Minnesota Sports Forum

monsterpile wrote:Just to clarify I was only making the point that it was odd Kahn was willing to take on Beas Darko AR types even if the price was next to nothing and then pass on Cousins who was clearly the best talent. Kahn did a lot of swinging for the fences with his moves but not that one. I was very torn on that pick and I am not actually ripping Kahn for not taking Cousins. I would have had a hard time deciding what to do of I had been in his shoes based on the info I had at the time and remember the Wolves had Pek and Love at the time also. Of course it turns out even if Pek would have stayed healthy all 3 of those guys could have probably played with each other. What hurts more than the guys we passed up is that Flynn Wes and Williams were basically worthless to this team they weren't even trade assets. Oddly out of all of them the guy that brought back the most was Flynn.

Don't forget Big Al was still there and at that point most were convinced that pairing couldn't work. Pek wasn't there yet, so theoretically they coulda had Jefferson, Love, Cousins, and Pek on the team at the same time without a stitch of defense.

WildWolf2813 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:Just to clarify I was only making the point that it was odd Kahn was willing to take on Beas Darko AR types even if the price was next to nothing and then pass on Cousins who was clearly the best talent. Kahn did a lot of swinging for the fences with his moves but not that one. I was very torn on that pick and I am not actually ripping Kahn for not taking Cousins. I would have had a hard time deciding what to do of I had been in his shoes based on the info I had at the time and remember the Wolves had Pek and Love at the time also. Of course it turns out even if Pek would have stayed healthy all 3 of those guys could have probably played with each other. What hurts more than the guys we passed up is that Flynn Wes and Williams were basically worthless to this team they weren't even trade assets. Oddly out of all of them the guy that brought back the most was Flynn.

Don't forget Big Al was still there and at that point most were convinced that pairing couldn't work. Pek wasn't there yet, so theoretically they coulda had Jefferson, Love, Cousins, and Pek on the team at the same time without a stitch of defense.

Ok yeah you are right Pek wasn't there year but he came over that season. McHale would have loved coaching that front court. Lol

Danger....I am one of very few that could at least support Kahn in his draft choices.

Are all GMs right? Absolutely not! But he had a vision and he went with it. How I recall it, he was a first year GM thrusted right in that position with little time to prep. I think in the back of his mind he wanted a high flying show----like the 80s Showtime Lakers with tons of points scoring and thus fans back into the stands. And what more then have one coaching for you. Right? Enter Rambis.

He knew deep down inside that Rubio was his saving grace---but at 5, Rubio's pay was NOT enough to have him (Rubio) help with the buyout which would have been 2 years later. So he needed an immediate PG. Since, Curry didn't want to come workout and threaten to not ever play here----- he couldn't pull this trigger. How would he ever look when your first TWO choices---both in the top 6----don't even show up for you?!?!? What would the season ticket members think?

With little time to prep---and as some of you recalled, Flynn had a remarkable Final Four run---he drafted Flynn. But he really didn't want Flynn, he wanted to pair Rubio with Tyreke Evans who was taken just before us at 4. He had a deal in place with the Kings that would have the Wolves trade Flynn and the #18 pick if we could get James Johnson for Evans. Of course, Chicago messed this up and took him at 16. I believe there was some limited talks that he possibly be able to send Flynn that night which was why we took an unprecidented 3rd PG in the first round but when that fail, he traded Lawson away and stuck with Flynn.

Remember---people have their vision. His was a run and gun with Rubio at the helm. So, ask yourself if ANY of the guys that he brought in afterwards really fit the Flynn mold? Wesley, Derrick, Anthony Randolph, Beasley and even to extent Mililic are all tall, athletic, lengthy guys at their respective positions.

Maybe it's just been a long time, but I don't remember hearing about that Flynn + Johnson for Evans rumor. Anybody else have more on this? Did Kahn actually speak of this?

Camden wrote:Maybe it's just been a long time, but I don't remember hearing about that Flynn + Johnson for Evans rumor. Anybody else have more on this? Did Kahn actually speak of this?

I don't recall specifically. But I did find an old forum post from Real GM around draft time. They were chatting about how they hoped Hasheem Thabeet might fall to us - lol. Again, Khan deserves plenty of criticism. But the draft was, is and always will be somewhat of a crap-shoot. I'm willing to give GMs a pass on draft day misses so long as they don't completely over reach from consensus mock draft/opinions. I'm going from memory now, but I recall concerns over Steph Curry's slight frame and whether he was actually a PG or an undersized SG/combo guard. Again, we can all look back now and laugh. But at the time, I don't believe Flynn was considered a complete reach at #6 as he was a consensus top 10 pick. The draft got screwed up early when Rubio fell to us. Everyone knew it would be a couple years before they could bring him over, so the Wolves needed another PG to bridge that gap (they had finished the prior year with Sebastian Telfair and Kevin Ollie tandem). They did get one decent year out of Flynn. He then hurt his hip and was never the same guy. It's a cursed franchise.

I remember at the time before the draft I was hoping for Brandon Jennings and Demar DeRozan. They both were projected around the time we would pick. Evans was the guy I really liked but knew he wouldn't be around. I still think Flynn was better than people let on. He played his lone healthy year for Rambis in the stupid triangle. It was the worst fit for him. Still put up 13.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 3 boards on 41% shooting (36% from 3). Pretty close to what Zach has done this year. That is solid for a rookie PG in my eyes. I will be surprised if Dunn can do that as a rookie.

I had forgotten about that Flynn and Johnson for Evans rumor and it seemed to have at least a little legitimacy to it.

Interesting note about Wes Johnson:

The guy was picked at #4 because he was allegedly close to a "finished" project... but he had never scored more than 16 ppg at any level beyond 8th grade. I get that it wasn't a huge reach at the time among prognosticators. I just didn't understand why anybody would have thought the guy with such a paltry track record was going to suddenly blossom at age 23 and beyond against stiffer competition.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Interesting note about Wes Johnson:

The guy was picked at #4 because he was allegedly close to a "finished" project... but he had never scored more than 16 ppg at any level beyond 8th grade. I get that it wasn't a huge reach at the time among prognosticators. I just didn't understand why anybody would have thought the guy with such a paltry track record was going to suddenly blossom at age 23 and beyond against stiffer competition.

I know. I thought the same thing at the time. He was a classic fit for us. I was thinking Monroe was the safe pick for us and Cousins was the risky pick, but I think we had the great Darko at the time.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Interesting note about Wes Johnson:

The guy was picked at #4 because he was allegedly close to a "finished" project... but he had never scored more than 16 ppg at any level beyond 8th grade. I get that it wasn't a huge reach at the time among prognosticators. I just didn't understand why anybody would have thought the guy with such a paltry track record was going to suddenly blossom at age 23 and beyond against stiffer competition.

Never underestimate the power of a good looking smile:
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/wesley-johnson


"Overall: A widely unknown transfer from Iowa State, Wes Johnson had to wait a year on the sidelines before becoming a household name and a star for Syracuse basketball ... Plays a lot of the 4 in college, but will most definitely be a 3 at the next level. At 23 years old already, he should be more NBA ready than most players entering the draft ... The big question with Wes is whether or not his inability to create will prevent him from being a relied upon scorer in the pros ... Regardless, his smile can light up an arena and make him an immediate fan favorite, while his ability to shoot with hands in his face, as well as his defensive potential and rebounding skills, should propel him to the next level, making him a likely high lottery pick in the 2010 NBA Draft."