The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Thanks, Britt, for sharing the tip. The timing of the Penn interview would make sense since the Blazers lost out in the first round last week.

biggity2bit--

Wyn and S+P could answer them (and you) as well as I can, but what I meant was that Portland has been able to stockpile talent, especially the purchase of Phoenix's top draft pick two years running, if I'm not mistaken, because Allen is willing to spend money like water.

Yes, if Penn came to Minnesota, he would not have the money spigot turned on as widely as Pritchard (and thus Penn) has in Portland. But if a candidate is going to turn down the deal because of Taylor unwillingness to spend money, they don't really want the job. I have heard all the ways Taylor is said to be cutting corners with the Wolves, but I also know he understands that you have to spend money to make money in this league. I suspect that the Wolves will be net-buyers rather than net-sellers in this brutal economy over the next 3-4 years. Now maybe not on the level of a Cuban or an Allen, but also not like George Shinn in New Orleans or some other folks looking to dump dollars by any means necessary. The greater concern to me would be the reason Dennis Lindsay has been rumored to have turned down the job--lack of autonomy in hiring or firing personnel right off the bat.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Brit. That definitely helps clear things up.

I just read that interview on Blazer's Edge, and I got the impression that while PA was willing to spend a lot of money, Penn/Pritchard et al had a clearly defined and focused plan for what they hoped to achieve and where they would end up, including attendance goals. Glen Taylor may be trying to cut corners, but I have hard time imagining that a detailed and well thought out plan by a guy as organized and intelligent as Penn sounds would be dismissed by Glen. Especially when Penn can say, look where the Blazers started and where we've positioned them in 2-3 years. Look at the attendance figures, the corporate sponsorships, etc.

My hope is that this is more about finding a bona fide basketball business guy and less about just cutting costs for Glen. McHale and Stack (or whoever was there) just weren't very good at maintaining salary flexibility while building talent during KG's prime. Marko Jaric? Trenton Hassell? Nutty Boyz and Ricky Buckets? The Wolves could have changed their name to the Albatrosses for all the bad contracts/questionable financial moves they made. If Glen wanted to just cut costs, I think he would have hired Kahn. If he still wants to win, his history shows that he's willing to spend to do it, but he might be looking for competence on the business side to lead it.

From http://www.mnsportsfans.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25687

Fox 9 Guy writes:

"I just talked to two high-level Wolves officials. Very interesting stuff. I've been told to not believe anything I've heard and that it's almost all off-base, starting with Kahn being offered the job. In fact, I think it's safe to say Kahn is not their choice. Chris Wright alone has received over 12,000 emails asking them to hire Simmons as GM. 12,000! However, they are not going to hire him (or even interview him). They will probably reach out to him in another manner after announcing the new GM. They view him as a comic with a shallow understanding of how things "really work". They are not going after a Gray Beard (somebody who has been around forever and has a long track record). It sounded like they knew what was going to happen, and it's only a matter of time before it's announced. That's what I got."

Britt,

I'm sure you're aware of Bill Simmons' campaign for the Wolves GM job.  He claims he'd hire you as assistant GM, if hired.  I guess on the surface it sounds comical, but why would this be a bad idea?  Truthfully, he's points about making the Wolves relevant are all spot on.  He understands the game of basketball as well as anyone.  Did Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Mike Dunleavy, (all former players) come into their jobs with this vast knowledge of juggling the salary cap & the intimate knowledge of the CBA?  You can surround yourself with the number crunchers, but someone has to have the fresh ideas and the understanding what it takes to build a winner.  I really believe that at some point Bill Simmons will be working for an NBA franchise.  Maybe his lack of pedigree doesn't allow him to jump into the top job right away, but seriously, he is a smart guy, who lives & breathes NBA basketball.  Why wouldn't you want someone like that working for your organization in some capacity?  

"They view him as a comic with a shallow understanding of how things "really work"."  

Really?  This coming from a franchise that has drafted 2 All-Stars in it's entire history, besides KG (Gugliotta & Szczerbiak made it one time each) Signing Joe Smith to a contract under the table & getting caught losing years of draft picks.  How does that "really work".  As pointed out by biggity2bit, they slowly ruined the franchise by overpaying countless below-average players.  Yes, it's one guy doing this in McHale, but Taylor let him do it for 14 years.  F-up after F-up.  

The fact that Taylor wouldn't let Lindsey clean house is ridiculous and a mistake.  Here's hoping that they get a guy like Penn.  Otherwise, where's the downside in sitting Simmons down and hearing a different perspective?  The Wolves front office is the joke of the league already, why not hire Simmons in some capacity and have the last laugh.  Stranger things have happened.  

Just read the Simmons interview. I am sold, seriously. There are no many bad to mediocre GMs out there...why the hell not? We need the marketing shot in the arm, and Simmons clearly knows enough about pro hoops to be qualified.

What do we have to lose? Becoming the laughingstock of the league? Um, sorry we are already there.

stop-n-pop,
went over to your site after posting here. looks like you already covered it all. nice work.

Ho Hum, the news is dead. Something tells me Wolves are trying to do this on the cheap and none of their candidates like the amount they are offering.
How long will it be before we hear another candidate turned Taylor down?

Sometimes I wonder if I am too smart to be a billionaire Why does Glen not see what seems obvious to me. Why can't he just hire a decent GM and give him the power and salary he needs?

"Come work here for a title and a low salary and you have to keep the coach, and everyone else, and I would prefer it if you accepted their input, and.."

He is looking and acting like a fool.