Windhorst: Sam Mitchell won't be returning

[Phenom]

I think that with the news out, it's ok for me to post my opinion on yesterday's developments...and this is strictly my opinion. I'm always open to anything that makes this franchise better, but I don't think firing Mitchell was a good move. What this franchise needs (and has not had since Flip was fired in 2005) is stability, and another coaching change is the opposite of stability. In the next 3-4 months a new coach will be announced, and he will be the 10th head coach in the 11 years since Flip was fired in 2005...I'm fairly certain no other team has a revolving door like that! While I agreed with the Rambis and Wittman dismissals, I thought the other firings (Saunders, McHale. and Casey...I assume Adelman's departure was a mutual agreement) were rather knee-jerk and and had a negative impact on the fortunes of the franchise. I hope that the Mitchell dismissal doesn't backfire like those moves did, and doesn't end up being another setback just as things are starting to look brighter.

The Korn Ferry decision is odd to me. Q is right...they are the gold standard in executive search and I have dealt with them several times. But they specialize in finding high-level business and financial executives. I don't think the collective basketball knowledge within their firm would approach the level of this board, and I'm not really sure what they bring to the table. I sense that it is mostly for show. Glen may still be reeling from his David Kahn choice, and having a search firm involved helps deflect some ciriticism if the choice doesn't work out (see Teague, Norwood)...it's the smart business move as expected from a smart businessman. But the fact of the matter is KF will need a few weeks just to approach the level of suitable contacts Glen already has...in his role of chairman of the ownership group, no owner is more connected than Glen.

So, what does KF do? Although, the press release says they will be involved in a search for both a PBO and a head coach, most of us have a difficult time believing the new PBO isn't going to choose the new coach (with Glen's blessing, of course)...or perhaps be the next coach. So I'm assuming KF will only be involved in the PBO search (although I don't know this for sure) and that the new head coach will be PBO's decision. A sequential process like this takes time, especially when a search firm is involved, and it's probably unlikely that the process will be completed by draft day. A search team needs to justify their exorbitant fees, and will go about this very deliberately. I would expect that they will take 4-6 weeks to assemble and interview a list of suitable candidates, and present Glen with a slate sometime in late May. Then Glen and his co-owners will take some time background checking and interviewing each candidate, and that might take another month. Take a look at the current U of M AD search process to fully appreciate how slowly this might move. My best guess is that the 2016 draft will be conducted by GM Milt Newton...not ideal, but not a disaster either. More importantly, the new PBO will hopefully be on board to play an active role in late summer free agency.

What kind of person will KF be looking for? Well, they were hired by Glen, so I assume they will looking for someone that Glen would like. Ultimately, Sam was fired not for his on-court performance and player development, but because of his prickly personality with the media and fans...just not Glen's style. I would expect they will be looking for a good basketball mind, but more of a congenial, Midwestern personality. Think of a Flip/McHale/Hoiberg type, not a Thibs/JVG type. And that's not all bad...congenial and Midwestern does not necessarily mean non-competitive.

So, while I would have given Sam more time to continue developing these young guys and build on this year's improvement, I'm optimistic about this franchise and hopeful that the new hires move us forward and not backward like previous moves. Our young players have huge upside but need a lot of help in some areas, especially defensively. Hopefully our new coach will continue the development and improvement we saw this year, and increase our win total by 80% like Sam did...I'm sure we would all be happy with 52 wins next year!

I don't get the stability argument for keeping Sam. Do you really see him as the long term guy? I always saw retaining him as delaying the inevitable. Wolves would be looking for a new coach in a year, two tops. What good is that? Let's get the right guy in now and build continuity from that.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Comparing Sam Mitchell to Tom Thibodeau is a very unwise move mainly because one gets results and the other...doesn't. I got shivers from reading LST's take on that one. Then the part about him being a very, very good assistant coach but not a head coach? How much further can one stretch?

[AbeVigodaLive]

I don't get the stability argument for keeping Sam. Do you really see him as the long term guy? I always saw retaining him as delaying the inevitable. Wolves would be looking for a new coach in a year, two tops. What good is that? Let's get the right guy in now and build continuity from that.

