.

“There’s nothing you can do anyway,” he says.  “You’re not breastfeeding the kid.”

To Boomer’s credit, he initially defends Murphy by saying he has the legal right to take some time off.  But it’s then that he proceeds to give his endorsement of elective Cesareans.

Believe it or not, an additional, unassociated New York-based sports radio host is also struggling to comprehend what good a little old man can be to a woman and their child she had just delivered.

Mike Francesa, also a nationally-renowned sports personality, called paternity leave a “gimmick” and a “scam” while discussing the Murphy story on his own show.  “I guarantee you are not sitting there holding your wife’s hand. . . . I had three kids. . . I was at the birth and was back to work the next day. I didn’t see any reason not to be working. Harrison [Francesa’s son] was born at nine in the morning. I worked that day. What was I gonna do, sit with my wife in the hospital?”

What seems to be the sticking point for Carlton, who to my knowledge has not apologized or taken back any of his statements, as well as Francesa, who has publicly refused to do either, is that yeah, while everybody likes a few days off, there’s nothing specific to childbirth that merits a man excusing himself from work any longer than it takes to witness the birth itself.

Carlton and Esiason did mention the role a father would play in setting up a “support system” as something he could nobly do within the 24 hours they have allotted by virtue of their sports radio authority.   Hell, Francesa even said, “You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help.”

Hmmm.  I don’t know, guys, I think I’m really starting to believe that “there ain’t nothing to do,” as Carlton says, so don’t try to convince me that the woman might need help.  Sounds like a gimmick.  Maybe even a scam!

Of course, what’s been missing from most of this conversation is, you guessed it, the woman.  I’m not sure I need to take the time here to explain how a man could be helpful in the days immediately after childbirth.  But if any of our aforementioned radio heads want to know, they could probably just ask the women who have given birth to their children.  As the saying goes, better late then never.

More broadly, though, what’s really at stake here is fatherhood.  Is a man a father simply by impregnating a woman?  In the literal sense, yes.  But anyone who’s ever had a father worth the name--or moreover, anyone who’s never had anything more a literal father--can tell you that fatherhood doesn’t end with a sexual act.  That’s merely when fatherhood begins.  Our at least should.

So bravo to Major League Baseball for instituting its 3-game paternity list policy in 2011 (yes, Murphy only missed two games), which allows its players to step away from their professional duties and focus on their fatherly duties.  Even if that means (gasp) simply sitting with their wives in the hospital.

But of course fatherhood is more than that.  It’s even more than changing diapers in the middle of the night.  But that’s definitely part of it, as Murphy has learned firsthand.

"We had our first panic session,” Murphy explained to reporters once he’d returned from leave.  “It was dark. She tried to change a diaper, couldn't do it. I came in," he said. "It was just the three of us, 3 o'clock in the morning, all freaking out. He was the only one screaming. I wanted to."

MN Sports, Ricky Rubio, and Last Night

If, God willing, I’m ever blessed with a son of my own, we are going to have a talk.  Right around the age of reason, when he starts making decisions on his own, the types of decisions that begin to shape who he is and will become for the rest of his life, I’m going to make sure he knows the ramifications of said decisions.  You know, like choosing to root for Minnesota sports teams.

Because if he does decide to root for Minnesota sports, he’s basically signing up for a lifetime of heartbreaking losses.  Of course, there will inevitably be a period of blissful naïveté, when he thinks he has been born into “just the right time”.  Perhaps a second championship in four years will mark the beginning of his fan life, causing him to think such things are the norm rather than the exception.  Perhaps the star point guard’s bro-love for the franchise player will keep him around, even as said guard dreams of warmer climes, like New York.  Maybe even the most spectacular offense the NFL had ever seen really can overcome a shaky defense.

No, son, not in Minnesota.  I’m not saying you can’t root for your Minnesota teams.  Just be prepared.  And find ways to cope.  Like writing about heartbreaking losses.  Maybe if you at least just understand better why your favorite team lost, you’ll feel better?  It’s worth a try right?

In case you missed it, the most recent heartbreaking loss in the land of 10,000 publicly-financed stadium complaints wasn’t the Vikings soiling themselves in Paul Brown stadium yesterday or even the Wild’s embarrassing loss to a bottom-feeding Rangers team that evening.  No, it was the Timberwolves somehow, someway losing 120-116 in overtime to a very good Clippers team last night whom they had simply outplayed right up until the end.

