Ticketholder's Lunch with Kahn

[shrink]

There's a very informative thread over at RubeChat from a poster who was one of 40 ticketholders invited to a lunch with Kahn. Ever the straight-shooter, it had comments on many areas. Here's a link

http://rubechat.kfan.com/viewtopic.php? ... 91&start=0

.. and here are some highlights,

along with 40 other Twolves seaon Tix holders,,,he is a straight shooter, no BS kinda guy,,did Not dodge any questions,,nor did he spill too many beans,,,Jackson , Turner & Rambis,,final 3 duh! will name the coach early next week...hes Not done trading,,,another one in 2-3 weeks,,,Atkins & Richardsen most likely,,Cardinal is going to stay here, for leadership,,, Kahn LOVES Flynn ! the man has a long range plan, the man is passionate about the reaching the playoffs in 2-3 years & the NBA finals the year after that,,he hasn't even looked for houses yet,,he spent an evening with Rubio & his family last week,,and Kahn is fine if it takes 2 years to get here,,, he is realistic, optimistic & he doesn't give you that impression that he Has to be at these lunch functions,,or he's above us fans,,Kahn is a breath of fresh air compared to ....what was his name?

I asked him what we can expect in the next few weeks? another trade? he answered most likely something happening in another few weeks,,,I asked him if Cardinal had a roster spot,,and Carney,,,,he answered "I liked Brian for lockeroom stuff" and Richardsens chances of wearing a Twolves uni were 50-50,,,another guy asked how bout Atkins? Kahn replied 99-1 no....Carney was up in the air..? he was very pleased getting the 7fter from Dallas,,he sees him getting 13-16 minutes per game spelling Love & Jefferson

Pretty good read - its worth your time and seems legit.

[slinky]

In talking about Rubio and Flynn plyaing together:

he says he doesn't see them on the court at the same time except a few minutes here & there,,he said the contract that the Rubios signed was goofy & complexing.. he is Really sold on Flynn, he said after the draft a number of NBA execs admitted that they too had Flynn rated higher than Rubio.

That seems a little different than what he said after the draft.

Also, is there a deadline coming up in a few weeks, or are there players allowed to be traded then? It seems odd that he would say another deal in 2-3 weeks as if he is trying to keep up with a personal bucket list item of one trade every 4 weeks. Does this other team(s) know that Kahn wants to do a deal in 3 weeks?

And regardless whether or not this is general information, it is nice to see Kahn being somewhat transparent. At a time when GM's are secretive, not many would say out loud that Atkins has little chance of showing and Richardson is only a maybe.

Can you imagine McHale's response to those questions "I think Chucky and Q are qulaity individuals, who will play an important role on our team as we try to put a better basketball team on the floor this year." (Email from McHale while sitting on Leech Lake)

[Dalvin]

I think Kahn and McHale are two different species of GMs. I know McHale had some of his "Why the hell did he do that" moves. But, hey, who here haven't had their fair share of mistakes. We are really appreciating what Kahn is right now being transparent and all because we came from a reclusive GM in McHale. Also, Kahn is I think an attorney or lawyer. That's why he really knows how to talk to people in general. While McHale is a former basketball player who is not the flashy type and prefers to do the dirty work.

Just a throw in. Now I know why they call Brian Cardinal as "The Janitor". Maybe he helps clean the locker room and saves Taylor an additional janitor in cleaning their locker room. lol

[ChazzleDazzle]

2-3 weeks doesn't seem right, particularly if we're talking about Richardson/Atkins, since they can't be traded until Sept 20 and 27 respectively. Maybe he was estimating, and he's not very good at it?

Of the guys on our team under contract right now, 8 have trade restrictions, and only six do not (Jefferson, Love, Flynn, Brewer, Gomes, and Bobby Brown)

[slinky]

I think Kahn and McHale are two different species of GMs. I know McHale had some of his "Why the hell did he do that" moves. But, hey, who here haven't had their fair share of mistakes. We are really appreciating what Kahn is right now being transparent and all because we came from a reclusive GM in McHale. Also, Kahn is I think an attorney or lawyer. That's why he really knows how to talk to people in general. While McHale is a former basketball player who is not the flashy type and prefers to do the dirty work.

For the most part I agree, its even up for debate if its a good thing to share info like that. Although its not as if its groundbreaking stuff he said. We have discussed since he got here, that Chucky is probably not staying. But as a fan who is interested, its nice not to hear the cliche answers all the time.

Trust me, as a mostly MN sports fan, I am used to cliche answers...

[shrink]

2-3 weeks doesn't seem right, particularly if we're talking about Richardson/Atkins, since they can't be traded until Sept 20 and 27 respectively. Maybe he was estimating, and he's not very good at it?

Each can be traded individually at any time. The 60-day waiting period only applies if they are combined with another player.

I think you're on to somethign though about him being a bad estimator. He said when we acquired Atkins, we'd probably move him in the next couple days.

[Klomp]

rev will like this on Pekovic:

yea, he said he is here after 2010 season,,no contract hassles,,he is a steady, inside force,tough rebounder and pretty nimble too,,,if he & Rubio come over next year,,we are in great shape,,Kahn said thats why they didn't draft BJ Mullins with the 18th pick ! he says next years draft is way stronger,,and we have 2 maybe 3 1st round picks plus a 2nd,,,looking good

[big3_8_19_21]

For the most part I agree, its even up for debate if its a good thing to share info like that. Although its not as if its groundbreaking stuff he said. We have discussed since he got here, that Chucky is probably not staying. But as a fan who is interested, its nice not to hear the cliche answers all the time.

