Wolves Fire Casey

• Good to see that you're back, Levi. What's your take on the past few days?

• Thanks Levi, I didn't exactly say it was the only move left, but I did sat that the Ricky Davis incident was very significant and something was probably going on behind the scenes we didn't know about. On Monday, after the Pheonix loss, I wrote this on one thread: "...It makes me wonder if there is some relationship problems between the players and Casey that goes beyond Davis. I can only speculate." Followed, by this on the next thread: "...What Ricky did is the same thing Spreewell and Sammy did to Flip. They quit on him and McHale had to fire Flip because of it. Once a coach loses the attention and respect of his players it is over. For that reason I understand Casey wishing to downplay this incident. It reflects on his job and could mean the end of it. ...If Ricky quits on the team, I want to know why because I'd like it to get fixed as fast as possible if it can. That is only fair to the team and the fans. If that means we have to get rid of Casey or Davis over this, then the sooner the better." But, still I was taken by surprise when I left work Tuesday turned on KSTP 1500 and listened to Patrick Ruesse telling Joe and the Rookie that Casey had just been fired. Britt, I enjoy Barreiro and I am entertained by him, too. I also admire anyone who goes after the powerful. But, Danny comes accross a little angry and spiteful at times. Almost as if he may have a chip on his shoulder from his high School days. I suspect he was picked on by the star athelete in school and he has been attempting to get even ever since--just speculating, but considering my recent record of speculating...you never know.

• Wow. I've been "incommunicado" since Saturday night. Reading all of these last few Three-Pointers and comments all in one fell swoop at 5:00 AM is definitely surreal! Andy B - Kudos. You were prescient several articles ago (before Casey got the sack) that the only move left for the WOlves was to fire the coach. And Krush - good summary on the situations that Casey faced, remarkably well I'd say.

• Here's my latest 2 cents: McHale is more responsible for the mediocre state of this franchise than is Casey. Yes, I thought he should have been fired last season. But it is a moot point, because he's here and Wittman is now the coach. Second, I respect Dan Barreiro as both a newspaper columnist and a radio talk show host. I think he has good instincts. Without question, his schtick is to go negative and be histrionic, and we have significant disagreement over Kevin Garnett. But he picks on the powerful and calls it like he sees it, two important traits in my book. Third, this team is nowhere near as good as the 2003-04 squad. Good team chemistry about players knowing their roles, being happy with their roles, and florishing in their roles in a clearly defined pecking order. That 03-04 team had superb team chemistry. KG finally got a chance to play with quality teammates. Cassell deferred to KG's talent but knew he was the man in the 4th quarter, and relished the role. Spree was nearing the end of a monster contract trying to prove he wasn't damaged goods; he couldn't go full gale all the time, but chose his spots well--the Spurs game late in the season, and the playoffs. The potential chuckleheads in the starting lineup--Szczerbiak and Olowokandi--both got hurt, enabling two smart, unselfish "glue" guys--Erv Johnson and Hassell--to step in and establish the team's defensive identity, almost despite Flip Saunders, an offensive wizard and defensive mediocrity. And Hoiberg was the perfect complement coming off the bench. This year, the roles are muddled due to veteran disappointments (Griffin, James) and precocious rookies. A chucklehead, Davis, is vital to the team's overall prospects. Key role players like Blount and Jaric are fitfully talented but not utterly reliable, and have weaknesses in their overall games that aren't immediately shored up by the rest of the roster. That this team is 20-20 is a tribute to Kevin Garnett, Randy Foye, Trenton Hassell, Dwane Casey, Mark Blount, and, yes, Kevin McHale (for the last two drafts), in that order, in my opinion. Now we have Wittman and soon McCants added as wild cards to the mix. It won't be boring.

• Pooh, I might be coming at this all wrong. I am a guy who likes to watch NBA basketball. I don't like the whole talk radio and ESPN crowd that makes the game of "gotcha" or the highlights bigger than the games. You have to have some perspective here - every listener to the equivalent of Barreiro across the country thinks their GM sucks. Ask the fans of Golden State, Boston, Cleveland, Philly, etc. about bad contracts. It happens in the NBA. The hit rate on second round picks for successes is not good. This is not to say McHale is good at picking in the second round - he hasn't been (until the past two years). But there are a lot of teams in the league that wish they had drafted Arenas. I actually think drafting Ebi over Josh Howard is one of the Wolves biggest gaffes - but that one was obvious to everyone at the time. If you watched the games the season after the WC finals, the cupboard was empty. The roster has come a long way since then. Since you touched on their success record, I am with you. I actually think the team that had the starting five of Brandon-Sealy-Wally-KG-Garrett was the best the team had. That squad led the NBA at the all-star break before TB's injury. KG-Steph-Googs would have gone farther. If Sam and Troy hadn't both been hurt in the WC finals (remember Darrick Martin started with Freddie backing him up!), they probably could have made it to the Finals. But these different events happened, and those teams were broken up for one reason or another - mostly not by choice. Let's see what Wittman can do. Let's see if they can get a post for Jaric. Let's watch the games.