The play that keeps replaying in my head, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, is Jamal Crawford stealing the ball from Kevin Martin and scoring to tie the game in the waning seconds of regulation.  All we had to do was hold the ball, make two free throws, and fly home to Minnesota.  Of course, every 24-second possession over 48 minutes counts the same, but it was this one that went so terribly wrong at the most important time, and so it’s worth analyzing this one (and maybe a few more above) and beyond the rest.

The ball was inbounded, shot clock off, into the backcourt to Martin, where he’s double-teamed by Chris Paul and Crawford.  Hold it right there… something needs to change.  The issue is not, as commentator Jim Peterson said, that you don’t want to pass the ball backwards.  Just recognize that Martin is, relative to position, our worst ball handler except for maybe Corey Brewer.  So at this point, everybody on the team should have been running towards him to help, especially Ricky Rubio.  Ricky needs to go get that ball and not let Martin have to even take a dribble.  Why Martin thought it was a good idea to try to dribble around Paul, one of the best defenders in the league, is another story, and thus he deserves blame here as well.

I like Martin as a player and it’s obvious we’re a better team with him, thanks to his outside shooting and playmaking ability.  But this isn’t the first game that I’ve walked away from wondering how a veteran could make such glaring offensive mistakes, as a player who has made his name on the offensive end.  What’s the solution?  Take him for what he is, which is a volume scorer, and don’t ask him to do anything else.  And that “anything else” means, now more than ever, handle the ball with a skilled on-the-ball defender.

But of course there’s a bigger issue here as well.  Martin gets the ball in the back court in the first place because Adelman seems to prefer him bringing the ball up late in games.  The thinking, presumably, is that Rubio isn’t enough of an offensive threat himself and teams would overcommit to keep the ball out of Martin’s hands with the game on the line.  The thinking is sound... as long as nobody forgets that Martin doesn’t dribble like a point guard, and if faced with pressure defense he doesn’t you-know-what.

I’m not opposed to having someone else bring up the ball every once in a while, but Ricky obviously needs the ball in his hands to be effective on offense.  And even when defenders are giving him space to shoot his jumper, he still seems to have little issue getting the ball to his teammates.  As evidenced by the great look he gave Nikola Pekovic at the end of overtime, Ricky is part of the solution on offense, not part of the problem.  And yes, that includes nights when he doesn’t record a point.

There are people who will see Rubio’s zero points in the box score and inevitably continue with the whole “Rubio needs to score more” narrative (actually, this is already happening on Twitter).  But, whether that’s true or not, Rubio’s lack of scoring is not the issue.  The Timberwolves are 4th in the NBA in scoring (105.6/game) and scored 106 in regulation last night.  As a coach, when you have two players scoring as efficiently as Kevin Love (45 on 15/23 shooting) and Pek (34 on 16/28) last night, you want your point guard to do what he did: pass them the ball.  Of course, if you have to choose, you pass it to the one who scored 45 on 15/23, but we’ll get to that later.

For now, Rubio.  Obviously, the man needs to make more of his layups and take less contested jumpers.  But I would argue he’s taking many of those contested jumpers because of outside pressure to become more of a scorer.  And perhaps he should look for his shot more.  But to ask Ricky Rubio to become more of a scorer would be akin to asking Michael Jordan to become more of a baseball player.  Sure, Jordan probably could have gotten better had he stuck with it.  But at what cost?  Jordan was put on this earth to be a basketball player, and Rubio to be a passer.  Love and Pekovic don’t combine to score 79 points if Rubio is pretending to be Russell Westbrook.

How many point guards in the NBA have more of an impact on both offense and defense as Rubio, even without the points?  Put it this way: to say that Rubio needs to score more than his career mark of 10 ppg is to say that he needs to become Chris Paul.  Which, of course, would be nice… but not necessary.  To win a championship in the NBA, you don’t need a scoring point guard.  You need a facilitator who plays defense and can hit an outside shot.

