Flip & His Buddies

Post #1 » by **Klomp** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:00 pm

Didn't see this posted. Flip hired his two assistant coaches. Just saw on ESPNNEWS.

.....drum roll please....

Randy Wittman and Sam Cassell

Mayoistooslow · Post #2 » by **Mayoistooslow** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:04 pm

LOL - at least we're not the Wizards. All I can say right now. LOL

Post #3 » by **Klomp** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:11 pm

Heres what I wrote on the Wiz board:

klomp44 wrote:Sam is a good hire. He's a great basketball mind, and he won't be shy about telling Gilbert what he's doing well. As for Wittman.....well, at least he isn't your head coach. That's all I have to say about him.

What's the over under on a third assistant by the name of Latrell Sprewell? Then make a trade for KG, sign Szczerbiak this offseason, get Darrick Martin, Ervin Johnson, Troy Hudson, and Gary Trent out of retirement, and you have the Minnesota Timberwolves that went to the Western Conference Finals.

Post #4 » by **Calinks** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:21 pm

Witt will be fine as an assistant. Sam will be awesome.

jade_hippo · Post #5 » by **jade_hippo** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:03 pm

Witt actually was a good assistant, that's why he kept getting hired by teams as head coaches. I wouldn't be suprised if Sydney Lowe gets a special assistant job.

Mcfale313 · Post #6 » by **Mcfale313** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:13 am

washinton timberwolves-2003 ?

next for the wiz will be hiring trenton hassell as scout, latrell sprewell as VP of finance, and trade arenas, jamieson, and butler in a 4 way deal to land Kevin Garnett, wally szerbiak, and trasho nesterovic

woohoo, now they are ready to repeat the 03-04 wolves!

Post #7 » by **Klomp** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:52 am

Mcfale313 wrote:washinton timberwolves-2003 ?

next for the wiz will be hiring trenton hassell as scout, latrell sprewell as VP of finance, and trade arenas, jamieson, and butler in a 4 way deal to land Kevin Garnett, wally szerbiak, and trasho nesterovic

woohoo, now they are ready to repeat the 03-04 wolves!

The easiest way to ruin a franchise...

4ho5ive · Post #8 » by **4ho5ive** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:48 am

Spree would find himself choking the team owner sooner than later

And Sam Cassell is awesome. He will be a very good assistant me thinks

GopherIt! · Post #9 » by **GopherIt!** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:46 am

is Bob Rabcock next??

Tirion · Post #10 » by **Tirion** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:59 pm

Didn't Sam quit on Flip after WCF run and got him fired?
That's what Sam haters kept saying back then.
Apparently that wasn't true.

Post #11 » by **Worm Guts** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:04 pm

Well, Chad Hartman made comments about how Cassell would go into opposing teams locker rooms and beg teams to trade for him in the 2004-2005 season. I saw him refuse to pass to Wally multiple times, even when he was open directly under the basket. I don't know if quit is the right word, but it definitely seemed to me that he intentionally sabotaged that season.

southern wolf · Post #12 » by **southern wolf** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:30 pm

Mike James is another ex-wolf turned wizard.

shrink · Post #13 » by **shrink** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:53 pm

Spree could use something good in his life.

I've obviously over-stated the bad blood between Flip and Cassell. I heard an interview he did a few months back where the host tried to get him to say something bad about Sam, and Flip refused, and praised him for who he is. I thought that was just Flip being professional, but it really sounds like he meant it.

john2jer · Post #14 » by **john2jer** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:54 pm

How in the world could Spree be expected to feed his family on an assistant's salary, though?

Mcfale313 · Post #15 » by **Mcfale313** » Fri May 22, 2009 4:17 pm

john2jer wrote:How in the world could Spree be expected to feed his family on an assistant's salary, though?

thats y i put him as VP of finance!

Tirion · Post #16 » by **Tirion** » Sun May 24, 2009 3:01 am

Worm Guts wrote:Well, Chad Hartman made comments about how Cassell would go into opposing teams locker rooms and beg teams to trade for him in the 2004-2005 season. I saw him refuse to pass to Wally multiple times, even when he was open directly under the basket. I don't know if quit is the right word, but it definitely seemed to me that he intentionally sabotaged that season.

