Minnesota Sports Forum

WolvesFan21 wrote:Is someone like KG you want playing for your team? YES

As my pops says Kirby Puckett was great player and HOF but he was a wife beater and terrible person. Both things can be true.

Camden wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I hope his number never gets retired, although it will after Taylor sells the team.

That doesn't send a good message to literally every other player in the league as well as players entering the league in the future. Nobody wants to play for the Wolves anyways, but that definitely doesn't make it any better. The clear-cut best player in a franchise's history -- by a lot -- should get his number retired. That's how it should be. The fact that his number isn't already retired is an embarrassment.

He was often an embarrassment. Are you worried about our ability to attract free agents? Oh no, Luka isn't going to want to sign here. Get that #21 in the rafters!

Being an "embarrassment" can be very subjective.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

WolvesFan21 wrote:Is someone like KG you want playing for your team? YES

The player yes, the person no. Wouldn't want him representing my team in any other capacity.

Really?

Are we judging players now because losers follow every step of them on social media? Don't rely on "famous" people to be mentors for children/public. Call it what it is.

The guy has never done anything terrible (that I am aware of), only been himself.

I watch a man play a fucking game. KG was the best to suit up for this team. He sat throughout the dogshit years, the Joe Smith debacle years, whatever. He put his all in for the team.

I won't judge a man on how he talks or acts personally. That is who he is, and you could judge any of us the same way. We just dont have the limelight to have people following our every move.

It is a shame that our only great player will not come around, and speaks to how shitty Glen is.

People don't want Kg for this organization for the exact opposite reason they wanted Ricky. Cool!!
Players come from all walks of life. As a fan base of the losingest organization in all of sports we reserve the right to expect all of our players to not only be great at basketball but also rescue babies from burning buildings.

PorkChop wrote:People don't want Kg for this organization for the exact opposite reason they wanted Ricky. Cool!!
Players come from all walks of life. As a fan base of the losingest organization in all of sports we reserve the right to expect all of our players to not only be great at basketball but also rescue babies from burning buildings.

I accept that players come from all walks of life, and I respect that. And I respected KG's play on the court...by far the greatest player in this franchise's history, and his uniform number should be retired. A person doesn't have to be honorable for me to appreciate or cheer for what they do...I still think some Woody Allen movies are funny, I still listen to Michael Jackson, I appreciate Leonardo Da Vinci's genius, and Kirby Puckett is still my favorite Twin of all time. Even though all 4 are or were despicable men who should have been jailed for their actions.

But this topic is about whether we want KG to be the owner of the team or not, and many of us recognize that he would have been a disaster in that role (I'm saying "would have been" rather than "would be" because he is not a viable candidate to own this team, and never was). Glen Taylor has been a terrible owner who has made some franchise-killing moves, but at least he is an educated man ad successful businessman with an ability to communicate in the mother tongue. KG is a thug surrounded by a cadre of thugs...I still remember his posse in their baggy pants and gaudy jewelry occupying 4-5 courtside seats during KG's days here. Glen has hurt this franchise, but KG is just plain stupid. Do we want a guy who lost $77 million through bad investments and then sued to try to get it back making the business decisions for this team? Do we want the guy who insisted we sign Troy Hudson just because he thought his music was cool making decisions for the Timberwolves?

Yes, hang his uniform from the rafters...he deserves that. But be very grateful he will never have anything to do with directing the future of this franchise. He's a bad guy.

FNG wrote:

PorkChop wrote:People don't want Kg for this organization for the exact opposite reason they wanted Ricky. Cool!!
Players come from all walks of life. As a fan base of the losingest organization in all of sports we reserve the right to expect all of our players to not only be great at basketball but also rescue babies from burning buildings.

I accept that players come from all walks of life, and I respect that. And I respected KG's play on the court...by far the greatest player in this franchise's history, and his uniform number should be retired. A person doesn't have to be honorable for me to appreciate or cheer for what they do...I still think some Woody Allen movies are funny, I still listen to Michael Jackson, I appreciate Leonardo Da Vinci's genius, and Kirby Puckett is still my favorite Twin of all time. Even though all 4 are or were despicable men who should have been jailed for their actions.

But this topic is about whether we want KG to be the owner of the team or not, and many of us recognize that he would have been a disaster in that role (I'm saying "would have been" rather than "would be" because he is not a viable candidate to own this team, and never was). Glen Taylor has been a terrible owner who has made some franchise-killing moves, but at least he is an educated man ad successful businessman with an ability to communicate in the mother tongue. KG is a thug surrounded by a cadre of thugs...I still remember his posse in their baggy pants and gaudy jewelry occupying 4-5 courtside seats during KG's days here. Glen has hurt this franchise, but KG is just plain stupid. Do we want a guy who lost $77 million through bad investments and then sued to try to get it back making the business decisions for this team? Do we want the guy who insisted we sign Troy Hudson just because he thought his music was cool making decisions for the Timberwolves?

Yes, hang his uniform from the rafters...he deserves that. But be very grateful he will never have anything to do with directing the future of this franchise. He's a bad guy.

Just because someone speaks differently or wears gaudy jewelry doesn't make them a "thug."

Basing your judgement on someone by how they talk or look is just as bad as being racist. Judge people by the content of their character and actions not what they look or talk like.

