Kander, Newton and more released

[horaceworthy]

This is blocked at my work, but knowing it's by Britt, I'm sure he's ripping the Wolves for dumping Newton and no creating a consultant spot for a guy that wants to be 1000 miles away? Britt's a Country Club apologist, so I'm guessing he's not being favorable in this. I'll have to read it when I get home.

You're confusing him with somebody else.

No, I'm pretty sure it was Britt that kissed SMitch's ass this past winter, giving him excuses for why he shouldn't be fired.

And no, race has nothing to do with it.

I haven't viewed Robson as a country club apologist in the past, but I do think that after the sit down interview with SMitch he viewed the coach in a much more favorable light and it was reflected in the writing.

I think it's fair to ask the race question in this instance. Taylor spent money he didn't have to in the process of giving one white guy the jobs/authority of two black men.

I also think that anybody who can't see that Thibs is a better candidate for the job than SMitch and Milt and an excellent hire is likely being deliberately obtuse. Which is probably why someone with a larger audience than Robson hasn't talked about it.

[Movics]

I think it's fair to ask the race question in this instance. Taylor spent money he didn't have to in the process of giving one white guy the jobs/authority of two black men.

Why, when the incoming staff members are superior to the others that got fired? Why do you need to look at people's skin color? By the way TWO white guys came in that are better at what they do than the guys who previously held those positions... What I am going to say may not be popular but I think users that pull the race card belong to the race that came up short in this situation... It is just pointless in this case when the whole organization obviously improved thanks to only those two hirings. Would it be different if Thibs were black?

This topic's been bothering me for a minute, this suggestions is just outright ridiculous.

[LordBaldric]

In the US if you have the slightest tint of blackness, you are black. A huge % of black Americans are mixed, as can easily be seen by comparing them to an actual person from West Africa. Jason Kidd is surely at least 3/4ths white, but here that makes him black conventionally. Sorry if any of this upsets the PC crowd.

Where do you live? This is a lot different than what I've seen. I think it depends more on their facial features and what culture they seem to relate to. Aaron Gordon, Blake Griffin, and Zach LaVine are all viewed as black guys for the most part, but I think most people identify Kidd as a white guy. Same thing with Derek Jeter. He's mixed, but probably 95% of Americans have no clue he isn't 100% white.

Seems like you aren't really disagreeing with me. You named 3 relatively whitish looking dudes and said they were black. Then said Kidd looks like a white guy- sure but would that be the case if he didn't shave his head these days? Then Jeter is mixed, which he is, but I would guess a great majority of his ancestors were white. Obama is exactly mixed 1/2 & 1/2 for example, and there's no way if he were just some guy walking down the street he'd be considered anything but straight up black. Ditto for all the caramel colored players around the league.

My whole point is it hardly takes any African features in the US to be considered black, and to be considered white, you must have pretty much 100% Caucasian features.

[Klomp]

Part of the issue is that in the United States we accept hypodescent, which means that one drop of black blood or any hint of black features can imply that one is fully and totally black. Consider Jason Kidd, the point guard for the New Jersey Nets. He is a black man in the United States because his father is a black man (his mother is white). In fact, from the interviews and pictures I’ve seen of his father Jason Kidd is likely well below 1/2 black in ancestry, because his father looks to be mixed genetically. In the United States though people who have noticeable black ancestry are considered black. Does Jason Kidd have noticeable black ancestry? A few years ago I recall reading a story about a reporter who was in Russia where Jason Kidd was described as a white basketball player. The reporter was startled, but he had to admit that if you didn’t know Kidd’s father was African American you might not necessarily assume he was African American, especially with his hair cut short. Cultural priors matter, and in the United States we give great weight to black ancestry as determinative of one’s race.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2007/11/mixed-race-but-homogeneous-appearance/#.V1XgIVQrLIU

[urinesane]

It's based on stupidity. We are humans, categorizing beyond that based on factors that none of us control is silly. This sort of crap is holding humanity back.