• Dang, Pooh, That's all right! I gotta side with Matt here. I don't want to call McHale a great GM. We are all aware of his mistakes, there have been some doozies. But, talk about spin, Barreiro loves that stuff and you ate it up. I find him entertaining as well. Can't wait to hear the vitriol he starts spewing over the M&M boys the first time one of 'em goes through a hitting slump this spring. THere is a lot of luck in a draft. I think McHale could have put the WOlves in a better position to get some luck, but he did get some this year. THe Joe Smith thing hurt, but it was more of an embarrassment than it was a liability to the Wolves. However, McHales disregard of first round draft picks is my number one criticism of him and I cannot defent him for sending one to Boston for Marcus Banks. The Jaric deal was not a good deal, but there is some merit to it. Pooh, you named four second round picks that translated into success. The WOlves could be the fifth team to join this illustrious group with Craig Smith. I don't want to over praise Mchale for this pick, because, as I said, speculating on talent in the NBA is a lot of luck. You know the old saying, hindsight is 20/20. Second round picks are a crapshoot.

• Matt, While we can agree to disagree on whether or not Barreiro is "bush league", I won't agree that McFail is a "scapegoat" when the job of the GM (or VP of Basketball Ops) for NBA teams typically includes SOME responsibility for the failures of the team. Other than the MV3 season, this team has been an absolute failure. They took one of the defining superstars/players of a generation and made it to ONE conference final. ONE. That is the very definition of failure. I enjoy that the franchise has been "snakebitten" and the logic being used to point that out includes several bad moves by McFail and co. Specifically, Billups leaving and, dear god, the Joe Smith contract. I realize Taylor was heavily involved in that, but come on, that has McFail's name on it too. Both he AND Taylor were suspended. To respond to a few points Matt makes: RE: Wasted second round picks, Matt says "This is very legitimate - but how big of an impact do we think this really has had." Matt, I point you to players like Manu Ginobli, Rashard Lewis, Michael Redd and 2006-2007 potential MVP Gilbert Arenas. How big an impact have those players had on their teams? RE: Absurd contracts, Matt says: "Absurd is a gross overstatement here by those seeking to pile on McHale (and scapegoat him). Taylor botched the injury-out clause with Hudson, Jaric and Blount's contract are market (does anyone realize Adonal Foyle makes $10 mil/year to play the 5?), and Madsen is overpaid but it is still $2 mil/year." and then, RE: Projects like Skita and Griffin, Matt says: "Cap situation demanded this." While the market may be crazy and bad players get absurd contracts, to say that this is industry standard ignores the fact that good teams (San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, etc.) generally don't overpay crappy players in long term deals. To then use this as a defense of McFail and then say that he had to take fliers on projects because of the cap situation just destroys your own argument. All teams may overpay players, but good teams do it with good players. Except for Phoenix and Marcus Banks (the supposed reason for the 1st Round draft pick going to Boston in the Wally trade). Finally, Matt says "From where this team was the year after the WC finals run, I think they have done about as good of a job as could be expected restocking." While Sprewell made his own bed and now presumably lies in it, the Wolves traded Sam Cassell and the aforementioned 1st Round pick to the Clips for Marko Jaric and then signed him to a long-term deal. That isn't forced re-stocking, that's a bad trade. Get the Clippers to give back the 1st Round pick and then we can talk. You can't truly re-stock without draft picks. Kevin McHale should be fired. Sorry to challenge Andy B for post-length supremacy.

• Suck it up people...the show must go on. Call me crazy, but I don't think that this team is too far off (talentwise) from the team that went to the WC Finals three seasons ago. Think about it. We have basically lost Cassell, Spree, Wally, and Hoiberg (just focusing on the relevant contributors). Good players to be certain, but not great ones (ok Sam was great that year). And all with glaring flaws. In their place we have added Blount, Davis, Foye, McCants, Jaric and James Talentwise, I think it is a push (at least) and we have gotten deeper. Sure, KG is a little older, and sure, we miss the savy leadership of Sam Cassell, but this IS NOT a lottery bound team. Good coaches and good systems make good players look great. Look at the top teams in the West...what do they have in common? Great coaching. Is Randy Wittman a great coach? We'll see. Was Casey a great coach? Absoutely not. Bitch all you want about McHale, the fact is this team could be a LOT better with the right coach. This is at least a step towards finding him.