Trust me, as a mostly MN sports fan, I am used to cliche answers...

I don't think he's sharing any info that could be damaging. Richardson and Atkins' value both come from their contracts, not their on the court play, so if a team wants that, the value doesn't change if they know we don't really want the player, because we could always just waive them and save the money.

[C.lupus]

2-3 weeks doesn't seem right, particularly if we're talking about Richardson/Atkins, since they can't be traded until Sept 20 and 27 respectively. Maybe he was estimating, and he's not very good at it?

Each can be traded individually at any time. The 60-day waiting period only applies if they are combined with another player.

I think you're on to somethign though about him being a bad estimator. He said when we acquired Atkins, we'd probably move him in the next couple days.

He's probably estimating from his end. It takes two (or three or four) to make a trade.

[revprodeji]

rev will like this on Pekovic:

yea, he said he is here after 2010 season,,no contract hassles,,he is a steady, inside force,tough rebounder and pretty nimble too,,,if he & Rubio come over next year,,we are in great shape,,Kahn said thats why they didn't draft BJ Mullins with the 18th pick ! he says next years draft is way stronger,,and we have 2 maybe 3 1st round picks plus a 2nd,,,looking good

I love the idea of a Jefferson/Love/Pekovic/Hollins big man rotation. Pekovic works well on the p-n-r also and has a mid range jumper. His rebounding is not the love-level but he is very good. His inside scoring and pure strength will be the keeper. Great hands and very efficent. Better defender then Love/Jefferson. DX praised his work ethic also.

[Klomp]

Question: Does Pekovic have a game similar to Ilgauskas? The way you just described him, it sounds like he does. If thats the case I'm starting to warm up to the idea a little more.

[Klomp]

On the topic of Pekovic, I found this quote interesting:

Considering the relative strengths of the 2008 and 2009 drafts, it's not a stretch to say that Pekovic could be a top 5 pick in this year's draft, though his upside is reduced now that he is 23 years old.
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We've caught Pekovic a couple times on the Euroleague Game of the Week on NBA TV and have been impressed. It's a little jarring at first because he sort of resembles a guy like Peja Drobnjak physically, but he is really quite mobile and skilled, with good hands, touch and length, even if he is not the most athletic guy, per se.
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Using [Hollinger's formula], Pekovic's per-40 minute numbers for the NBA look like this: 21.5 pts, 10.1 reb, .560 FG%
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All in all, Pekovic looks like a guy who's a pretty skilled and efficient scorer and rebounder, but not terribly strong on the defensive end. Potentially good news and bad news for Wolves fans, as you can never have enough skilled bigs, but those strengths and weaknesses sound an awful lot like those of Mssrs. Jefferson and Love - Minny could potentially be looking at a lot of 120-115 games in its 2010s.

http://tinyurl.com/dmjnxq

[revprodeji]

It was because of the rookie salary slot. Pekovic would have simply stayed in europe if he was bound to a late lotto rookie contract similar to Tiago. By being drafted in the 2nd rd we can negotiate.

Klomp. It is hard to compare and I am hesitant to do that. Pekovic is a strong player who is old school in how he uses his upper body and great hands in order to be very eff. He is a true center in the way his strength allows him to match up at that position but he also has a decent mid range game. I do not like the Z comparison because Z is 7'3 and incredibly slow/soft. Pekovic is a decent athletically as far as foot speed but I cannot speak enough about his strength. He dunks everything. Physically he is Kendrick perkins but with better hands, BBIQ and offensive desire.

He is very good, and he knows it. It will be difficult for us to bring him over considering the cost, but also the role. He should be starting when he comes to the nba.

[shrink]

My favorite part, of course, is:

Not done trading,,,another one in 2-3 weeks,,,Atkins & Richardsen most likely

[younggunsmn]

It was because of the rookie salary slot. Pekovic would have simply stayed in europe if he was bound to a late lotto rookie contract similar to Tiago. By being drafted in the 2nd rd we can negotiate.

Klomp. It is hard to compare and I am hesitant to do that. Pekovic is a strong player who is old school in how he uses his upper body and great hands in order to be very eff. He is a true center in the way his strength allows him to match up at that position but he also has a decent mid range game. I do not like the Z comparison because Z is 7'3 and incredibly slow/soft. Pekovic is a decent athletically as far as foot speed but I cannot speak enough about his strength. He dunks everything. Physically he is Kendrick perkins but with better hands, BBIQ and offensive desire.

He is very good, and he knows it. It will be difficult for us to bring him over considering the cost, but also the role. He should be starting when he comes to the nba.

Genjuro pointed out in the Rubio thread that 3 years after he is drafted a team can use cap room and their exceptions to sign their first round pick, SA can use their MLE to sign Tiago Splitter next year. Orlando could offer Fran Vasquez the MLE if he could get his girlfriend to ok moving to the US. I couldn't find it in the coon faq, but it is on the NBA players association site.

I know 3 years is a long time to wait, just somthing to chew on.

It's Ironic that Pekovic would've been an absolutely perfect compliment to KG, not so much with Al and Love. I'm not sold on his rebounding or interior defense, or that he will be as physically dominant playing against much better big men in the NBA, but I can't deny he is very dominant offensively in euroleague.

[younggunsmn]

Songalia and pecherov can be combined starting 8-24, I think that is what kahn was alluding to when he referred to another trade in 2-3 weeks.

songalia+brown for ridnour
and
atkins for k. thomas

works starting 8-24, saves milwaukee 4.3 mil this year, saves us 4.8 mil next year.

[GopherIt!]

Wolves Ticketholder's Lunch with Kahn

what was for lunch? a Turkey Club?