A lot of people think that we aren't chimps, because we only share 98% of their DNA. That 2% is what makes us human right?

Sure, that accounts for the differences between us... but if I gave you a sandwich that was 98% sh*t and 2% ham, would you be willing to call it a ham sandwich?

Instead of looking at the massive majority of things that we have in common with each other, we look at the smallest differences to try and separate ourselves.

It's a catch 22. We wouldn't be able to navigate the world very well if we weren't able to distinguish differences between things, but we take it way too far. Which causes us to ignore the fact that we are all WAY MORE similar than we are different.

[ace625214]

In the US if you have the slightest tint of blackness, you are black. A huge % of black Americans are mixed, as can easily be seen by comparing them to an actual person from West Africa. Jason Kidd is surely at least 3/4ths white, but here that makes him black conventionally. Sorry if any of this upsets the PC crowd.

Where do you live? This is a lot different than what I've seen. I think it depends more on their facial features and what culture they seem to relate to. Aaron Gordon, Blake Griffin, and Zach LaVine are all viewed as black guys for the most part, but I think most people identify Kidd as a white guy. Same thing with Derek Jeter. He's mixed, but probably 95% of Americans have no clue he isn't 100% white.

Seems like you aren't really disagreeing with me. You named 3 relatively whitish looking dudes and said they were black. Then said Kidd looks like a white guy- sure but would that be the case if he didn't shave his head these days? Then Jeter is mixed, which he is, but I would guess a great majority of his ancestors were white. Obama is exactly mixed 1/2 & 1/2 for example, and there's no way if he were just some guy walking down the street he'd be considered anything but straight up black. Ditto for all the caramel colored players around the league.

My whole point is it hardly takes any African features in the US to be considered black, and to be considered white, you must have pretty much 100% Caucasian features.

I'm disagreeing with the one drop thing. I think it's a lot more nuanced than that. Tim Howard is mixed. I didn't even know that until looking for examples. I thought he was white. There are plenty of mixed athletes/celebrities that are viewed as white.

[Minnesota Power]

Wow the Timberwolves fanbase is just insane

-Complains about the country club culture of the franchise

-Glen Taylor grows a braincell and decides the country club needs to stop and hires someone based on credentials (Thibs) rather then whether or not hes personal friends or is from Minnesota

-Guy with credentials (Thibs) brings in people with credentials to put together a team capable of competing for a championship rather then people born and raised in Minnesota, and the people he brought in happen to be white and people let go happen to be black.

Now Twolves fans are claiming Thibs is racist and needs to be fired and stoned to death because how dare he fire born and raised Minnesotans from a job they should of never had (and were incapable of putting together a team that could make the playoffs) and replaced with competent intelligent people that will build a winning team.

I don't know about you guys, but i'd rather have a championship winning team rather then a team that can't make the playoffs in over a decade ran by a bunch of looney morons from Mankato who are all gay BFFs with each other.

[horaceworthy]

I think it's fair to ask the race question in this instance. Taylor spent money he didn't have to in the process of giving one white guy the jobs/authority of two black men.

Why, when the incoming staff members are superior to the others that got fired? Why do you need to look at people's skin color? By the way TWO white guys came in that are better at what they do than the guys who previously held those positions... What I am going to say may not be popular but I think users that pull the race card belong to the race that came up short in this situation... It is just pointless in this case when the whole organization obviously improved thanks to only those two hirings. Would it be different if Thibs were black?

This topic's been bothering me for a minute, this suggestions is just outright ridiculous.

Asking why something happened is fair. It isn't pulling the race card or making a suggestion. As we both already stated the answer is obvious due to the upgrade Thibs represents.

Thibs is a coach with roster authority. Like Flip was and SVG is. Layden's spot in the pecking order is likely closer to Bower in Detroit or Milt's before Flip's passing. Not the more traditional dual roles Milt and SMitch performed afterwards.