• So now Dan Barreiro knows something about basketball? Does anyone? (And I do think Britt does.) Has McHale been Jerry West? No. But in response to the earlier post... Let's recap (by Barreiro's count): -At least EIGHT (Barreiro said nine but I can't find the last one) 1st Round draft picks wasted - Paul Grant, Ndudi Ebi, Will Avery, 3 for Joe Smith, 1 to the Clips with Cassell for Jaric, 1 to the Celtics for Avis and Banks and some magic beans. This is simplistic. Grant, Ebi and Avery were misses. KG, Marbury, Rasho, Wally, McCants, and Foye were all hits. I think KG, McCants, and Foye were homeruns given that draft position. Take an honest look at NBA 1st round history. The fallout is terrible for most teams. Joe Smith was McHale falling on his sword for Taylor. I won't defend the Jaric and Banks trade pics except to state that we had to make some kind of trades to get rid of Wally, Kandi, and Sam. I don't know what other options McHale had. -Absurd contracts for Jaric, Thud, Madsen. Trading for Blount's absurd contract. Absurd is a gross overstatement here by those seeking to pile on McHale (and scapegoat him). Taylor botched the injury-out clause with Hudson, Jaric and Blount's contract are market (does anyone realize Adonal Foyle makes $10 mil/year to play the 5?), and Madsen is overpaid but it is still $2 mil/year. -Over-reliance on projects like Griffen and Skita. Cap situation demanded this. -Throwing away 2nd round picks almost as casually as 1st round picks (Rickert? Really?) This is very legitimate - but how big of an impact do we think this really has had. The list goes on. Does it? Barreiro is bush league...come on, people. Listen, this franchise has been snakebitten. Marbury turning on the team, the Joe Smith contract, Malik Sealy being killed, Terrell Brandon (who was a top 5 if not top 3 point guard in the NBA) being injured, letting Chauncey walk due to thinking TB could come back, Sam and Spre crapping out after one year. But is that really all Kevin McHale's fault? Do you want to be honest or find a scapegoat? From where this team was the year after the WC finals run, I think they have done about as good of a job as could be expected restocking. No reason this team can't make a playoff run if the players play as they should.

• I'll just take a guess here. I don't think KG's problem with Casey were his decisions of who to play and for how many minutes. I think KG likes Thud and might lobby for more minutes from him, but he also ~should~ understand Thud is losing minutes to a promising rookie and the free agent signing KG personally lobbied for. I also don't think KG has any sympathy for Eddie Griffin. Eddie Griffin has some problems that take a way from his ability to make the most of his talents. Coaches nor teammates are not responsible for a players personal behavior problems. Likewise, James, KG is the most affected by the play of the point guard and I don't think he wants anymore of James than he currently gets. I would bet that James play this year is as much a dissappointment to KG as anyone. KG's problems with Casey have to do with the Xs&Os of the game. He was not as versed in the nuances and strategies on both the ofensive and defensive components of the game. Even on the defensive end, the Wolves did not execute defending the Pick and roll well and make the proper adjustments in the game. Casey may have emphasized defense more than Flip, but this did not translate into the Wolves being a good defensive team. KG, most likely, expressed this concern to McHale over the offseason, so some assistants were brought in who could strategize better and lend their support to Casey. Wittman was also their for insurance and assurance to KG that there was a backup plan in place. However, Casey was still ultimately responsible for managing the game. It is obvious he was not adept at drawing up plays out of a timeout. KG wanted more. He made this known in many not so subtle ways this season.

• Although Casey seemingly didn't do a great deal, the wolves played better defense than they have since musselman, the rookies were developing suprisingly well, and both Blount and Davis were having career years. What is most disappointing is that PA on the radio said KG sleepwalked his way through on the defensive end. This implies he had some knowledge or approval of Casey's demise and shows we have two fantastic, top 10 ever power forwards in the game who don't know crap about being a GM. Joe Smith, Flip, T-Hud, Wally, Mike James and now Casey. Just like McHale has been hurting his reputation with all these moves, KG is beginning to look pretty sullied himself. I still think Casey mismanaged Griffin and James, and I think taking Davis out for a bonehead play (really, you play Davis 40 minutes and are surprised when those come out) was a costly overreaction, but what is Wittman going to do? Play James always? Play Foye always? Figure out a better rotation for our 2 (yes 2) NBA ready big men?

