In an article by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneaplois-St. Paul Star Tribune, Kevin McHale accepts blame for the Timberwolves terrible showing this season and then points out that his players have not played with alot of hustle and heart. According to McHale, it's that lack of moxie that has earned them a 5-29 record, including a 1-10 road record, and not a single win against their division rivals.
Although McHale acknowledged that he has put the Timberwolves into full re-building mode, mainly by trading Kevin Garnett to the surging Boston Celtics, he thinks his guys on the court lack drive,
"We have guys getting beat down and losing their competitive edge. You can't do that. You can do a lot of stuff, but you cannot not compete. I understand why it happens; it's human nature. You have to fight through tough times, and we're going through tough times."
McHale thinks he went too young too soon, and that his team lacks that killer instinct that a more veteran squad would have.
I've got a lot of problems with this. First of all, as Chris Mannix illustrates in his article Trail Blazers Develop Winning Mix, a team can be young and effective as long as they are motivated and well-coached. I wouldn't pick a young team to win the NBA Championship, but they can definitely make the playoffs, and they'll definitely be fun to watch. My hometown Toronto Raptors have been like that.
Also, McHale has to appreciate that his team's youth is a direct result of his own decision making. No one twisted his arm and made him trade KG. No one has held a gun to his head and made him ignore veteran free agents.
As if to do damage control, McHale ended by saying:
"I can tell you that a veteran group going through this would not have the same resilience. A veteran group, they'd all be like, 'Get me out of there.' These guys are like, 'How do I get better?' Sometimes the youth is a positive. It is as good a group as I've had since I've been here. You put what has been happening with some other groups and it would have been an implosion of epic proportions. These guys are still trying, still working. The character is there."
What I think McHale has now done is take whatever energy and motivation his team may have had, and lost it. He's put the blame on his young team, even though he is their architect and given them a coach who is apparently struggling to make things happen.
What Kevin McHale, or any GM for that matter, should do is slowly rotate veterans out of their roster as they lose their effectiveness, and replace them through the draft or savvy free agent additions.
I'll admit, sometimes a team needs to be blown up, and the Timberwolves were definitely that stagnant. However, they were stagnant because of McHale, and they're the worst team in the league because of McHale. Not because of his inexperienced team.
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