Looking at the list of NBA champions and their point guards over the past 20-25 years, you can make some fun conclusions, especially as a Wolves fan.  First of all, the only point guards that carried a significant scoring load on a championship team were the Spurs’ Tony Parker and the Pistons’ Chauncey Billups.  Of course, Tim Duncan also won a championship without Parker, and the Detroit’s championship was much more about defense than it was about Billups’ scoring.  But speaking of Timberwolves point guards who won championships with other teams, there’s also Sam Cassell, J.J. Barea, and Stephon Marbury (juuuuust kidding).

J.J.’s Mavericks team is a realistic best-case scenario for the Timberwolves.  Similar enough star (Dirk and KLove), point guard (Ricky and Jason Kidd), veteran shooter (Jason Terry and Martin) J.J., etc.  The stark difference?  Defense, really (Tyson Chandler, namely).  Boston won a championship with a young point guard who could hardly hit an outside shot (Rajon Rondo) but was an elite passer and defender.  The rest of those championship teams all had point guards that didn’t do much more than get the ball into the hands of the likes of LeBron, Kobe, Shaq, and Michael.

Which reminds me.  Kevin Love finished 15-23 from the floor, 13-15 on free throws and scored 45 points, yet didn’t touch the ball on the three most critical possessions of the game (Martin’s turnover and the last possessions of regulation and overtime).  I repeat: didn’t touch the ball.

Now, on the last possession of overtime when Pekovic missed from close range, you couldn’t expect Love to get a better look.  Perhaps Pekovic rushed it given the fact time was running out, but Love is not immune to such things himself against the Clippers, in Staples Center (see November 11).  And Crawford’s dunk to tie the game at the end of the 4th was so disorienting that you can’t quite blame Ricky for doing what he could to get a decent look with 10 seconds left without a timeout, even though that resulted in two low-percentage jumpers from Pek.

Still, Love has to have the ball in that situation.  Nay, he has to have the ball on every possession with the game on the line, not to mention when he has been virtually unstoppable all game.  Adelman has to do a better job of pounding that into his team, the team has to do a better job of executing, or both.  That’s not to say Love would have inevitably won the game had he been given the chance.  But he earned the chance by how he’d played so far this game, this season.

That being said, it’s worth wondering if it’s clear how to get him the ball.  Where does he like to get it?  What’s his go-to move?  Go-to players have clear answers to those questions.  We all know where Pek wants the ball, and what he’s going to do.  Maybe that’s why he got it.

It’s easy to forget this team is still very young and very new to each other.  Rubio, Love, and Pek only played a handful of minutes together last year and none with Martin.  Two of the biggest issues for this team right now are help defense and offensive consistency, both of which are exacerbated by a lack of experience together.  More time together could very realistically mean you come away from a game like last night with a win instead of a loss.

Then again, this is Minnesota.

But just so we’re clear, the Wolves need to continue to work to get better on defense, first and foremost.  They need to have a clearer identity on offense so that in close games they know what to do to get a bucket.  And they need to play as hard as they did last night every night, no exceptions.  Such improvement means that Wolves fans very well could be treated to much more meaningful games come springtime…  That will inevitably end in heartbreak.

JEREMY LIN: A COACH'S DREAM?

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America loves Jeremy Lin. And let me count the ways: the underdog story, his undeniably likeable personality, the way he seems totally unfazed by his success, the way he continues to deliver unbelievable performances. But to me what it comes down to is that this guy is obviously so good all of a sudden and yet just a month ago that fact was obvious to nobody.

There is something about this man that is just truly remarkable, and sometimes there aren’t perfect explanations to what makes a man remarkable. And as extraordinary as Jeremy Lin is, could it be even more amazing how the situation all came together at seemingly the perfect time and place for him to take a nation by storm? For even remarkable people need an opportunity to prove their own significance.

Count me as a fan of Lin, for all of the reasons above and many more. So don’t misunderstand me when I say that there was something about his emergence which wasn’t terribly astonishing to me. With the little knowledge I had of Lin at the time (I knew he was young, Asian, and quick with the ball), seeing him score 25 and 28 points in his first two real opportunities to play significant minutes in the NBA led me to the following conclusion: why not? (Side note: I admit my astonishment has increased markedly as he continues to pile up the stats and wins.)