• I agree about KG supporting Casey. I think if KG was behind Case, he would've at least said something to that effect to the media, especially knowing how Casey was essentially a head-coaching rookie. I hope KG and Ricky can get on board with Randy Wittman better than they did with Casey. Wittman has head coaching experience, and will hopefully command more respect among players. And as backwards as it is, this team revolves around KG. I don't know of ANY other team in the NBA who is so focused on its superstar, and we need to do whatever it takes to keep him playing at a high level so that he motivates others on the team to play at a high level. If KG ain't happy, we ain't winning games.

• I son't have much to say lending support to McHale, but I don't think he is responsible for Casey being fired. Casey did not have the support of KG. If you've followed the Wolves and read between the lines of certain quotes KG said at times, you knew he didn't believe in Casey's ability to Coach. KG may be wrong in his assessment, but non-the-less, I think what transpired was a case of the Franchise player forcing the decision on McHale. Even this mornings quotes from KG show clearly he is not upset by the firing and is in Wittmans corner. Something was simmering under the surface for most of the season. Ricky Davis brought it to a boiling point by refusing to enter the game against Detroit. I still maintain that KG was angry when he confronted McDyess and his reaction was uncharacteristic of him and needed further explanation. KG's defensive effort against Utah, provided us with the proper explanation. He was sending his message loud and clear to McHale. Get rid of Casey now, or the season is over and I am on my way out of town. I'm not going to criticize KG for it, because in some ways I do think Casey is not a good coach for the reasons Britt gave. However, Wittman as a coach will not mean that this team makes it to a four or five seed. For KG's sake I hope it means they can retain there position and perhaps catch Denver. If KG and McHale are right about the talent, then they might even get another glimpse of Utah. Regardless, in the NBA you need three players who are at or close to the All star level. Two of the three players on the Wolves (if you believe the Wolves really do have all star talent) gave us plenty of eveidence that they were quitting on Casey. McHale was forced to fire Casey.

• Great posts all. I had the opportunity to meet Dwane Casey at a couple of season-ticket holder functions and he could not have been nicer or more sincere, a truly nice man. That said, he wasn't a very good coach, although, ironically, much like Mike Tice, he seemed to get fired just when he was learning how to coach. Bottom line, the Casey situation is ALSO McHale's fault. It was McHale's decision to fire Flip; McHale's decision to not coach (and I think McHale would have been as good a coach as he was a bad GM); McHale's decision to hire Casey; and now, of course, McHale's decision to fire Casey. What a mess.

• Dare I say HYPOCRITES? I swear the folks on hear crying "outrage!" at Casey's firing were the same folks who were calling for his termination in November and December. It's true the timing is awkward, considering the roll the Wolves were on recently. But puh-lease! Casey had these Wolves underacheiving regardless of the 7-1 start to '07. The shock at the timing will wear off... and the Wolves still should vie for a low playoff seed. As for Rick Adelman, how can you not respect what he did in Sac and Portland, Sean? C'mon now. It'd be nice to get a proven coach to direct KG and company instead of some trial period by a beginner. If not Adelman, lets pull Collins off the broadcast table.

• Potential liar? Check. No winning track record as an NBA head coach? Check. Willing to tow the company line because he's faithful to management for giving him a shot? Check. Taking the reigns during a tumultuous time with inflated expectations (i.e. "future scapegoat")? Check. You're hired!

• ok, it's not a wittman quote - won't be admissable in court - pure hearsay. but here is glen taylor, interviewed by some "brit robson" guy, on randy wittman as "coach in waiting", from pre-season this year: CP: There are a lot of people who view the arrival of Randy Wittman as the hiring of a coach-in-waiting, so that if you're not happy with the way Coach Casey takes the team this year, then Randy will take over. Taylor: Yeah, that's an interesting thing, because we thought of that before. Dwane was going to bring in some people, we knew that. And that scared me a little bit. But we didn't want to tell him who to bring in. It was to our advantage that Dwane went out and recruited Randy Wittman! I really like Randy, we know Randy, and Randy is really good. So I know why you are asking the question. And I said, "Geez, Casey, I'm really happy. You could have picked this guy or that guy and you picked Randy." And then Randy calls. He's thought of the same thing too, and he called me personally and said, "Listen, if I am coming up there to replace Casey, and that's the deal, I'm not coming." He said, "I am going to be in this league too long, everybody will know that, and you are not doing me a favor, Glen, if that is the deal." And I said to him, "It isn't any deal. Casey is the one picking you. He is the one interviewing you. I would love for you to come, but you talk to Casey and you make your decision."