I find the I don't see race type perspective odd. Acknowledging people are different, have different experiences and heritages is fine. Typically they're things to be celebrated. Unless you're Norwegian. The Thibs hiring is great for the present and future of my favorite NBA team. Recognizing that diversity in the NBA front office and head coaching ranks took a hit in the process is simply acknowledging a fact, not suggesting something sinister.

[C.lupus]

I think it's fair to ask the race question in this instance. Taylor spent money he didn't have to in the process of giving one white guy the jobs/authority of two black men.

Why, when the incoming staff members are superior to the others that got fired? Why do you need to look at people's skin color? By the way TWO white guys came in that are better at what they do than the guys who previously held those positions... What I am going to say may not be popular but I think users that pull the race card belong to the race that came up short in this situation... It is just pointless in this case when the whole organization obviously improved thanks to only those two hirings. Would it be different if Thibs were black?

This topic's been bothering me for a minute, this suggestions is just outright ridiculous.

Asking why something happened is fair. It isn't pulling the race card or making a suggestion. As we both already stated the answer is obvious due to the upgrade Thibs represents.

Thibs is a coach with roster authority. Like Flip was and SVG is. Layden's spot in the pecking order is likely closer to Bower in Detroit or Milt's before Flip's passing. Not the more traditional dual roles Milt and SMitch performed afterwards.

I find the I don't see race type perspective odd. Acknowledging people are different, have different experiences and heritages is fine. Typically they're things to be celebrated. Unless you're Norwegian. The Thibs hiring is great for the present and future of my favorite NBA team. Recognizing that diversity in the NBA front office and head coaching ranks took a hit in the process is simply acknowledging a fact, not suggesting something sinister.

Hey now.

[Saltine]

Damn Norwegian's, always making things whiter than they need to be.

[Klomp]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChrisLongKSTP/status/743897073334910976[/tweet]

[Tirion]

Now, that's a firing I can applaud to. Moore is as country club as it gets.

[ace625214]

Gopher apparently had this scoop a month ago but spelled Moor wrong.

[Klomp]

Gopher apparently had this scoop a month ago but spelled Moor wrong.

???

[ace625214]

Gopher apparently had this scoop a month ago but spelled Moor wrong.

???

"Kander, Newton, and more released"

[Klomp]

Gopher apparently had this scoop a month ago but spelled Moor wrong.

???

"Kander, Newton, and more released"

[john2jer]

Moor wasn't released or fired though. He stepped down so he could take on a role more directly involved with the entire Scrooge McTaylor fortune and holdings, instead of just being involved with the Wolves. Sounds like actually a step up. Dude probably gets to swim in the Money Bin!

[Tirion]

You know you're hardcore, when you looking up front office press releases, about scouts and assistant trainers.

Notice the timing of it tho. The day after KG announced his retirement. Man, Thibs loves to bury this nuggets.

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced additions to the team’s basketball staff for the 2016-17 NBA season, naming Noah Croom as Assistant General Manager, Brian Pauga as Director of Player Personnel and John Carideo, Jim Eyen, Drew Nicholas, Scott Roth and Jim Todd as Scouts. The team also named Matthew Duhamel as Director of Athletic Therapy, Pierre Nesbit as Assistant Athletic Trainer and Troy Sutton as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach.

The team also announced the following staff have been appointed to various positions within the organization: Calvin Booth as Director of Pro Personnel, Matt Bollero as Pro Personnel Scout, David Crewe as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach/Assistant Athletic Trainer, Emmanuel Rohan as Director of Basketball Administration, Todd Checovich as Manager of Basketball Operations and Rachel Saunders as Manager of Team Services.

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/timberwolves-announce-basketball-staff-additions/

Croom and Pauga are the big boys here. Croom is a NBA front office guy, friend of Silver. Pauga was with Spurs for 9 years. Scouting department also looks strong. The trainers from football tho...? Why? I miss Arnie already.