Woj article - Balance of Power (Adelman hire)

Busch Legion · Post #1 » by **Busch Legion** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:42 am

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... ves_091211

More Kahn bashing? You bet.

jade_hippo · Post #2 » by **jade_hippo** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:12 am

it reads like an article from the Onion...

cpfsf · Post #3 » by **cpfsf** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:30 am

I'm not sure why I read the whole thing. I didn't agree with it at all, but I still found it interesting.

Foye · Post #4 » by **Foye** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:03 pm

Woj is terrible.

breatnach · Post #5 » by **breatnach** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:44 pm

The article is obviously very biased and hateful of Kahn. However, I wonder if there is some truth to it. I didn't know of their history. Also Rick has been known to be at large with the Rockets GM over prospects vs win now players.

It'll be interesting to see the dynamic between the two. However, Kahn has done a great job rebuilding and if we need a different GM for winning... so be it, I guess.

shrink · Post #6 » by **shrink** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:49 pm

I'm not the biggest Kahn fan on the boards, but I emailed him this:

shrink wrote:Did David Kahn kick your dog or something?

From what I've seen, he's been a bad drafter, decent trader, and good with the cap space. He didn't have trade assets, but was able to do value-investing on high-upside players who's values were depressed because of other issues. It may not work out, but was there some other play he could have made to try to add talent to the Timberwolves?

And just from a journalistic viewpoint, do you think it's good writing to repeat how bad he is fifteen times in the same article?

It makes you sound like a jilted ex-girlfriend and not like a journalist.

phonzadellika · Post #7 » by **phonzadellika** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:52 pm

I like Kahn...he may have foot-in-mouth-itis and an ever-smug look on his face but he's been a sports-writer, a successful attorney, made the D-League decent, and generally seems to be successful in spite of the way that he goes about doing things. He probably hasn't had a lot of resources to work with under Taylor but still has managed to make the Wolves somewhat relevant this season, which is kind of a small miracle. I thought making Rambis write an essay was priceless - Kahn definitely marches to the beat of his own off-time drummer...

The man and his mole lead an interesting life for sure.

Post #8 » by **Worm Guts** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 1:07 pm

phonzadellika wrote:I like Kahn...he may have foot-in-mouth-itis and an ever-smug look on his face but he's been a sports-writer, a successful attorney, made the D-League decent, and generally seems to be successful in spite of the way that he goes about doing things. He probably hasn't had a lot of resources to work with under Taylor but still has managed to make the Wolves somewhat relevant this season, which is kind of a small miracle. I thought making Rambis write an essay was priceless - Kahn definitely marches to the beat of his own off-time drummer...

The man and his mole lead an interesting life for sure.

Relevant how? If you just mean interesting, then yes, he's made the team interesting by acting in a way most consider goofy or incompetent. I'm not sure that should be considered an achievement. The team needs to win games before he deserves to get credit for his method of rebuilding.

As for Woj, this is what he does. He's a hatchet man and Kahn's far from his only target.

phonzadellika · Post #9 » by **phonzadellika** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 1:42 pm

I meant relevant in a manner that the Wolves are better-positioned to do something meaningful this year than in years past. This is maybe the year that we get to see his vision in action for the first time. Last year's off-season was interesting because of all the bargain-bin pickups that Kahn made and the 'will Love make it happen' speculation. This year is exciting because Rubio is finally here, Love has exceeded expectation, Adelman was hired, and we drafted Derrick Williams who I believe will be fun to watch. It finally feels like they're not trying to get to some place anymore. That's an accomplishment in and of itself for this particular club. Sort of like when the Twins stopped being trash in the 90s.

shangrila · Post #10 » by **shangrila** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:28 pm

Worm Guts wrote:As for Woj, this is what he does. He's a hatchet man and Kahn's far from his only target.

This.

Although I think Kahn deserves some credit for this offseason. Williams, Rubio and Adelman is a hell of a haul.

Esohny · Post #11 » by **Esohny** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:59 pm

Shrug. Is anyone worried about what he writes at this point?

In this case, I really don't care, because if he's right and Kahn gets forced out, that's not a bad thing (I'd argue that it's the right idea). And if the stuff about Taylor stepping in here isn't bunk, that's actually a great thing. In the past, many(including me) have been pissed off because Taylor wouldn't give appropriate autonomy to prospective employees (supposedly this is why Dennis Lindsey and others were scared off during the GM search that led to Kahn), and lately wouldn't spend money to pull the team out of the garbage.

TMo519 · Post #12 » by **TMo519** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:22 pm

phonzadellika · Post #13 » by **phonzadellika** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:26 pm

In this case, I really don't care, because if he's right and Kahn gets forced out, that's not a bad thing (I'd argue that it's the right idea).

I'd probably agree with this in that I think Kahn is probably close to accomplishingwhat he was hired to do at this point, which is clean-up McHale's mess and get the team situated for the future. If they go with a new GM that would be better for a more competitive team I don't think anyone would complain too loudly, probably not even Kahn himself.

