POBO search down to 4 finalists

[Lipoli390]

An underwhelming group. It would be just like Glen Taylor to hire Billups - a guy who has no noteworthy track record in any NBA front office. I'm intrigued a bit by Langdon who is reputed to have been instrumental in their smart player acquisitions. I'm not sure about Booth.

Winger is the real pro in this group and would probably be the best bet for PBO among the names mentioned. If Glen hires Winger, then I could see Langdon as our new GM, which would be a promotion from his current assistant GM position with the Nets.

I would be cool with Rosa's, Langdon who both come from organizations that value antalitics and the 3 pt shot or Winger who seems like having a very good resume.

Booth I would be eh on.

Billups I would hate

I'm not familiar with Rosa. But otherwise my thinking aligns with yours. Billups would be an idiotic choice. But it's the sort of choice we're used to seeing from Glen Taylor.

I don't know much about Rosas either but he has been Moreys right hand man and I like the aggressiveness of Morey and if you are going to take a risk rather take a risk on a guy like him instead of Billups

You're absolutely right about Rosas being the kind of risk you take compared to hiring Billups. As Morey's right hand, Rosas has a track record as a high-level NBA front office executive with a successful organization. I'd like to know more about his specific involvement in the Rockets' decision-making and his thinking on what he'd like to do to improve the Wolves. But Rosas would be a much better risk than the risk of the unknown - namely Billups.

[Monster]

It was from a few years ago but I remember thinking something negative about Trajan Langdon and it was during his post playing days. I can't remember what it was or maybe it was meaningless to begin with but I remembered that the other day. I bring this up while also thinking he is maybe the most qualified guy of the interviews.

I did a bit of reading on Calvin Booth last night. There was a couple articles from last summer on the Athletic about him. I suppose everyone that ascends to the level he has likely has done some worthwhile things in basketball but I'm warming up to the idea of him getting the job.

Even though Winger ended up taking his name out of the running I listened to this podcast where Woj hand Lawrence Frank and Ringer on. Lip if you wonder what I am thinking about when it comes to the stuff I want from the front office and basketball folks a lot of it is laid out here. We don't have a Doc Rivers and we certainly don't have a Steve Balmer which seems tough. I guess if you want some optimism I would say the hope is that Ethan Casson is a super smart dude that can influence Glen to make some good decisions and be more cutting edge.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/925692920119943169?s=20

[kekgeek]

Ryan Saunders and Layden both involved in the interview process of the PBO. So safe to say they will be both back

Wolves do shit so backwards

[thedoper]

Ryan Saunders and Layden both involved in the interview process of the PBO. So safe to say they will be both back

Wolves do shit so backwards

Yeah I heard this today too. Let the subordinates pick their boss. Seems about right. Maybe the POBO can fire Taylor.

[Monster]

Ryan Saunders and Layden both involved in the interview process of the PBO. So safe to say they will be both back

Wolves do shit so backwards

Yeah I heard this today too. Let the subordinates pick their boss. Seems about right. Maybe the POBO can fire Taylor.

It does sound a bit weird to have Layden as part of the process. Ryan ain't going anywhere he will be here either as a head coach or assistant so sure. Think about it this way. It's a day long interview. Do you think I they sit in one room all day talking? Ok obviously they go eat somewhere nice or whatever. It seems to make sense you would meet some of the other staff of the organization you might be running even the first interview. Whoever they hire isn't going to be cleaning house. They are going to be working with a number of people in the organization that aren't going anywhere.

Thinking about the Layden thing personally my question would be if I was interviewing is whether or not I could bring in more people to assist me, not whether I had to keep Layden around or not. If Glen or whoever said yeah sure who are you thinking then fine I know I can bring in some of my guys. Layden doesn't seem like a guy that is a threat. He doesn't seem like some power hungry guy. If Glen wants to get some work out of him for his money that seems fine to me. I guess it's a bit worrisome that the owner likes him and wants to keep him around but still I'm hired to be the guy I don't think I should be worried about Scott Layden. Now if I talked with Layden and I just didn't click with him or we had some legit difference in philosophy or something like then that would be different. That's something that would be figured out later. Again if the people interviewing for this job can bring in some more people I think it's fine. Some of that is going to be if Glen is willing to pay for more good people. If he is fine. To me it's not if I have to keep Layden or not it's whether I have Layden AND others. That's a different thing than Layden being forced on you.

[Lipoli390]

Ryan Saunders and Layden both involved in the interview process of the PBO. So safe to say they will be both back

Wolves do shit so backwards

Yeah I heard this today too. Let the subordinates pick their boss. Seems about right. Maybe the POBO can fire Taylor.

It does sound a bit weird to have Layden as part of the process. Ryan ain't going anywhere he will be here either as a head coach or assistant so sure. Think about it this way. It's a day long interview. Do you think I they sit in one room all day talking? Ok obviously they go eat somewhere nice or whatever. It seems to make sense you would meet some of the other staff of the organization you might be running even the first interview. Whoever they hire isn't going to be cleaning house. They are going to be working with a number of people in the organization that aren't going anywhere.