Sans maybe Rubio... does the previous instability even affect anybody on the roster?

The instability is largely rooted in two NBA anomalies:

1) Arguably the worst GM in modern NBA history
2) The unexpected death of the POBO/coach/architect of the 2016 Wolves.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Most of the posts I have seen suggest coaches KF should consider, but as I said earlier, I think that's putting the cart before the horse. Glen has publicly stated that he is not in favor of the PBO and head coach being the same guy, and KF works for Glen. And any worthwhile PBO is going to want to select his new coach. So, let's get the PBO search completed first.

But having said that, it's more fun to talk about the new coach, so I'll play. I would estimate that 90% of the discussion here has been about coaches that either were recently fired or haven't coached in a decade. I'm not in favor of either, and hope the new PBO goes for a fresher face...like a Brad Stevens type. (or this Atkinson guy Ricky mentioned). Let's not lose sight of the fact that coaches get fired for a reason, and recently being perceived as a failure by another franchise gives me pause. Hiring a recycled coach is the easy approach, but I hope our new PBO goes about about this in a more creative way.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LST, Jed Hughes - the Korn Ferry dude that is leading the search - is a major player in sports front office and coaching searches. It's his area of expertise.

I'm very much against giving someone like Thibs or JVG too much power and I'm not sure either of them are worth it if that's table stakes for them. I would prefer a "coach's coach" - a guy that loves to coach and simply wants to have his say and be consulted with on player personnel moves.

I actually thought Flip was a better GM than coach.....

[AbeVigodaLive]

Most of the posts I have seen suggest coaches KF should consider, but as I said earlier, I think that's putting the cart before the horse. Glen has publicly stated that he is not in favor of the PBO and head coach being the same guy, and KF works for Glen. And any worthwhile PBO is going to want to select his new coach. So, let's get the PBO search completed first.

But having said that, it's more fun to talk about the new coach, so I'll play. I would estimate that 90% of the discussion here has been about coaches that either were recently fired or haven't coached in a decade. I'm not in favor of either, and hope the new PBO goes for a fresher face...like a Brad Stevens type. (or this Atkinson guy Ricky mentioned). Let's not lose sight of the fact that coaches get fired for a reason, and recently being perceived as a failure by another franchise gives me pause. Hiring a recycled coach is the easy approach, but I hope our new PBO goes about about this in a more creative way.

Agree with you about the POBO stuff. I've mentioned it many times this season about how important it is. But it's a less glamorous role. The elephant in the room with the two jobs is having both open for candidates who want the dual role.

That's not my preferred choice. But maybe Taylor believes he needs that proverbial carrot to get the "very best"...?

[thedoper]

Anyone else find it interesting that the local reporters were the last ones to chime in on this story? Doogie sucks and I can't believe Zgoda gets paid for what he does. Only Robson tried to include himself in the story early.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I think that with the news out, it's ok for me to post my opinion on yesterday's developments...and this is strictly my opinion. I'm always open to anything that makes this franchise better, but I don't think firing Mitchell was a good move. What this franchise needs (and has not had since Flip was fired in 2005) is stability, and another coaching change is the opposite of stability. In the next 3-4 months a new coach will be announced, and he will be the 10th head coach in the 11 years since Flip was fired in 2005...I'm fairly certain no other team has a revolving door like that! While I agreed with the Rambis and Wittman dismissals, I thought the other firings (Saunders, McHale. and Casey...I assume Adelman's departure was a mutual agreement) were rather knee-jerk and and had a negative impact on the fortunes of the franchise. I hope that the Mitchell dismissal doesn't backfire like those moves did, and doesn't end up being another setback just as things are starting to look brighter.