I'm sure that Stern will find other uses for Kahn in the future and that his time with the Wolves will have made him more valuable on the business side of the sports-community in general because now he has operational experience in managing a team. If that team does well, all the better. I could see Kahn becoming the point-man in the future if the NBA wanted to expand in Europe or increase collaboration with FIBA regarding player contracts and rules due to his navigating the Rubio buyout and dealing with all the foreign players that the Wolves have dibs on.

Post #14 » by **Worm Guts** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:58 pm

phonzadellika wrote:
In this case, I really don't care, because if he's right and Kahn gets forced out, that's not a bad thing (I'd argue that it's the right idea).

I'd probably agree with this in that I think Kahn is probably close to accomplishingwhat he was hired to do at this point, which is clean-up McHale's mess and get the team situated for the future. If they go with a new GM that would be better for a more competitive team I don't think anyone would complain too loudly, probably not even Kahn himself.

.

That doesn't make sense to me. You can't think Kahn did a good job (not that I do) and then fire him.

john2jer · Post #15 » by **john2jer** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:14 pm

Woj picks the targets that will get him the most readers. He's smart with the hot button topics. He rips LeBron, rips Kahn... He's like a 12 year old on the General Board.

There definitely may be some truth to his article, but he wrote it the way he did because it now sets him up to be right no matter what happens. If the Wolves succeed, it's because Adelman and despite Kahn. If they fail, it's because not even Adelman could overcome the idiocy of Kahn.

phonzadellika · Post #16 » by **phonzadellika** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:18 pm

That doesn't make sense to me. You can't think Kahn did a good job (not that I do) and then fire him.

Why not? I do think he's done a good job at rebuilding the team. I also think that if the Wolves can find someone who would be better a GM for a playoff-level basketball team then they should do it. Just because Kahn has done a good job at getting the team to a place where it can become successful doesn't mean that I think that he can continue to do a good job at helping it to grow. I don't believe that he has the appropriate basketball acumen for that stage of development.

Successfully-built organizations often go through several distinct phases of development in which different specialties are required. I specialize in building organizations from the ground-up, and it constitutes the majority of what I do for a living. Once an organization achieves a level of independence where it can become self-sustaining I move on to a different project because the skills that are required to nurture a newly-independent organization through the various growth-stages of development are different from the skills that I possess.

Post #17 » by **Worm Guts** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:36 pm

What's the difference between a playoff-level GM and rebuilding GM? They both look to bring in talent and make the team successful and profitable. It's the same job. And if you think that Kahn has done a good job rebuilding, why would you assume he wouldn't be a good GM for a playoff team?

Grits n Gravy · Post #18 » by **Grits n Gravy** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:40 pm

Worm Guts wrote:What's the difference between a playoff-level GM and rebuilding GM? They both look to bring in talent and make the team successful and profitable. It's the same job. And if you think that Kahn has done a good job rebuilding, why would you assume he wouldn't be a good GM for a playoff team?

completely agree, **** woj man...what a disgraceful article

moss_is_1 · Post #19 » by **moss_is_1** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:58 pm

It does seem that he just has a hidden agenda in bashing Kahn..Although I do hope that Adelman gets more of a say in personnel decisions than Kahn.

phonzadellika · Post #20 » by **phonzadellika** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:21 pm

What's the difference between a playoff-level GM and rebuilding GM? They both look to bring in talent and make the team successful and profitable. It's the same job. And if you think that Kahn has done a good job rebuilding, why would you assume he wouldn't be a good GM for a playoff team?

The difference in this case is the distance between invention and engineering. Kahn had to come in and re-invent the Timberwolves to reignite fan interest. He had to do this with tight purse strings while probably meeting attendance mandates and other goals that we are not knowledgable about. So, on draft day he does the best that he can on his own and proceeds to accumulate the most talent that he can, trying to hit a home-run and in the process put out a different product that might appeal to fans. While winning will obviously put the most people in the seats, the Wolves are years away from winning at this point, so he settles for building a team that will be fun to watch and hopefully they'll win some games along the way. After a couple of years, the Wolves have a legit all-star in Love and a bunch of really high-upside guys in Rubio, Beasley, D Williams, Johnson, and Randolph. Kahn had a vision of the kind of team that he wanted to put on the court and he implemented it.

Now that the vision has been realized there are obviously going to be a lot of growing pains, which means attracting the right kinds of supporting players, figuring out who to get rid of and who stays, managing their contracts over the life of the core of the team. It's a different sort of personnel-management, and I believe it's probably a much more subtle and artistic process than collecting talent. The team, after this year, is entering a different stage of development in getting all the pieces to work together properly and it will take the right ingredients to make it work.

I'm not assuming that Kahn wouldn't be a good GM for a playoff team - I'm suggesting that if someone better were available that the Wolves capitalize on it. Kahn's strengths as a manager seem to be implenting broad strategic plans, incorporating several differing viewpoints into cohesive and attainable goals, and product management. I know if I had a playoff caliber team that I would prefer someone who has a pulse on the rest of the league, on what it takes to build a championship team or what it takes to be on such a team. I don't know if that person is Kahn. But I do know that I'm not wrong for thinking he's done a good job and simultaneously be willing to jettison him for someone better.