• Paul, In Wittman's defense, he certainly wasn't coaching anybody that approached the level of KG in Cleveland. I believe the Cavs' best player during Wittman's tenure was a fat and disinterested Shawn Kemp. Now that's not to say that Casey should have been a huge winner here just because he had KG on the roster, but my impression has been that when we've won this year it's been because of the players on the court and not the coaching. How many times has Casey diagramed a play that left you saying, 'damn that was well coached!' How many times has Casey imposed a style of play on another team? Casey was a very prepared coach, but he was also a very reactionary coach. For example, instead of going big when other teams went small in order to exploit mismatches, Casey would go small and try to beat the other team at its own game. Frankly, I don't know Randy Wittman personally and I don't know what he's going to bring to the table as a coach, but it would be very difficult for him to bring less than Casey.

• does anyone have the quote handy from before the season, when whittman was asked about his coach in waiting status? i know that he basically said he would never do such a thing, that he has too much respect for coach casey, that it would look pretty bad to other coaches in the league, etc, if he came here to replace casey, say, midseason. and, look what happened. anyone find that quote? i'll keep searching.

• Timberwolves management is a joke. McHale and his staff have done little right since drafting KG and Marbury. I wouldn't be opposed to Casey's firing if the timing wasn't so ridiculous and/or if McHale wasn't so full of shit in his explanation of it. McHale has to go and Taylor needs to replace him with someone who will make personnel decisions independent of him. Give the GM a budget, let him do his thing, stay out of the way. Until this happens, the Wolves will continue to be the laughingstock of the NBA. Worse even ... So far, the Taylor and McHale administration's legacy is that they got close once, but have otherwise pissed away Garnett's shot at a title. One of the best players in the history of the game, screwed over by a multitude of terrible personnel decisions. Closed circuit to Glen Taylor: Fire Kevin McHale. It's your only hope.

• Bad day to smoke the dailies ... I think Pat Reusse has a spot-on column (much better than the knuckledraggers at the PiPress): <a href="http://www.startribune.com/508/story/955873.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.startribune.com/508/story/955873.html</a> This does not absolve McHale of his sins, but Reusse (and of course, Robson before him) have noted Casey's flaws as a strategist. I now believe - given KG's sideways comments throughout the season, as referenced by Britt - that the Ticket is fine with all this ...

• Rick Adelman? What's with RA love-fest? What did he do with the talent-loaded Kings? An up-tempo offense with very athletic players who played mediocre team-defense. Maybe this is just a case of taking the not-so-ugly girl to the dance. Maybe its closing time and he's the not-so-unattractive option. Just keep in mind that the Twolves aren't nearly as talented as the Sacramento Queens were in their heyday (when Adelman could not make hay while the sun shone).

• I think this was all a blend of Casey never being the right guy for the job, and the blatant suckiness of McFail and Taylor. Whilst laying in bed last night in Germany, after my little bro texted me about the firing, I thought, why can't someone like Mark Cuban or the owner of another good team just buy out Glen Taylor? I mean, he's just. So. Bad. Then put the Iron Ranger on a raft down the Mississip. We need a quality owner and good management. And as much as I love Mayor Hoiberg, I'm ambivalent as to whether he'd be a good replacement for McFail either. There's rumors on ESPN that KG signed off on Case's firing, but part of me says KG might be gone before the trade deadline. I mean, how much of this crap is he supposed to take? Britt, keep bangin' away on this fantastic blog. I come here after each game to get my fill, not to the dailies.

• Mr. Rupar, Wittman's team "never won a damn thing" in Cleveland. What makes you think he'll be better than Casey? I have no problem with the Casey critique, but your take on Wittman makes no sense.

• What strengths did Casey bring to the table as a head coach? He wasn't a good X's and O's guy, was completely illogical with his substitution patterns, the players didn't seem to particularly enjoy playing for him, and oh yeah, the team never won a damn thing during his tenure. I was calling for him to be canned at the end of last year, and I support the move now. The timing is a bit weird, as it would've made a lot more sense to pull the trigger on this a few weeks ago when it looked like the season was heading straight down the tubes, but I still think Randy Wittman will be a better coach than Casey. Honestly, could he be any worse?