The NBA is set up right now to encourage quick perimeter players to attack the basket off the dribble. Defensive rules have become so strict that on-the-ball defenders can’t really do much other than just try to slow a dribble drive to the basket and hope someone comes to help.

It only makes sense, then, that a player who understands this and is capable of it will take advantage of the system. Obviously, Lin is capable of this, and it’s hard to imagine how his coaches and teams could have missed this obvious fact. So why wasn’t he given the opportunity to do it before?

That seems to be the million-dollar question, and you surely have heard the most popular explanations: his race, his race, and oh yeah, his race. What else could it be?

I’m not going to claim that race never entered into the equation. But I think there’s actually a simpler, more universal phenomenon at work here, and it’s not racial prejudice. No, it’s basketball prejudice.

Here’s what I mean: there is often a tension between what basketball players do well and what their coaches want them to do. Player A might be good at a lot of things, but if the coach is looking for something else, Player A might never get a chance to do what he does best.

Lin is actually an example of someone whose coaches really did understand what he did well and let him do his thing, at every level he played… except the NBA. His first two NBA teams didn’t know what they had and let him go for nothing. And credit the Knicks for giving him the chance, but even then, it was only after a team already thin at his position became decimated with injuries, creating an opportunity for him.

Lin plays the point guard position, which is traditionally played by a solid, if not spectacular—even conservative—player whose job is to handle the ball, run the offense and often times little else.

But you don’t have to watch the NBA very long to realize that the best point guards in the NBA (Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, et al.) are actually the spectacular types who can create their own offense (read: beat their defender off the dribble), and then either score themselves or assist easy baskets. Not exactly the game-manager types that have traditionally manned the position.

Lin fits the new NBA mold. Of course, he is a well-rounded player, but he’s not conservative at all. In fact, in addition to setting records for how many points he’s scored in his first handful of starts, he’s also set records by how many turnovers he’s accumulated.

Coaches hate turnovers, obviously. But they like winning more. And Lin has shown that the offense he generates easily offsets his truly alarming turnover rate, which leads one to believe that maybe there’s something new to be learned about how to evaluate a player and his statistics!

The other impressive part of Lin’s game that simply can’t be overlooked is his energy, his fire, his infectious personality and his chemistry with teammates. Yes, Lin has been singularly spectacular, but perhaps more impressive is how he’s lifted up his lowly teammates to such a level as he has, leading his team which had lost 11 of 13 games to seven straight victories and sustained success since.

And here again is something that is often surprisingly overlooked by coaches. Of course when asked, a coach would say he wishes every player would be like Lin: likable, coachable, hard worker, relentless energy, hustle, great teammate. However, put a player like that in front of them, and often times their blinded by that same player’s limitations. Coaches may not want to admit it, but they will more often than not pick the enigmatic, stubborn, lazy and selfish player if that same player shows more obvious/flashy talent.

But Lin, like all true innovations, is both new and not new at the same time. He does all the little things that good basketball players have always done, while taking advantage of a new era of NBA rules that enhance his talents.

And like all true American underdog stories, he has done it against all odds, and with charm to boot. What’s not to like, coach?

PATERNO, GAGLIARDI, AND THE DEMISE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACH

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Joe Paterno, God rest him, passed away last week, and the resounding sentiment seemed to be, “what a shame.” The legendary Penn State football coach who seemed invincible only a few short months ago, leading his nationally-ranked Nittany Lions at the ripe old age of 86 and showing few signs of slowing down.

And then came the scandal.

Paterno was fired amidst allegations that his former top assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted young boys even in the Penn State locker room while he served a prominent role at a local outreach to underprivileged boys. Since then, Paterno’s health had steadily declined up until his death on January 22.

Shame is the operative word here. There is unspeakable shame in the acts committed by Sandusky, and, undeniably, passed on to Paterno by association. There is even a case to be made that the way Paterno was dispatched from his job was shameful. And it’s certainly a shame to see a man who was responsible for so many good things decline in health so rapidly, perhaps as a result of the onslaught of negativity he received in the wake of the scandal.

His death offers another opportunity to reflect on what exactly happened that went so wrong, and why he was in the middle of the blame in the first place. St. John’s football coach John Gagliardi had that opportunity in a recent interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Columnist Bob Sansevere asked him “How should Paterno be remembered?” This was Gagliardi’s response:

“I don't know why he even should have been connected to that thing (scandal). It's sad he's attached to that thing. I don't know all the (facts). He wasn't the guy, the culprit. I really feel pretty saddened about it.”

