Taylor Speaks!

[Lipoli390]

Man, some people on here read WAYYYY to much into these things. So he said they will explore drafting a player, trading pick for player, or building via FA. WOW.....what an idiot for letting all the secrets out!!!! I get it, he has said/done some dumb things in the past, but the criticism for this interview is unwarranted. He literally said nothing of value for anyone.

Some people read way too much into off-hand minor criticisms. No one said the sky is falling. Some of us just think Glen's public comments often don't really help and are sometimes harmful to the organization -- they typically don't give fans any good insights or help the front office, and sometimes they are just plain idiotic and potentially harmful as they were when Taylor claimed that KG was packing it in.

[Lipoli390]

Yeah, I think Glen's intelligence is vastly underrated on this board. Sure, his Mankato country bumpkinness is often on display, but he also has used that to his advantage in business. I don't know about you guys, but I haven't met too many sell-made billionaire dummies.

Actually, I haven't met any self-made billionaires, In fact, I've never met any billionaires. How many have you met? I can tell you I've met a number of financially successful people (I've represented some) who weren't particularly bright but who had a lot of guts, taking risks most of us wouldn't take, and being in the right place at the right time. I give Glen a lot of credit for having an idea and running with it as he did with his printing business. The guy has guts and I appreciate that. But it's not just Glen's manner of speaking, it's what he actually says and some of the things he's done that appropriately draw criticism. How about his public comments about KG dogging it. Or how about GT approving the Joe Smith deal where he not only approved an illegal deal, but allowed it to be put in writing. Obviously, GT has something on the ball to have been as successful with his printing business as he became. And no doubt some of us use hyperbole when referring to him as a doofus or idiot. But I don't think we're vastly underrating his intelligence by questioning his judgment in making unhelpful public statements in light of the things he's said and done as owner of the Wolves over the years. Given how hard Thibs and Layden are working to keep a lid on any information escaping the confines of the front office, I have to believe they weren't too happy to see GT spout off publicly about scenarios and issues getting health info from agents. Certainly not a big deal, but annoying nonetheless.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Yeah, the whole Joe Smith deal was a major blunder, Lip, and Glen has to own that one both from a stupidity and an integrity standpoint. But I don't have any serious issues with him since then. Many bring up the parting comments he made about KG, but you probably know he was fed up with KG by that point (not many in the organization liked KG except for Flip) so I give him a pass. I still rank Glen fairly high as an NBA owner...not afraid to spend money and content to stay largely in the background. He's clearly highly regarded by his peers, because he has led the owners' group for a long time.

The biggest problem I had with the accompanying article was Thibs' first excuse for the teams' poor performance...I almost threw up when he mentioned Zach's injury as the primary reason. I will agree that Glen is not very smart if he let that excuse pass without commenting privately, because the Wolves went 9-7 in the first 16 games after Zach went down! I think our focus on the owner's intelligence is misplaced...let's worry more about a coach who says Zach LaVine's injury is the reason for the 2016-7 disaster, when the team clearly played its best basketball of the season in the month after Zach went down! Come on, Thibs...we're not that dumb!

[60WinTim]

Yeah, the whole Joe Smith deal was a major blunder, Lip, and Glen has to own that one both from a stupidity and an integrity standpoint. But I don't have any serious issues with him since then. Many bring up the parting comments he made about KG, but you probably know he was fed up with KG by that point (not many in the organization liked KG except for Flip) so I give him a pass. I still rank Glen fairly high as an NBA owner...not afraid to spend money and content to stay largely in the background. He's clearly highly regarded by his peers, because he has led the owners' group for a long time.

The biggest problem I had with the accompanying article was Thibs' first excuse for the teams' poor performance...I almost threw up when he mentioned Zach's injury as the primary reason. I will agree that Glen is not very smart if he let that excuse pass without commenting privately, because the Wolves went 9-7 in the first 16 games after Zach went down! I think our focus on the owner's intelligence is misplaced...let's worry more about a coach who says Zach LaVine's injury is the reason for the 2016-7 disaster, when the team clearly played its best basketball of the season in the month after Zach went down! Come on, Thibs...we're not that dumb!