So what, you're saying that Flip Saunders is Jesus Christ reincarnate?
Or maybe, just maybe, you want to admit that most of the **** that was spreaded about Sam at the time was just bullcrap? Maybe he didn't quite on the coach, he was just injured. Maybe he didn't sabotage the team, but was scapegoated for team struggles by the cheapskate owner and incompetent GM. Just like they did it with Flip. And KG. And Casey.

Jonathan Watters · Post #17 » by **Jonathan Watters** » Sun May 24, 2009 3:15 am

You forget who you are dealing with. A large percentage of the folks around here still shamelessly support every move the Taylor/McHale trainwreck makes. You aren't going to convince them otherwise...

It was Paul Grant's fault. That's the only explanation that makes sense...

Post #18 » by **Worm Guts** » Sun May 24, 2009 8:03 am

Tirion wrote:
Worm Guts wrote:Well, Chad Hartman made comments about how Cassell would go into opposing teams locker rooms and beg teams to trade for him in the 2004-2005 season. I saw him refuse to pass to Wally multiple times, even when he was open directly under the basket. I don't know if quit is the right word, but it definitely seemed to me that he intentionally sabotaged that season.

So what, you're saying that Flip Saunders is Jesus Christ reincarnate?
Or maybe, just maybe, you want to admit that most of the **** that was spreaded about Sam at the time was just bullcrap? Maybe he didn't quite on the coach, he was just injured. Maybe he didn't sabotage the team, but was scapegoated for team struggles by the cheapskate owner and incompetent GM. Just like they did it with Flip. And KG. And Casey.

I saw Sam Cassell not pass to a wide open Wally Sczcerbiak underneath the basket. I saw KG take the ball away from Cassell, and pass the ball to Wally because Cassell was obviously icing him out. I saw these things with my own eyes. No matter what you say I know these things happened and no matter what you say Cassell had a previous reputation for pulling this kind of bull. There's a reason Milwaukee gave him away for nothing.
Chad Hartman has told his story of Cassell into other teams locker rooms and requesting trade multiple times and he tells it as if it's first hand knowlede. Hartman was not a McHale/Taylor supporter. So what exactly of my post do you doubt is true?

Post #19 » by **Worm Guts** » Sun May 24, 2009 8:06 am

Jonathan Watters wrote:You forget who you are dealing with. A large percentage of the folks around here still shamelessly support every move the Taylor/McHale trainwreck makes. You aren't going to convince them otherwise...

It was Paul Grant's fault. That's the only explanation that makes sense...

What are you talking about? Cassell sabotaging the team doesn't make McHale less of a bad GM.

shrink · Post #20 » by **shrink** » Sun May 24, 2009 1:19 pm

Tirion wrote:
Worm Guts wrote:Well, Chad Hartman made comments about how Cassell would go into opposing teams locker rooms and beg teams to trade for him in the 2004-2005 season. I saw him refuse to pass to Wally multiple times, even when he was open directly under the basket. I don't know if quit is the right word, but it definitely seemed to me that he intentionally sabotaged that season.

So what, you're saying that Flip Saunders is Jesus Christ reincarnate?
Or maybe, just maybe, you want to admit that most of the **** that was spreaded about Sam at the time was just bullcrap? Maybe he didn't quite on the coach, he was just injured. Maybe he didn't sabotage the team, but was scapegoated for team struggles by the cheapskate owner and incompetent GM. Just like they did it with Flip. And KG. And Casey.

That's not what he said.

The freeze-out of Wally was well-known, and though I had not heard the trade thing, it does not surprise me. The thing I found amazing was right before the end when Flip publicly suggested Cassell's injuries would suddenly flare up when a young, quick PG would come to town to embarrass him.

To me, Cassell (and Spree to a lesser extent, since he followed him) was primarily responsible for deliberately ruining team chemistry because Taylor made him stick to the agreement he made when they signed him .. no discussion of re-signing until after the second season. Some experts predicted that team was going to win an NBA championship, but these issues were so bad that the Wolves didn't even make the play-offs. I felt Flip would be bitter because Cassell refused to listen to him as a coach, wrecked his team, and ultimately cost Flip his job. However, either Flip is a tremendously forgiving guy, or there's more to the Flip/Sam relationship than we know.