Another poster named AoEevee from another board went to a breakfast meeting with David Kahn. They had an extensive conversation and a lot was answered. Here are some tidbits he shared.
Wolves President, over breakfast this morning.
He is a likable guy. He came all around the table to shake hands with each of us. He also has a very approiachable demeanor, and a wicked sense of humor (he is a former journalist). He's a very sharp mind. Here's what we talked about.
- Before he even sat down, someone asked about upcoming workouts. We have Tyreke Evans, DeMar Sorry it took so long to get this up. Got buried in homework.
Anyway, a small group (6 of us) had the opportunity to chat with David Kahn, the new DeRozan, and a group of point guards including Holiday, Flynn and Jennings coming in this weekend.
- Kahn started off by telling us why he wanted the job. First, he likes the flexability we have, with all of the draft picks and cap space and a fanbase that wants radical change. He said that unlike most management jobs, he doesn't have to stick to a preconstructed blueprint; he can basically take the team in any direction he wants, and has the resources to actually do that, and quickly. He also commented that we, as fans, deserve a winning team, and that he feels he's the guy that can make that happen.
- The first question was why he was sticking with McHale's old staffers instead of hiring his own. He basically said that there wasn't enough time between his hiring date and the draft to put his own staff together and vet all the picks, so he'll stick with the current crew until after the draft and then handle all of that in July.
- I asked him about his earlier comment that Al Jefferson was the second best player on a championship team (I agree), and where he was looking to find that #1 player. He said it's all open at this point; draft, free agency, trades.
- I also commented that, despite a rough rookie year and then missing his entire sophomore season, that Corey Brewer is far and away the most popular player on the team. Kahn agreed, and noted that he would like the #1 guy to be a marketable player (Al doesn't have the charisma for it) but that in the end, the easiest and best way to sell tickets is to win.
- Kahn said that he felt the team culture was too lacksidasical. He felt that the team has been in a pattern of taking what comes to it rather than going and getting what it wants, and that the front office doesn't operate under enough intensity. He wants to change that and has already started. For example, last Sunday he sat down with the entire staff for 8 hours and talkked basketball, redefining the work environment. Then yesterday (Monday) he and the other managers spent the entire day on the phones, basically guaging the interest levels of all the players on the team and the draft picks, to see what opportunities are out there and at what cost.
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I'm still waiting for you to be the one I'm waiting for
AoEevee
Posted 6/16/2009 9:50:57 PM
message detail - I asked if he and the staff had any specific players targeted to bring in via trade, and he said yes, although as expected, he wouldn't name names. No names either for the players the team is interested in in the draft.
- He did flat out say that a Kirk Hinrich trade will not happen. He feels that this early in the building process, that flexability is the key and that for what Kirk does, $9 million is way too steep a price. he noted that Hinrich doesn't even start for his own team, and that he lacks the dynamic ability to make the team great (he basically said he'd take us from bad to average) and that his cointract would eat up too much cap space we need to correct the mistakes we make.
- On that note, he did say that he's very aware of the mistakes the team has made prior to his hiring. He specifically singled out the Roy/Foye trade as one of the most lopsided trades in recent history.
- He also noted that he'll make mistakes too, but said it would never be from a lack of preperation, knowledge or backbone. Any mistakes that he makes he wants to be the honest kind that you just can't avoid without a crystal ball. He commented that he worked with Jerry West, and that even West made mistakes (he brought up Memphis' drafting Dahtay Jones and Troy Bell back to back as an example).
- Kahn specifically brought up San Antonio as an ideal model for building a team He doesn't like the concept of "spending like a drunken sailor" (direct quote) to try and buy your way out of losing. He mentionjed he's a buy low/sell high manager, and that money should follow winning, saying "if the team wins, then that''s when you pay them big contracts. That's when they deserve that".
- He also said he has no intention of being a perennial 8th or 7th seed. He wants a championship.
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I'm still waiting for you to be the one I'm waiting for
AoEevee
Posted 6/16/2009 9:52:35 PM
message detail - One of the guys asked him why we should have faith in his ability to build a winning team.
- He started by noting that he basically tutored under Donnie Walsh (he was the GM for the Pacers from 1995 to 2004), calling Donnie one of the most brilliant basketball minds in the league (true).
- Noting his tenure dates, I asked him how much involvement he had in the trades fro Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest and Brad Miller. Here's where it got interesting....
