January 24, 2006

Grow Like A Fetus, With No Hands And Feet To Complete Us, And We Return Like Jesus, When The Whole World Need Us...

I don't even have the time to begin talking about The Clan, but take my advice.... if you ever want to get down to the dirty world, check out "Do You Really (Thang Thang)" off The W - Masta Killa's verse in particular. You won't be the same.

Anyway...

Where have you gone when we need you most, Phil from St. Paul?

The Ruler returns to the KGC tonight, with his new team in tow. His team will roundly defeat and embarass our team, but that's to be expected. I personally hope Deadzo has a front-row seat. I hope he watches his failure encompass the game, the team, this city. In what was one of the stupidest moves I've ever seen in modern sports (at least, from a local team, Isaiah YOU'RE EXCLUDED!), Deadzo fired a coach who had taken his team to the playoffs for 8 straight seasons and had gone to the WESTERN CONFERENCE ASS FINALS AND COACHED THE ALL STAR TEAM the year before. He fired him because it was the easy way out, because it was the quickest way to "fix" the problem. I don't believe he thought he would be a better coach, and I don't think he was like Riley in that he always wanted to coach the team, finally saw his opportunity, and iced the previously successful coach. I don't think any of that, because I simply think Deadzo took the simple way, the way that too many stupid GMs take. He fired the coach instead of firing the players. And, to be fair, in that same situation, 80% of NBA GMs would have done the exact same thing.

Look, I'm not saying that if Flip was coaching this team that they would be tops in the West right now. And I'm not saying that Dwane Casey isn't a great coach either. I'm simply saying that Deadzo has been making terrible personnel and team decisions for about 9 years running now.

You have to wonder how much Glen has to do with this. You have to wonder if the money isn't a major factor. Take last year. We could have EASILY traded Spree anywhere, because he was still a good player, and had a huge salary that was coming off the books in the spring. Baron Davis was out there dangling for everyone to see. But then Glen said something important. He said "We will only trade expiring contracts for expiring contracts." And Glen shouldn't be above criticism. Yes, he saved the team from the previous two jackals who meant to drown it like a rat in a tub. And you have to appreciate that he was even willing to take Sam and Spree on in the first place (and sign Kandi, Troy, and Hassell to extensions), because that meant he lost money that year.

But owners always make money. If they didn't, they would sell the team. These are businessmen, and Carl Pohlad and Glen Taylor didn't make their billions by investing and holding companies that lose money. So don't tell me he's going broke, and don't even tell me he didn't make a profit. He's a businessman. He ALWAYS makes a profit.

Let's get back to the point, because I'm wandering. Deadzo has been making bad decisions for a long time. As much as we like Wally, I think we can all agree that he isn't worth the contract (another 4 years and 46 million) he is currently signed to. As much as Troy can rap about Gary Trent being worth every cent, it's probably not a good thing to have him signed for 5 more years to play on this team. And Jaric is signed for 6 years. The point is that he is filling the team with role players, which would be fine, if he WENT AND GOT ANOTHER SCORER. Wally can't make his own shot. It's been the same since the beginning of time. KG is not a scorer. He gets his, but his game is running the goddamned offense. He sets a pick, gets the ball on the elbow, and makes the decisions that only he can make. He's the quarterback, Wally's the wideout. NOW WE NEED A RUNNINGBACK. (I'm sorry. I don't like football either, but it's rolling) But no, what are we stuck with? A bunch of go-hard-all-the-time-with-the-exception-of-Kandi-who sometimes-looks-like-he-is-going-to-the-bathroom-in-his-shorts guys who can, at best, keep games close while waiting for someone to take over. And KG can't do it nearly enough. Someone else has to come in and... well, basically be Sam Cassell.

Players complain about contracts all the time, it's a reality of professional sports. Some are handled quickly and out of the spotlight, some blow up and become gigantic disctractions. The Sam and Spree situation didn't exactly blow out of control, but it was certainly the worst it's been for Wolves basketball. And how did McHale handle it? Well, here we are a year later, and we have Marko Jaric in place of those two players. Spree was allowed to walk away for nothing, oh, and we're down a great coach.

The solution? Take a chance, McHale. You did it with Spree and Sam, and it worked out beautifully. Yeah yeah, we can complain about last year and how it's crippled the franchise, but I watched my boys in the Western Conference Finals in Vegas, and I think I entered heaven for a brief moment. If he can trade for someone to get us to the Finals, I'll gladly put up with a year of sucking again. Glen called it a "failed experiment", and I guess, long-term, it didn't exactly work out. But they got the shot in the arm they needed, stormed out of the first round, and again, I cannot repeat enough - IF SAM WOULD'VE BEEN HEALTHY, WE PROBABLY COULD'VE DEFEATED THE LAKERS. Back to the point, Deadzo needs to take a risk. He needs to look at all the pieces he has, and package a few of them together for an impact player. I don't know what's out there, because I'm not an insider. But if he looks at Troy (still can bring a team a shot off the bench), Kandi (expiring contract and worthless otherwise), Hassell (hate to trade him, but he's building a reputation), Wally (hey, I don't like it, but there are teams who are interested in him), Eddie (it would be awful, but who knows who we could get in return? He gets paid peanuts, and he drinks antifreeze for breakfast), I'm sure he would see that these players - or some combination thereof - would be very attractive to the right team.

Hey, I'm not saying I know anything about what's out there, or who's interested in what. Trade rumors are almost always bullshit, and following them will eventually lead you to the dark side. I'm just saying that Deadzo, for all of his problems, has built a team with a lot of useful parts that he could trade to the right team looking for a change. The opportunity is there. KG is untouchable, and Marko and Mad Dog are untradeable. Beyond that, pretty much anyone on the team has to be in the mix, there has to be conversation.

So quit fucking up and do something, McHale.

(such profanity, for shame!)

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