Thinking about the Layden thing personally my question would be if I was interviewing is whether or not I could bring in more people to assist me, not whether I had to keep Layden around or not. If Glen or whoever said yeah sure who are you thinking then fine I know I can bring in some of my guys. Layden doesn't seem like a guy that is a threat. He doesn't seem like some power hungry guy. If Glen wants to get some work out of him for his money that seems fine to me. I guess it's a bit worrisome that the owner likes him and wants to keep him around but still I'm hired to be the guy I don't think I should be worried about Scott Layden. Now if I talked with Layden and I just didn't click with him or we had some legit difference in philosophy or something like then that would be different. That's something that would be figured out later. Again if the people interviewing for this job can bring in some more people I think it's fine. Some of that is going to be if Glen is willing to pay for more good people. If he is fine. To me it's not if I have to keep Layden or not it's whether I have Layden AND others. That's a different thing than Layden being forced on you.

Nice effort, Monster. But put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig. Having an employee (Layden) participate in interviewing his potential future boss is beyond ridiculous.

[Monster]

I listened to a recent podcast with Trajan Langdon which was somewhat interesting. It didn't really get into his work as a front office person but it was interesting to hear him talk about much of his history especially his time in Europe. On my recent trip I re-read a short book on leadership by Art Markman. One of the aspects of leadership the author wrote about was multicultural. I was reading this while riding the trains and busses in Switzerland. :) He said that the more people are immersed in various cultures the more they tend to be able to relate to others and be open to new ideas/concepts. Markman also authored "Smart Thinking" in which he said that having as much knowledge of various aspects gives you more chances to come up with solutions to problems. Anyway Langdon was starting to learn about different cultures from an early age. His wife is Russian etc. Obviously Gersson Rosas is a multicultural guy as well. Booth has spent a bunch of time helping to build up basketball in Ireland and seems to have a rep to be as open to new ideas as anyone. Billups???? Ummm...no idea other than he played with some international players. I should mention that reading my book I felt a bit ashamed of not immersing myself more than I do in my out of country travels. It made me want to get back to working to learn another language.

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/858701/trajan-langdon-joins-kyle-hines-in-the-kyle-zone/

[thedoper]

Is there any reasonable defense left for Taylor? He is far and away the worst owner in the league (yes move over Sarver and Dolan). How there aren't people with placards begging Taylor to sell the team at every Timberwolves event is beyond me.

This rigorous search didn't include a godfather offer to Mike Zarren? Trajan Langdon and Calvin Booth sound like great guys, but seriously this is going to right this ship? Looks like Taylor is after someone who can lull him back to his crypt to go back into hibernation. I don't get why his ego is so attached to this team. Take the money, sell it to someone who cares and is willing to take the appropriate risks based on the future trajectory of the league. Not amass their knowledge of greeting cards and doilies into a plan for basketball success pretending all the while we're not on a sinking ship.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Ryan Saunders and Layden both involved in the interview process of the PBO. So safe to say they will be both back

Wolves do shit so backwards

Glen Taylor is a clown. Unbelievable -- yet completely believable given who it is.

[Lipoli390]

Is there any reasonable defense left for Taylor? He is far and away the worst owner in the league (yes move over Sarver and Dolan). How there aren't people with placards begging Taylor to sell the team at every Timberwolves event is beyond me.

This rigorous search didn't include a godfather offer to Mike Zarren? Trajan Langdon and Calvin Booth sound like great guys, but seriously this is going to right this ship? Looks like Taylor is after someone who can lull him back to his crypt to go back into hibernation. I don't get why his ego is so attached to this team. Take the money, sell it to someone who cares and is willing to take the appropriate risks based on the future trajectory of the league. Not amass their knowledge of greeting cards and doilies into a plan for basketball success pretending all the while we're not on a sinking ship.

I'm as unhappy with Taylor's management of this franchise as anyone. But the fact is that he's been trying to sell the team. The only reason he hasn't sold it is because he's holding out for a buyer who will commit to keeping the team in Minnesota and so far he hasn't found anyone willing to buy the team and make that commitment. Let's at least give Glen credit for his loyalty to the community and his effort to keep the team here. And by the way, he's not worse than Dolan when you honestly consider how bad the Knicks franchise has been and for how long in spite of all the advantages it has as a revered franchise in a destination city.

Finally, I actually think Langdon would be an excellent choice as the new Wolves' PBO. Unfortunately, I think Taylor will end up hiring Billups or Rosas and either would, in my view, be a huge mistake. There is no objective basis for hiring Billups who has absolutely no front office, scouting or business experience of any kind. Rosas scares me for several reasons. First, his quick in and out with the Mavs is a giant red flag. Second, I'm not aware of any information that ties Rosas specifically to any of the effective moves or stellar decisions the Rockets have made. In contrast, it's been widely and repeatedly reported that Langdon is the main talent guy for a franchise that has done an excellent job of finding under-the-radar young talent since he's been in their front office. Finally, even if you give him credit for the success of the Rockets, the success of that franchise is not a good model for the Wolves. Houston is a destination city by virtue of its size, Southern climate, history of success and zero state income tax.

I don't know that Langdon is ideal. But he's the only one of the 4 who I'd consider to be a good pick. But again, I'll be surprised if Glen hires him.