And so you begin to understand why we have scandals like this in the first place. I’m not sure Coach Gagliardi could come off as any more clueless, which itself isn’t a surprise if you’ve ever heard him interview before. Even a Tommie can admit that there is something endearing about Gagliardi’s off-the-wall take on life, which is mostly harmless overall. And certainly he’s a great coach, quite possibly one of the very best in the history of football.

So what does it matter that Gagliardi still seems to be wondering why Paterno received such backlash? Because it calls into question whether Gagliardi is in any way prepared or even capable of doing any better a job than Paterno did if ever faced with such a concern.

Earth to Gagliardi: Paterno “should have been connected” to the Penn State Football Scandal because Paterno was Penn State Football! Sandusky was accused of sexually assaulting vulnerable young boys in the Penn State LOCKER ROOM, and Paterno, as reports later showed, never felt the need to even personally approach Sandusky about it?

It should be noted that Paterno did pass the information on to his superiors, as is protocol. But the fact that he apparently did nothing more speaks much more loudly. Concerned only with protocol, and not with actually figuring out what the hell was going on, Paterno showed that he wasn’t really concerned at all.

It stands as a curious testament to how great our men and our institutions can be while being so very flawed and fragile at the same time. How could Paterno build up one of the greatest and most revered football programs in America, revered for not just wins and losses either but for much more, and yet at the same time failing in such a dramatic, and yet basic way? How could he be so adept at leading a football team to victory and yet so inept at leading that same organization in basic human morals and ethics?

Perhaps there’s no clear answer, but if Gagliardi’s interview is any indication, St. John’s football program might be suffering from the same schizophrenia. The fact of the matter is that Paterno took the fall, not for Sandusky’s sins as Gagliardi apparently still thinks, but for his own sins of standing by and doing essentially nothing.

Is it too much to ask a football coach? I sure hope not. Any football coach worth his clipboard is teaching much more than x’s and o’s: he teaches attention to detail. He teaches accountability. He teaches manly virtues like courage, fortitude, and selflessness. And if nothing else, he teaches the power of authority and obedience.

For a good football coach, nothing happens on the field, on the sidelines, and in the locker room that he doesn’t know about, that he doesn’t care a great deal about. Anything that goes wrong, he corrects. Anyone who resists his authority, he reprimands. Somehow, Joe Paterno failed in this most basic way.

Is it possible that sexual assaults were happening in his own locker room and he didn’t immediately know? Possible. But the moment he found out and he didn’t get right to the bottom of it, reprimand the culprits, make serious corrections and demand accountability, he failed as a football coach, not to mention as a human being.

The fact that a figure of Gagliardi’s stature seemingly fails to realize these basic tenets of leadership and the inherent accountability therein, should set alarms off. I sincerely hope that there is no coach, no university, or any other organization in the country that doesn’t take the time to re-evaluate what they are doing to ensure the Penn State scandal is the last of its kind.

As much as Joe Paterno’s hastened death is a shame, and as shameful as the entire Penn State scandal is, it would be a much greater shame if the best we can do is, “feel pretty saddened about it.”

TIERS FOR FEARS

A detailed draft plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves



No Kan Do

T Minus 1 day until the NBA Draft, and I’m starting to get worried. There are “reports” from Espn.com’s Chad Ford that the Timberwolves are considering Enes Kanter at #2. This is very bad news. Recapping my last post introducing my suggested draft plan for the Timberwolves, you either take Williams (or Irving if available) or you trade down. Which means, David Kahn, please do not take Kanter at #2. If you like him, trade with Utah. They’d be happy to do it.

However, that all being said, forget trading down. Take Derrick Williams. And here’s why: it’s become pretty clear that Williams is going to be a good player, and is the clear-cut 2nd best player in the draft, if not the best. So the only reason for the Wolves not to take him would be that they’re happy with Beasley playing small forward.

B-Easy or D-Weezy?