Geez-Louise, LST. You are so hell-bent on painting Thibs as the reason we sucked and who should have never been hired in the first place!

Glen never said Thibs said Zach was the primary reason for the poor season. Glen said that Thibs said it was a combination of things. And those things were Zach's injury, Belly's injury and inadequate defense.

Yeah, the Wolves were 9-7 after Zach went down. But they were 8-4 before he went down! So they DID take a hit after Zach's injury. And then Belly went down, and that was the straw that broke the camels back.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Tim, I know Thibs didn't say Zach's injury was the only reason for the terrible season...but at least in this article, it was the first factor provided. And while the writer says inconsistent defense was a factor, Taylor said Thibs only mentioned the injuries. It was easy to see the team defense improved so dramatically in the month after Zach went down, so I find it offensive to hear his injury thrown out there as a primary excuse. I agree with Thibs that Belly's injury was difficult to overcome...the season was essentially over after his injury.

Hmm...wouldn't it have been refreshing to hear Thibs take some responsibility for the disastrous season, rather than blaming it on circumstances? But I guess it's hard to blame him...deflecting the blame is an effective strategy if the fan base continues to be more than willing to give the head coach a pass. But this season ticket holder isn't buying the LaVine injury as the reason for last year's travesty...this team was bad long before Zach went down.

[60WinTim]

So what do you have to say about them being 8-4 before Zach's injury?!?

Or if that's too small a sample size, they were 13-12 before Zach's injury! This team was bad to start the season. But the team was clearly figuring out how to play WITH Zach 25 games before he went down. And they did a pretty darn good job of adjusting after Zach went down.

I thought Thibs did accept blame at his end-of-season presser. And if those two players didn't go down and we were fighting for a playoff spot right to the end, we wouldn't be talking about blame at all.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

So what do you have to say about them being 8-4 before Zach's injury?!?

Or if that's too small a sample size, they were 13-12 before Zach's injury! This team was bad to start the season. But the team was clearly figuring out how to play WITH Zach 25 games before he went down. And they did a pretty darn good job of adjusting after Zach went down.

I thought Thibs did accept blame at his end-of-season presser. And if those two players didn't go down and we were fighting for a playoff spot right to the end, we wouldn't be talking about blame at all.

Good point that they were playing pretty well at the end of January, Tim...but in my opinion they played even better in February after Zach went down. They really looked like they were starting to play like a team on defense. There's no question they took a nosedive after Belly went down though. I wish I felt better about the head coach, Tim, but I just think he had a terrible first season. I'm hoping he can turn things around.

[60WinTim]

So what do you have to say about them being 8-4 before Zach's injury?!?

Or if that's too small a sample size, they were 13-12 before Zach's injury! This team was bad to start the season. But the team was clearly figuring out how to play WITH Zach 25 games before he went down. And they did a pretty darn good job of adjusting after Zach went down.

I thought Thibs did accept blame at his end-of-season presser. And if those two players didn't go down and we were fighting for a playoff spot right to the end, we wouldn't be talking about blame at all.

Good point that they were playing pretty well at the end of January, Tim...but in my opinion they played even better in February after Zach went down. They really looked like they were starting to play like a team on defense. There's no question they took a nosedive after Belly went down though. I wish I felt better about the head coach, Tim, but I just think he had a terrible first season. I'm hoping he can turn things around.

Believe me, I am not giving Thibs a free pass. You happen to strike a nerve when I thought you went overboard with your Thibs criticism...

I also thought the Wolves played better defense after Zach went down. I also find it kind of head-scratching that Belly going down would cause such a complete implosion of that good team defense. Although I guess the argument can be made they just didn't have a body that could replace Belly, thus guys were playing out-of-position to replace him, and other teams were able to take advantage. And I am sure your theory about the excessive minutes played was one of the contributors. Hopefully a stronger bench will help Thibs lessen those minutes.