kekgeek1 wrote:ItsJustSoSab wrote:SameOldNudityDrew wrote:All franchises make decisions that look bad in hindsight, particularly in the draft but also in other decisions. Almost everybody here thought we should give Wiggins the max, for example. I disagreed and people certainly had misgivings, but that was generally close to a consensus at the time, even among guys like Nate Duncan, who had reservations but said we should give him the max. It was a completely understandable call at the time, as were some (but not all) of these others we have mentioned. And while there have been some head scratching picks in the draft by all teams, most of the time, teams kind of go with the general consensus. And yet, life is unpredictable, so the consensus turn out to be wrong sometimes. All organizations have been on the wrong side of that dynamic . . .
BUT. But. This organization really does seem to make a disproportionately large number of mistakes, and that's certainly a major reason why we've been so bad for so long. Of course, as fans who go onto an online platform to discuss our team with a fine-toothed comb, we're primed to see and feel the mistakes better than anyone, so perhaps we exaggerate them. But that still doesn't dismiss the reality that this team just screws up roster decisions at a higher rate than other teams. I'd love to see if anybody has found a way to quantitatively study all team decisions in the NBA over a long period of time and measure which teams make better decisions and which make worse. I would guess we are in the bottom 10 and probably the bottom 5. I'm curious what the rest of you think.
I also think Cool is right when he highlights culture. This team has a losing culture. And that culture is contagious. People expect to lose in this franchise. And we've lost for so long, it not only dissuades free agents, but it also seems to really hurt the chemistry of the team, regardless of the makeup of the roster. And this is where Taylor and everyone who's been in the organization for a long time is culpable. Something needs to happen to change the culture of the organization as a whole so that it can start to positively affect the culture and chemistry of the team itself over time.
And especially this year, having seen the Butler fiasco, watching how the Lakers responded to the trade rumors, seeing how Kyrie's personality seems to be poisoning the Celtics, it seems clear that team chemistry is crucial. It's like any office. If people like working together, the office just works better. When people don't like each other and are just in it for themselves, everybody's less productive and nothing really works as well as a team. And all it takes is a couple shitty personalities or a communication problem between key people. NBA teams are no different.
When was the last time you saw a Wolves team that looked like they truly enjoyed playing with each other?
I honestly can't remember. And I think that's also a key part of the problem.
I assume you mean the national (or local) basketball minds and not this board. I remember at least half this board being against the max for Wiggins including myself. It got even worse when Glen (hey! it's Glen doing something dumb again!) did that whole "pinky promise me you'll play better after I give you a shit ton of money" and then told people what he did...not realizing how much of a dumbass he would look like. This board has a lot lot of disagreements but compared to outside sports writers, we are definitely ahead of the curve
Went back and looked at that thread. Really funny what we know now. Some highlights.
Q and SP understood it but were cautiously optimistic.
Bizzaro hated the deal (he was right)
Duke was more down on the deal because of iso Wiggins and didn't fit the warriors model.
Monster, doper and ebi liked the deal a lot. Wordk said he would be a multi time all star when his contract is up
Lst said the reason it took so long was because Wiggins wanted nicer hotel rooms away from his teammates.
My favorite part, Lip loved the deal, said he would rather have Wiggins than Embiid at the max. (This is not a dis, just think it is hilarious how things can change in 2 years).
*I did not post in that thread. I remember I liked the deal and if I go back in time I still it is the correct decision. But in typical wolves fashion our young don't hit their potential they regress from their 1st 3 years. Only the wolves
Lol. I sure blew it with the Wiggins max deal! :) But the point is this. It's not any one front office decision - it's the net sum total of decisions. That's the problem. One Wolves front office after another has left behind a long trail of really bad personnel decisions with very few good ones, resulting in a big net negative. And that's not hindsight. Many on this board (including Duke and Bizzaro), unlike me, opposed giving Wiggins the max.
As for me, you can look back at things I posted at the time decisions were made and you'll find that the Wolves would be MUCH better off if I had been in charge of the Wolves front office at the time. I would have drafted McCollum unless persuaded by medical evidence we weren't aware of that his foot issue was too much of a risk, in which case I would have taken Giannis rather than Bazz. I went ballistic over selling our final 1st round pick that year, posting that I would have used it to take Gobert. I was on record saying I wanted to draft Hield as my first choice and Murray as my second choice. I stated that I had misgivings about the Butler deal at the time because of his injury history and issues with teammates. Even though I didn't opposed the deal, if in charge I would have explored other deals rather than that one, including tradeing Wiggins rather than LaVine, Dunn and our pick for Butler. Everyone knows I didn't like the Patton pick at the time and that I was calling for us to draft John Collins. And I posted my desire to trade Butler on draft night, even though I didn't yet know of the discord behind the scenes. And a number of other posters agreed with me at the time on a lot of these or expressed support for other alternatives moves much better than the ones Flip and Thibodeau made. And of course, I opposed the Thibodeau hiring as head coach and PBO at the time it happened - again, not hindsight.
So yes, the Wolves are now suffering from a sum total of bad front office decisions - and that's not simply a judgment based on hindsight. And sadly, the Wolves would be much better off if the organization had been run by me or any number of other rubes on this message board. Glen Taylor has, instead, paid millions per year on front office decision-makers who haven't performed nearly as well as many message board fans would have performed - and that's in spite of the fact that we have even less information. Although some on this board have sought to defend Thibodeau's reign as PBO, a hard look at the facts tells us he wasn't just mediocre - he was bad. And sadly, so was Flip - although in fairness we didn't have the chance to see him follow through on his plan.
A net negative sum of front office decisions by bad front office personnel who were hired by a clueless owner. And here we sit - frustrated as always. But here's the deal. Glen Taylor isn't going to sell the team any time soon and if he does, the team might end up in Seattle. So give Taylor credit for doing what he can to keep the team here as he holds out for a local buyer. In the meantime, we just have to hope that Glen finally hires the right people to run our front office because that's the only thing that is at least possible in the near term. I keep coming back to the blind squirrel finding a nut. Maybe Glen will finally get it right. I'm not holding my breath, but I'm not giving up hope either.