But here’s what the Wolves need to ask themselves: who would you rather have, Beasley or Williams? If I had to choose, I would take Williams. Beasley’s a great talent, and he has a high ceiling, even after what has been an underwhelming two years in the league, given his gifts and his being drafted #2 overall. I would even say he has unique offensive skills that could make him one of the better offensive forwards in the league.

However, he has a few strikes against him: 1. He is a very individualistic player. Right now, he’s a one-on-one player with shaky shot selection and who doesn’t pass much. 2. He doesn’t play a lick of d. Capable? Maybe. But needs to improve. 3. And three, his intangibles are pretty glaringly suspect. I’m not saying you can’t have erratic body language, talk to yourself out loud, and generally look completely stoned (giving him the benefit of the doubt that he’s not actually stoned), and not be a good basketball player. But I am saying that if you already have those strikes against you, then you need to play hard, all the time, to have the world believe that you actually give a rat’s. And Beasley doesn’t.

Two things could help his cause: One, Rambis could be fired. It’s no secret that Rambis once upon a time didn’t play a different talented forward enough to allow him to play his game. I’m also not sure that Rambis’ do-whatever-you-want demeanor is helpful to Mr. “He smoked too much weed” Beasley. And secondly, Beasley was tearing it up last year before he hurt his ankle, and he is a much different player healthy.

That all being said, I’m not sure there’s a GM in the Association who would take Beasley over Williams right now. Williams just seems two talented, charismatic, and explosive, and Beasley just has too many question marks. So if that’s the case, you can’t pass up Williams just because you have Beasley already.

Can you find enough minutes for both? That might be another story. But I think the right play is to take Williams and figure out the rest later.

Kyrie Eleison

Same thing with Kyrie Irving. I think Rubio and Irving could play together. Irving can shoot the ball from three and can score in a number of ways. He also was in a similar situation at Duke, with he and Nolan Smith both capable of playing both guard positions. I’m not sure I want Ricky playing off the ball, but Irving could play the two and run the offense when Ricky sits. Regardless, Irving (and Williams too) would be easy to trade if it didn’t work out.

I think Kanter will be good. He’s built like a man and runs like horse, with post moves to boot- a unique combination. But he’s too much of an unknown to take him that high. And if he can’t play defense, which remains to be seen, we would regress as a defensive team, which should not be possible.

Therein lies the problem with building around Kevin Love: he doesn’t score inside and he doesn’t defend inside. So finding a center to play next to him requires finding a defensive force as well as someone who can create his own shot inside every now and again, which just might be the most rare commodity in basketball.

If you’re going to draft out of need, fine, but our top two needs are production from the 2 guard and defense from the center, and you won’t find either of those in any of the top 8 or so players in this draft. So if you’re drafting at #2, it’s gotta be Williams, Irving, or nothing!

Tiers or Tears

If I was running this draft, I would ascribe to Chad Ford’s Tier System. To summarize, the players are ranked, then grouped. The progression of each tier represents a significant drop-off in the level of player as well as the “sure-thing” factor: whether such a player has a high probability of success in the NBA.

The tier system protects teams from themselves: it keeps them from reaching too low for a player while passing up a better player. Why would teams ever “reach”? They would probably be picking based on a need or a “fit”, which can be sometimes very fluid things. For example, with the Wolves, we basically need everything, while an argument could be made that no player will perfectly fit our team, because it’s so bad!

Below is a list of players, separated by tier. I essentially took Ford’s advice on who fits in to which tier. But I went a few steps further: 1, I ordered the players within each tier according to who would be most valuable for the Timberwolves. 2, I deleted players from the list that don’t make much sense for us to draft (basically all the power forwards). 3, I identified where in the draft I would take each tier.

So here’s how it works: When it’s the Wolves’ pick turn to pick at #2 or #20 (or elsewhere if there’s a trade), they choose the most valuable player from the highest tier that still has players in it. In this case, value is based on how they help our team.

Obvious example: If Williams goes #1, you have to take Kyrie Irving, even though he doesn’t fill an obvious need, while a different player from a lower tier might. Bottom line is, Irving could turn into a star while Bismack Biyombo might never pan out. It just simply wouldn’t be wise to pass on a player of Irving’s caliber to pick based on need.

One last thing: It’s possible if we somehow ended up with the 6-8 or 13-19 picks that there’s nobody there worth picking at that level. So don’t pick there.