• I've been as harsh a critic of Casey as they come, but I can't help but be saddened by his firing today. How could McHale look at the camera with a straight face and complain about consistency, when he has been anything but? This was the wrong time to fire coach Casey. The team had been playing great this month (7-1) and had only suffered a minor hiccup losing to the best team in the NBA while without KG and Davis, along with a road loss to Utah. So you fire a guy after he's won 70 percent of his last ten games? Second, McHale sent a message to the team: Wolves coaches do not hold the authority, the players do. Firing Casey only two games after the Davis incident is the wrong message to send Davis. Finally, McHale said he wants Wittman to be the coach "for a long time". Let's see, you replace a guy who had a team that was expected to be in the lottery, but was currently the 8th playoff seed, with a guy who has an abysmal record as a head coach. McHale, how about we kick the buddy system, think outside the box and hire an experienced, winning coach? Britt, what was so wrong with Casey's recent behavior? Really man, let it go. So he wanted to keep the Davis situation under wraps. Big deal. Casey ain't the first, and he certainly won't be the last, coach to massage the truth to a reporter. This was a non-issue that had nothing to do with stress. He handled the Davis situation just fine. He was tough with Davis. He did the right thing by not caving in and inserting him back in the OT and by suspending him for a game they desperately needed him. Yet, at the same time, he did not throw him under the bus in the media. I also thought he'd handled the last few days well, all things considered, especially the way he defended KG after Karl's asinine comments. Poor Casey. Let's review what he's had to deal with since becoming head coach. 1- replace a beloved coach 2- win over a hesitant superstar 3- deal with Wally and KG's relationhip 4- Candyman 5- Eddie Griffin 6- forced to start a SF at point (Jaric) 7- a bad trade in the first season of your tenure, losing an all star caliber scorer. 8- acclimate 4 new players into the offense in February 9- waste half a season developing a point guard who was supposed to be the key to the deal (Banks), only to see him cast off. 10- hire and work with your expected replacement (Wittman). Casey was setup for failure. 11- More Jaric problems 12- The AI watch 13- The Davis fiasco 14- Handed another bad point guard (James) I'm probably missing a few more things, but it becomes apparent that Casey had a lot to deal with. Most every point, 1-14 (except 2 and 3), were directly related to McHale's mismanagement. Up until Friday, it was finally becoming a joy again to watch this team play. Two men, Davis and McHale, are responsible for sucking the spirit out of this Wolves fan.

• Maybe this will turn out and the players will respond and we'll still be in the playoffs in either the 8th seed or better. Maybe the players were tuning Casey out and Ricky's suspension, however it went down, was a sign of that and they'll take better direction from Wittman (and I still wonder if the media blurb about him not coming in here to replace Casey was just a setup all along) - you can only be hopeful and I'll still be watching. But from a continuity standpoint - how can you create consistency when you keep on disrupting it - stick with at least some consistency for a full two years. You fire Flip midseason - there's an adjustment. You add in a ton of new players midway through a season with a new coach - another adjustment. And now midway through the season - another adjustment. Some adjustment and tweaks are necessary - but in the last 3 years looking at the "big picture" - no consistency whatsoever. I think Casey on a whole has done a decent job with the situations he was handed. Class act or not, for his experience he was making his way and deserved to at least finish out this year. He was making progress from his rotations to his substitutions to his timeouts. I think the firing looks bad for the organization and how it treats the majority of its people. If an organization is going to take you on, I think they should they should give you a fair shot - and Casey simply never got that. And while I think McHale and Taylor obviously play a part in the way they franchise has gone, I don't think KG can be absolved from any of this either. While I'm sure he doesn't have carte blanche he does have a say and he also controls what he says and does. If he wants consistency - he needs to lobby for it as well as work with what he has. When Flip got fired and McHale started coaching he called it a "breath of fresh air". At the same time when talk about Flip coaching the Gophers came up he said Flip's a great coach and he'd succeed wherever he was and said something to the effect of "even if it's me in the future". Which is it? And during the year he's made numerous comments on the offense and Casey even to go so far as to say "to hell with the offense". Way to work with a new head coach who's had a hell of a time given the fact he hasn't had a consistent roster for even a full year and is watching his back. And his teammates? How many times have you heard him stand up for the other players on the team when the media calls the rest of them crap and they're not named Spreewell or Cassell? I wonder how the players on the team felt when the trade for AI came up and you didn't really here anything from KG like "AI would be great to play with, but we're playing well now and jelling and I'm confident in the team we have and it would be tough to part with any of the guys"? Instead you heard things like "that's the way it goes around here". Wow. That's a booster for morale. Way to be a leader and instill confidence in the rest of your team whom you bonded so much with over the summer. I don't know what goes on behind closed doors and what he says in private - but from an outsiders view KG needs to take his lumps just like McHale and Taylor on the inconsistency of the franchise.