The Korn Ferry decision is odd to me. Q is right...they are the gold standard in executive search and I have dealt with them several times. But they specialize in finding high-level business and financial executives. I don't think the collective basketball knowledge within their firm would approach the level of this board, and I'm not really sure what they bring to the table. I sense that it is mostly for show. Glen may still be reeling from his David Kahn choice, and having a search firm involved helps deflect some ciriticism if the choice doesn't work out (see Teague, Norwood)...it's the smart business move as expected from a smart businessman. But the fact of the matter is KF will need a few weeks just to approach the level of suitable contacts Glen already has...in his role of chairman of the ownership group, no owner is more connected than Glen.

So, what does KF do? Although, the press release says they will be involved in a search for both a PBO and a head coach, most of us have a difficult time believing the new PBO isn't going to choose the new coach (with Glen's blessing, of course)...or perhaps be the next coach. So I'm assuming KF will only be involved in the PBO search (although I don't know this for sure) and that the new head coach will be PBO's decision. A sequential process like this takes time, especially when a search firm is involved, and it's probably unlikely that the process will be completed by draft day. A search team needs to justify their exorbitant fees, and will go about this very deliberately. I would expect that they will take 4-6 weeks to assemble and interview a list of suitable candidates, and present Glen with a slate sometime in late May. Then Glen and his co-owners will take some time background checking and interviewing each candidate, and that might take another month. Take a look at the current U of M AD search process to fully appreciate how slowly this might move. My best guess is that the 2016 draft will be conducted by GM Milt Newton...not ideal, but not a disaster either. More importantly, the new PBO will hopefully be on board to play an active role in late summer free agency.

What kind of person will KF be looking for? Well, they were hired by Glen, so I assume they will looking for someone that Glen would like. Ultimately, Sam was fired not for his on-court performance and player development, but because of his prickly personality with the media and fans...just not Glen's style. I would expect they will be looking for a good basketball mind, but more of a congenial, Midwestern personality. Think of a Flip/McHale/Hoiberg type, not a Thibs/JVG type. And that's not all bad...congenial and Midwestern does not necessarily mean non-competitive.

So, while I would have given Sam more time to continue developing these young guys and build on this year's improvement, I'm optimistic about this franchise and hopeful that the new hires move us forward and not backward like previous moves. Our young players have huge upside but need a lot of help in some areas, especially defensively. Hopefully our new coach will continue the development and improvement we saw this year, and increase our win total by 80% like Sam did...I'm sure we would all be happy with 52 wins next year!

I don't get the stability argument for keeping Sam. Do you really see him as the long term guy? I always saw retaining him as delaying the inevitable. Wolves would be looking for a new coach in a year, two tops. What good is that? Let's get the right guy in now and build continuity from that.

There's absolutely nothing in the Wolves' history that tells me any new coach will last more than a year or two...it's just not the way we have operated. The fans here become dissatisfied quickly with a coach, and the management team responds by making a change. And I fear we have reacted too quickly again just like we did with Flip, Duane and Kevin in the last decade. There was really nothing wrong with any of their performances, just like there was nothing wrong with this year's 13-win improvement. But the fanbase wanted a change. I'm just tired of starting over every year or two with a new system, and I'm not going to be surprised if we find ourselves in the same position in a year...it's how we roll here.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Anyone else find it interesting that the local reporters were the last ones to chime in on this story? Doogie sucks and I can't believe Zgoda gets paid for what he does. Only Robson tried to include himself in the story early.

I'm not a fan of any of the three you listed. They're not super reliable nor do they leak anything worthwhile, IMO. If I want news, I go to Jon K. That guy does a terrific job. The others are guys I'll gloss over and try not to take seriously.

[thedoper]

Anyone else find it interesting that the local reporters were the last ones to chime in on this story? Doogie sucks and I can't believe Zgoda gets paid for what he does. Only Robson tried to include himself in the story early.

I'm not a fan of any of the three you listed. They're not super reliable nor do they leak anything worthwhile, IMO. If I want news, I go to Jon K. That guy does a terrific job. The others are guys I'll gloss over and try not to take seriously.

I like Britt. He is really into the game at least. I don't think any of them are super "plugged in" though. It is strange to me that is all. I would love their jobs.