So without any further ado, here’s who I would draft and how they’d help us:

Who I would draft at #2:

Kyrie Irving – pg – Great all-around player. Provides offensive creativity, passing, defense, outside shooting, and is a good teammate and citizen. On the flip side, he only provided a limited sample size of stats at Duke, and is coming off an injury.

Derrick Williams – sf/pf – Charismatic personality who led a deep, unexpected run in NCAA tournament. Brings multi-faceted scoring, athleticism and finishing ability, strength, rebounding, outside shooting, energy, and toughness.

3 or below:

Enes Kanter – c – Sat out last season ineligible to play at Kentucky. He’s a strong, confident offensive force inside; works hard, plays hard, and loves the game.

4 or below:

Kemba Walker - pg – National Champion and arguably the best college player in the nation last year. Another charismatic leader, he greatly improved his shooting and was essentially unstoppable offensively. But can he play point guard and will he pay defense?

Brandon Knight –pg/sg – Athletic, aggressive guard who made multiple game-winning shots in the postseason last year. Not a great passer, average shooter, but gets it done, and plays tough defense.

9 or below:

Klay Thompson - sg – Possibly the best shooter in the draft, he’s big (6’7”) and athletic. But does he play d and can he create his own shot?

Bismack Biyambo – c – 7’7” wingspan despite his 6’9” frame. Very active, and a good rebounder and shot-blocker. Other than that, and his non-existent offensive game, he’s very much a mystery.

Alec Burks – sg – One of the best scorers in the nation last year, without much of an outside shot. Great athleticism, and an ability to get to the basket.

Chris Singleton – sf – Long, excellent defender, decent offensive player.

Jonas Valanciunas – c – Big, tough and active player, but very raw. Big European buyout means be patient.

Jan Vesely – sf – Tall (6’10”) and very athletic, runs the floor and finishes. Can handle the ball and shoot a little bit.

Kawhi Leonard – sf – Active, athletic player who rebounds and shoots the mid-range jumper

Jimmer Fredette – pg/sg – Ridiculously good shooter, finds ways to get it off, and is very well-liked and respected. Didn’t play any D in college, can he do it in the pros?

20 or below:

Marshon Brooks – sg – A scorer with very long arms and rebounds well.
Jeremy Tyler – c – tall (7’?) and athletic, he’s an American who’s played overseas and underwhelmed.
Nikola Vucevic – c – 7-footer from USC who has impressed in workouts.
Nolan Smith – sg – 4-year player at Duke with great leadership who plays defense and can score
Donatus Motiejunas – c – Lithuanian 7-footer, would go much higher without his huge buyout
Reggie Jackson - pg/sg – big point guard who plays defense
Tyler Honeycutt – sf – poor man’s Tayshaun Prince?
Josh Selby – pg/sg – highly touted high school recruit underwhelmed at Kansas.

2nd round:

E’Twan Moore – sg – 4-year started at Purdue shoots the ball well and can play point.
David Lighty – sg – big, smart player from Ohio State plays good defense and can shoot 3’s
Travis Leslie – sg – perhaps best dunker in nation, a little short (6’4”)
Malcolm Lee - pg/sg – another big point guard who can play d.
Kyle Singler – sf – one of best players in nation at Duke after four years, but not sure how his game will translate
Keith Benson - c – big, but questions about his effort
Nikola Mrotic – c – skilled big who will stay in Europe for a year or two

Late 2nd:

Morris – pg – big (6’5”) point guard from Michigan
Scotty Hopson – sg – great athlete with nice size (6’7”)

TIMBERWOLVES DRAFT PLAN

by Isaac Huss



The Timberwolves, if you haven’t heard, suck at life. Recently ESPN the Magazine ranked the teams from the four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) and the Wolves finished 118th out of 122 teams. They have not had a remotely successful season since Kevin Garnett was fatefully gifted to Boston, and have become a national punching bag thanks to David Kahn and his wit, among other things. But perhaps the biggest contributing factor to the T-Wolves’ woes, especially recently, has been their draft history. So to lend a hand, here is one man’s effort to help the cause.