• I have a feeling this was thought out well in advance. Judging from the win column, this team was on track, but someone must've had reservations about the future, or how Casey would've performed under more pressure. All the national media are going to say is that he overachived, which I don't believe to be the case. I'm personally pretty torn on the decision. I mean, it's not like we were expected to win ANY of the last four (record-wise, save for ATL), and we even beat a few teams that are MUCH better than we are. But in December, we lost to many teams that had no business playing with us, like Milwaukee and Toronto. I guess the explosion revolves around the Davis incident. Yes, Ricky has a history of pulling shit like this, but when outbursts like this happen, it's a signal of something bigger. He can't be the only one dissatisfied with how things are run right now. Maybe he felt like it was okay to act out because Marko and Mike aren't getting much burn right now either. Less repercussions from teammates, perhaps? I'm no armchair psychologist though, especially with the lack of personal knowledge I have of the personnel - it's really impossible to judge unless you interact with these people on a regular basis (which is why we have Britt to do that for us!). From what I've read, Wittman has good basketball knowledge, but of course that doesn't always translate into "good coach". He also coached Rick Davis during his early years at CLE. Yes, I'd love to have Larry Brown or Rick Adelman, but I don't think that's going to happen unfortunately. Final note: Casey certainly will head coach another NBA team (eventually, if not right away). He'll learn from this experience, and apply it to his next team and have better results, bank on it.

• Thanks for that Nate. Tomorrow, McHale should announce that he's stepping down at the end of the season, and even then it would be two years too late. That would be the only acceptable conclusion to this endless saga of mediocre personnel moves that we've had to deal with since Joe F'n Smith. McHale hired Case, and gave him the players he had to work with. What a hack. I can't think of a time where I've ever been inclined to criticize KG, but Barreiro did that today as well, and frankly, I can't argue. After seeing how he throws a punch, I don't think anyone should think twice about telling KG how it is.

• Yep, I agree with those who say the problem goes higher than Casey. But I don't think it stops with McHale either--it goes all the way to our owner. Glen Taylor seems like a nice man who means well, but at least when it comes to NBA ownership he is a bumbling incompetent. Evidence? As JZ mentions above, you may recall that, by his own admission in Britt's interview with him, he basically hired McHale because that was the only basketball name he knew. He was the one who actually negotiated the Joe Smith deal that cost us all the picks (and would have been another overpriced albatross of a contract had it not been invalidated, so we were screwed either way); I don't think it's a stretch to suspect he may have been the one to insist on some of the other bad contracts handed out like candy by this team. I don't mean to completely exonerate McHale, but I don't think he warrants all the blame. We can fire all the head coaches we want, and even fire all the GMs we want, but I don't think this franchise will make any real progress until it's sold to another owner. Poor KG, and poor us as fans. Though I suppose we're lucky Taylor didn't buy the Vikings too.

• So the roller-coaster ride continues. McHale himself stated during the press conference as one of the reasons why a change had to made. He alluded to the fact that the team would play really well for 3-4 games and then stink it up the next 5. He justified the firing by saying it couldn't be the players that had gotten so much worse, so it must be the coaches fault. The real facts are that the lack of quality young players due to McHale's ineptness over the years is really hurting the team right now. All those draft choices lost for one reason or another. A much more experienced coach may have squeezed 3-4 more wins out of this club but that's about it. I think Casey is a great guy, a class act, etc. but he didn't prove that he was that good of a coach, at least not in his first go around. Of course it wasn't all his fault as he didn't really have that much to work with.

• ESPN Insider has the John Hollinger response. Here it is (FREE!) n anyone remember the last time a coach took a team that was expected to be lottery-bound, had them at .500 and in line for a playoff spot at the halfway point of the season in a very tough conference, and got fired anyway? I can't, which makes Dwane Casey's dismissal by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday one of the season's more puzzling events. Minnesota hired the guy only a year and a half ago, and the same exec who hired him then -- team president Kevin McHale -- was the one wielding the hatchet today. Somebody, anybody, please tell me what this guy did wrong. Casey kept the Wolves in the top half of the league in Defensive Efficiency all season despite basically having only three big men in his rotation -- Kevin Garnett, the sporadically motivated Mark Blount and rookie Craig Smith, a second-round draft pick. You can't critique Casey's late-game strategy either: He more than held his own in close games, winning three straight overtime contests earlier this month. But apparently losing four games in a row -- two of which can directly be pinned on Garnett's ejection against Detroit last Friday and subsequent one-game suspension -- was too much for Minnesota's brass to bear. No matter that the Wolves were 7-5 in January, or that they surprisingly held the West's No. 8 seed heading into Monday's games. Apparently Minnesota management thinks this is still 2003-04 and they're gunning for the Western Conference title. This would be an absurd notion with almost any other franchise, but the Timberwolves are perhaps the league's most delusional franchise. From the lofty contract extensions they've handed out to even their most mediocre players, to the way they've axed both Flip Saunders (in February 2005) and now Casey rather than admitting the serial imperfections of the roster, to their current refusal to trade Garnett before his value declines, Minnesota's front office has existed in an alternate state of reality for some time now. In the early hours after McHale's move, we're still hunting down all the skeletons associated with Casey's firing, but one thing is for certain: There's a good coach walking around today without a job, and he deserved better. Let's hope Casey lands on his feet with one of the many openings that are expected this summer. And in the meantime, let's hope the Timberwolves can start acting sensible some time before the end of the decade.