So sure he probably wouldn't make a great majority owner which he was never going to be, even minority owner he might have swayed others into poor hiring practices. Overall though I think he would have been a net positive as it would have been even more likely the Wolves stay in MN and KG himself does value winning above all else. I would have taken my chances with KG as part owner.

Im trying to think of the horrible things that KG did? There was a fight in High School, and then he punched Wally. I wanted to punch Wally often for his play and attitude so Im not going to go too far there. Comparing KGs faults even to Kirby is probably unfair.

I recognize that KG appears to have really poor business judgment. I also question whether he has the temperament to own a multi-billion dollar, public-facing franchise. Based on his public comments about Taylor, he appears to be impulsive and have a somewhat distorted, ego-centric, and childish view of the world - a perspective that has him believing he is somehow entitled to own the team. KG's last tweet on the subject was essentially the proverbial and whiny, "I'm going to take my ball and go home" retort as he alluded to shifting his ownership efforts to Vegas or Seattle. All this from a guy who hasn't even made a formal due diligence inquiry, much less an offer.

Having said all that, I would have liked to have KG as a part owner of the team. Obviously, he doesn't have the assets to own a majority stake in the franchise, but having him as a small part of an ownership group would add gravitas to the franchise, could help attract free agents and would help ensure the team stays in Minnesota. He could also provide valuable advice on player personnel decisions. As a minority owner, he wouldn't be in a position to cause any serious damage to the franchise. If I were putting together an ownership group in which I'd have the controlling stake, I would definitely consider having KG as part of my ownership group. I don't think there's any evidence that he's a thug or a generally bad actor.

WolvesFan21 wrote:

FNG wrote:

PorkChop wrote:People don't want Kg for this organization for the exact opposite reason they wanted Ricky. Cool!!
Players come from all walks of life. As a fan base of the losingest organization in all of sports we reserve the right to expect all of our players to not only be great at basketball but also rescue babies from burning buildings.

I accept that players come from all walks of life, and I respect that. And I respected KG's play on the court...by far the greatest player in this franchise's history, and his uniform number should be retired. A person doesn't have to be honorable for me to appreciate or cheer for what they do...I still think some Woody Allen movies are funny, I still listen to Michael Jackson, I appreciate Leonardo Da Vinci's genius, and Kirby Puckett is still my favorite Twin of all time. Even though all 4 are or were despicable men who should have been jailed for their actions.

But this topic is about whether we want KG to be the owner of the team or not, and many of us recognize that he would have been a disaster in that role (I'm saying "would have been" rather than "would be" because he is not a viable candidate to own this team, and never was). Glen Taylor has been a terrible owner who has made some franchise-killing moves, but at least he is an educated man ad successful businessman with an ability to communicate in the mother tongue. KG is a thug surrounded by a cadre of thugs...I still remember his posse in their baggy pants and gaudy jewelry occupying 4-5 courtside seats during KG's days here. Glen has hurt this franchise, but KG is just plain stupid. Do we want a guy who lost $77 million through bad investments and then sued to try to get it back making the business decisions for this team? Do we want the guy who insisted we sign Troy Hudson just because he thought his music was cool making decisions for the Timberwolves?

Yes, hang his uniform from the rafters...he deserves that. But be very grateful he will never have anything to do with directing the future of this franchise. He's a bad guy.

Just because someone speaks differently or wears gaudy jewelry doesn't make them a "thug."

Basing your judgement on someone by how they talk or look is just as bad as being racist. Judge people by the content of their character and actions not what they look or talk like.

So sure he probably wouldn't make a great majority owner which he was never going to be, even minority owner he might have swayed others into poor hiring practices. Overall though I think he would have been a net positive as it would have been even more likely the Wolves stay in MN and KG himself does value winning above all else. I would have taken my chances with KG as part owner.

That's fair, WF. The whole idea of having a "posse" sucking up to and living off you is distasteful to me, but I agree their appearance should not be the issue...you're right. And in response to Doper's questions, I'm not going to compare KG's marital behavior to Kirby's. I would agree that Kirby was worse, but KG was awful too. Many NBA players cheat on their wives, but few did it so openly, cruelly and flagrantly as KG. It was pretty easy to spot the women at games that he bought season tickets for...the glares they would get from his wife Brandi as well as from Jimmy Jam and his wife told you all you needed to know. And how classy is a guy who made over $300 million during his career, but refuses to pay his ex-wife anything? Scum. And how about the fake tough guy act on the court...he would instigate fights with his trash talk and elbows, but then he would be the first one to run for cover when the other guy would retaliate. Sure, I cheered for him because my team's chances were dependent on him...just like I cheered for Kirby and I cheer for Sano. But I never felt good about it. He's a bad guy and I am relieved he will never be part of this franchise...even as a minority owner.

Glen has been a terrible owner, but at least he is stable. KG is erratic...you never know when he is going to explode on IG without anyone able to understand what the provocation was. He says (in some language I have to admit I have a difficult time understanding) that he is pissed he is not being given a chance to own the team. But not one of the many guys that cover the team have any knowledge of who his "syndicate" is (and most doubt that he really has one), and nobody has ever seen any evidence of an offer he has made to Glen. I think the guy is crazy, and not very smart. The drama would have been interesting if he ever got involved in an ownership group, but his buying into the team is about the only thing I can think of that might make this franchise even worse than it is. Thanks for the on-court memories, KG, but don't let the door hit you on the way out.