First of all, it would help to have a plan in the first place. So to begin, let’s identify the Wolves’ greatest needs. In order to do so, however, let’s identify their greatest strengths:

1. Power Forward. Kevin Love is the team’s best, most valuable, and most marketable player, by far. I’m not saying he should be untouchable, but when heading into a draft, unless there’s a clear-cut player with superior, can’t miss skills, you don’t draft at his position. In addition to Love, arguably the two next best players on the roster also play this same position: Michael Beasley and Anthony Tolliver. Tolliver may not be as valuable on the trade market as a Wesley Johnson, or even a Johnny Flynn (hopefully), but nobody played harder and gave a more consistent effort, especially on defense, in addition to being a very good outside shooter. Throw in the fact that Anthony Randolph impressed in Love’s absence at the end of the season, and the fact that Nikola Pekovic might be undersized for center, that leaves the Wolves with an embarrassment of riches of sorts at this position. And when you have an embarrassment of riches at a position, you do not draft that position. I repeat: YOU DO NOT DRAFT AT THAT POSITION!!!

And that’s about where it ends. No seriously. That’s the only position that could be considered a position of strength for the Timberwolves. Which means, the Timberwolves should be at least open to drafting any position but power forward. But let me be clear, just for the record: DO NOT DRAFT AT THAT POSITION!!!

Now, you may be thinking, “Wait, we have Ricky Rubio, you can’t be saying we should draft another point guard after the whole ‘Ricky Rubio/Johnny Flynn Scandal of 2009’.” Well, here’s what I have to say about that: I agree. But, and this is a big but, if you know what I mean: Our guys must be damn sure that Ricky is who they think he is, which is a “Transformational Player”. I don’t have a problem with them sticking to their guns with that. Also, if they have made any sort of promises to Ricky that they feel like they would lose credibility around the league if they rescinded on those, which is very possible that they did, then they should not draft a point guard.

However, if the whole deal with Ricky is what many think it is, which is, here is a mediocre European point guard with a flair for a highlight every now and again who doesn’t really want to play in Minnesota and doesn’t hide that fact, then the Timberwolves should have no qualms with picking a point guard if the shoe fits. Which means: if one of my top three point guard prospects is available when the Wolves choose according to the plan detailed below, they should consider taking him. If that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry, it might later. And if it doesn’t later, then, I’m sorry.

So now that we know what is a position of strength, let’s identify what are positions of need for the upcoming season, and thus, the draft (specific needs in parentheses):

1. Shooting Guard (scoring/defending); 2. Center (defending/scoring); 3. Small Forward (defending/scoring); 4. Point Guard (passing/defending/scoring).

Notice, the biggest specific need on our team is most definitely defense. We have scorers on our team at every position, except point guard and, arguably, shooting guard. Perhaps it’s worth saying at this time that Wesley Johnson could very well turn out to be a very good off guard, but my bet is that he’s got a better chance of being a very good small forward, where he played in college, and that it would do him well to move him back there permanently. Therefore, if you consider him a forward, then we have no legitimate scoring threat at the off guard position.

That all being said, overall team defense is Minnesota’s biggest flaw at this time. That will only be remedied by a competent defensive coach, which they do not possess at this time. In the meantime, the team needs to get better individually at defense, even to the point that David Kahn should be very hesitant to draft anybody who is not at least a competent defender already, and not just potentially. This means you, Jimmer.

That all being said, you don’t draft someone #2 overall because of his defense. This means you, Hasheem Thabeet. And, perhaps more importantly, you don’t over-think it. If there is someone who is obviously the 2nd best player in the draft, you take him at #2. If you don’t particularly like that player, trade down.

In case you’re wondering if a team should reach at #2 in order to fill a need, the answer is no. If a player doesn’t deserve to be to be taken that high, don’t take him. Here’s what I’m getting at: there’s no player in this draft that deserves to be taken at #2 that fills either of our top two position needs, shooting guard or center. Therefore, we should either take the best player available, or trade down.

All of this means that the Timberwolves should not expect to draft a player that significantly improves their team. That doesn’t mean they can’t get better in this draft, but they should look to make a big splash elsewhere: through free agency or a trade. In a later post, I will identify players the Wolves should target in free agency, as well as in a trade. In the meantime, my next post will detail a specific, detailed suggested draft plan for the Wolves.

Until then.