• Casey was hired when Cassell and Sprewell were still on the roster. He learned early that the message came through McHale: "All we need are tweaks to the roster" "Marko will gives us more size to be able to guard at the point position" "The key to this trade is Marcus Banks" None of these of course, worked out. So, McHale went to Club Timberwolves, and selected someone who could--at least for 42 games--follow the company line. As with the last two seasons, we'll see. You can't feel sorry for someone who will still earn millions of dollars next year, or will be a trusted assistant coach for either Nate McMillian or George Karl. The national media is already reporting that Casey got screwed, given the talent on the team. So for Coach Casey, life is good right now. He'll probably get one more shot at a head coaching job eventually. I think he's a better assistant than head coach. As with the Wolves talent, he's mediocre. The real problem we have lies with the front office. We could hire a veteran successful coach (that would help), but until we get better players, and a more accountable front office, .500 is what we have to expect. It's time to demand more of our club.

• question: is whittman long-term or interim? (i can't find an article with definitive information)

• It's a drag, at this point in the season, to fire Casey. The damage is pretty much done. Griffin was beaten down from the moment the season started, as was Mike James. Regardless of the 4th quarter magic, it has to mess with Mike James's head to big the big summer signing only to be cheering from the bench. Nothing he could have done about the lack of big men on the roster, or the continual rumors of mid season trades. It looks like the only trade to be done is for coach, the most meaningless change of all.

• Maybe Casey was going to get you in his car and then kick your ass? I agree, though, that Casey is a good man who deserved much better. Here's hoping he gets another shot soon. To understand the Wolves' dysfunction, all you have to do is read Britt's long interview with Glen Taylor from a few months ago. McHale puts just enough effort into his job to make the Wolves a mediocrity. Taylor hasn't replaced him because...HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO ELSE HE WOULD HIRE IN HIS PLACE. WTF? WTF?!?!? Everyone: do yourself a favor. Get NBA League Pass and follow a different team. The Wolves aren't worth the effort.

• I think this team has the talent to be above .500. Not much above .500, but enough above that it made me think Casey was a bad head coach. That said, the majority of problems with this organization begin higher up than the coaching position. After McHale fired Flip and took over as coach, I thought he would be held accountable for his failure. No matter how many times McHale has demonstrated his ineptness, Taylor refuses to let him go. The interesting thing about swithching to Wittman is Glen Taylor gave his word to Wittman and Casey before the season that Wittman wasn't being groomed as Casey's replacement. Given that Thud is playing for us, I thought Taylor's word was good, I guess not. HIRE RICK ADDLEMAN!!!

• on a lighter note... All Star balloting is CLOSED! This would be my team, based off who probably *secured starting spots*... West Guards - Kobe*, AI*, McGrady, Nash, Deron Williams, Ray Allen West Forwards - KG*, Duncan*, Dirk, Boozer, Howard, Carmelo West Centers - Yao*, Amare, Camby East Centers - Shaq*, Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace East Forwards - Lebron*, Bosh*, Caron Butler, Jermaine O'Neal, Michael Redd, and my sleeper...David Lee East Guards - Wade*, Carter*, Arenas, Kidd, Rip, Ben Gordon. Injuries might open more spots, although I'm not sure who else even worthy.

• Casey's performance is/was typical for the talent/experience of the team. The Twolves needed a more experienced coach. Ie. Flip + defense.

• Fire Kevin McHale. That's the real shame of it. Dan Barreiro made this point today better than I ever could, but McHale is to blame for all of this and apparently isn't being held accountable. Let's recap (by Barreiro's count): -At least EIGHT (Barreiro said nine but I can't find the last one) 1st Round draft picks wasted - Paul Grant, Ndudi Ebi, Will Avery, 3 for Joe Smith, 1 to the Clips with Cassell for Jaric, 1 to the Celtics for Avis and Banks and some magic beans. -Absurd contracts for Jaric, Thud, Madsen. Trading for Blount's absurd contract. -Over-reliance on projects like Griffen and Skita. -Throwing away 2nd round picks almost as casually as 1st round picks (Rickert? Really?) The list goes on. FIRE MCHALE.

• A dollar says Foye is in the starting lineup as of now. WWKGT? (Wonder What KG Thinks)? Dwane is a good man. Meh, on whether the firing was a good move. This, and Steve Perry's departure, feel like other shoes dropping after a long period of suspended animation.

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