- The story behind the O'Neal trade was actually very telling. The Pacers had tried to trade for O'Neal two years before it actually happened, a year before O'Neal's rookie deal expired. Jermaine was buried in the rotation, and wasn't happy about it, but resigned with Portland under the promise that he'd play more. That didn't happen, and O'Neal and his agent got very upset. But that year, the Blazers lost that heartbreaker series to the Lakers in the WCF. Because of that, they had a knee jerk reaction and decided they needed every player from 1 to 12 to be able to contribute; thus the lopsided trade that sent O'Neal to Indiana for Dale Davis. Kahn noted that as an example of how a team always has to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they come up...had the Blazers won that series like it looked like they were going to, the Pacers probably wouldn't have been able to get O'Neal.
- In terms of the Ron Artest trade, Kahn said that the main goal was to clear Jalen Rose's contract, but that while they knew the talent level of Artest, they obviously weren't aware of all the demons in his head (to be fair, at the time, no one knew how troubled Ron was). He said it was an object lesson he's learned from to pay attention to the fine details and not just the numbers.
- He also noted a lesson learned when they drafted Tinsley. Another player with a lot of talent but a bad attitude, but interestingly enough, he said that that wasn't the problem with that pick. The problem was that the Pacers had fully vetted Tinsley but didn't even have Tony Parker on the board that year, which really emphasized for him the importance of scouting.
- Kahn then mentioned that he felt team did themselves a diservice by not scouting pro players on other teams. He wants to get a full, in house database of every player in the league so that when a trade or free agency opportunity comes up, the team has an easily accessible full history on that player.
- Inevitably, someone asked about McHale. Kahn said that it's still a day-to-day process, and that he underestimated how deep the feelings about Mac ran in the fanbase.
- He actually asked then for our opinions on McHale. The general feeling was that he was a competent coach, but should have no say, or even be withing shouting distance, of management, and that it would be very difficult to sell a "new" Timberwolves brand with McHale still part of the team.
- I asked whether the fact that McHale handpicked the current players (meaning they feel an extra sense of attachment to him) was a big part of the coaching decision. Kahn said it was a factor, but a minor one, and that ultimately most of the current players probably wouldn't be with the team for long anyway.
- I then asked if his previous comment about wanting 7-10 new players by 2010 was true. He said yes, and that he's basically building a 16 month window starting with the 09 draft to remake the roster. I commented that that seemed like a lot of turnover, and he simply said "we have to". He very much understands, better than most of the fans actually, how thoroughly uncompetitive the current roster is. Thank God for that.
- Someone then asked about Pekovic. Kahn said he's a talented player, but is "just as earthbound" as Al and Love, and that because of that and the lack of defense, he didn't see a Jefferson/Love/Pekovic frontcourt being viable. From his tone, it seemed to me he saw Pekovic more as trade bait than a future Wolf.
- I mentioned that I doubted any coach would want to deal with 5 rookies all in one year, but he said that that was a non-factor. If using all 5 picks is what's best for the team, than he'll use all 5. He did mention that there were a lot of trade opportunities, and that there are teams looking to trade down from the top of the draft. I got the impression that he wants to use 3 of the picks, and then probably deal the rest for other assets.
- Kahn also mentioned that he doesn't like the mentality of getting a pick and then determining who will be there by the time it comes up. He said what he wants "is for the scouts to find that guy in the draft that we really love, and then I'll get us the pick to take him". So it changes the mindset from settling for the best available to getting the best there is.
- Someone brought up Thabeet's name Wolves fans pay attention to this and Kahn said he really liked how Thabeet is long, athletic and can protect the rim. He feels his offense is a few years away, but that given how short a time he's been playing basketball (5 years) that that is guaranteed to get better.
- Kahn is also aware of how badly we need that kind of size, athleticism and defensive ability in the frontcourt. He said that if the team decides not to pursue Thabeet, then they should have a backup plan...a list of players the team can realistically pursue instead that would bring those qualities. He then said that true center is by far the hardest positon to fill, and that currently they can't find any names for the list. So it sounds like the team might be coming to the conclusion that Thabeet is the only chance we'll have at a real dynamic center for years...so he might end up being a must-get player.
- He mentioned that there's a real chance Thabeet will work out for us. If he does, that will be a strong indicationwe're going to try and move up for him, as #6 is well out of his projected range.
- I then asked if James Harden was going to work out. Kahn said probably not.
- Kahn finished by saying he thinks this is the best time to get involved with the Wolves, because this is the start of when things will get exciting. He noted how badly Glen Taylor wants to win...how sick Taylor is of driving from Mankato every home game (an hour and a half on a good day, probably more like 2 1/2 in snow after midnight) to watch the team lose. More than anything, I got the impression that Kahn is genuinely committed to building a winning team.
When luck shuts the door skill comes in through the window.
