Flip's Performance So Far
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 3:23 pm
Most of us would agree that this summer will be key to assessing Flip's competence as President of Basketball Operations. Glen Taylor hired Flip to fill the highest executive position in the Wolves basketball organization. No other team was reported as having any interest in hiring Flip to fill any basketball front office position. Nor has Flip's name come up as a head coach candidate for any of the many vacancies since the Wizards fired him and replaced him with Randy Wittman.
So I'd say that Flip has a lot to prove. I'd also say that it's too soon to render a final verdict on his tenure in the front office role Glen gave him. But here's a review of Flip's key decisions, identified as good, bad, or downright ugly with an additional category called "unknown":
THE GOOD:
1. Drafting Dieng with the 21st pick appears to have been a very good decision based on Dieng's performance late last season. You could argue that Flip didn't need to do the 2 for 1 deal with Utah to get Dieng since nearly every mock draft had Dieng lasting to the Wolves 26th pick, which Flip simply dealt away for nothing. But without knowing for sure whether Dieng would have lasted to #26, you still have to credit Flip for taking Dieng at 21. So kudos to Flip for this pick.
2. The 2 for 1 deal with Utah. I'm going to give Flip the benefit of the doubt on this and assume that Dieng wouldn't have been available at #26. So regardless of how Shabazz pans out relative to other choices at #9, I'd putting this two for one deal in the good column.
THE BAD
1. Signing Kevin Martin to a 4-year deal at roughly $7+ million annually. I didn't like the contract at the time and all you need to know to realize it was a bad mistake is the fact that Flip can't find any team to take Martin and his contract in a deal. Apparently, that was the deal-breaker that stopped the Golden State deal from happening before the draft. As I said at the time, a 4-year deal for that amount to an injury-prone 31 year old who has averaged only around 63 game per season was a mistake. Apparently, other teams see it the same way.
2. Re-signing Budinger, a perennial bench player coming off knee surgery, to a 3-year deal at $5 million per year. I like Budinger, but he's never been more than a bench player. Moreover, he's a one-way player whose one standout skill -- 3 point shooting -- isn't all that impressive compared to the elite three-point shooters in the League. Add his knee surgery to the mix, which added considerable uncertainty, and you can't justify this contract.
3. Signing Brewer to a 3 year deal at close to $5 million per year. Of the these three, this was the least objectionable. I love the energy and ball-thievery that Corey brings and he meshed well with Kevin Love's outlet passes. But he's one of the two or three worst three-point shooters in the entire League, including corner threes, he's a poor ball-handler, he's physically overmatched by most SFs he guards, and his defense isn't as good as advertised. Moreover, we could have signed DeMarre Carroll for half Corey's annual salary for two rather than 3 years. Carroll brings the same level of energy and hustle as Corey, but he also brings far more physicality -- all of it packaged in a much more team-friendly contract. Note that Carroll's stats were as good or better than Corey's last season.
4. Trading Derrick Williams for Luc MM. I wasn't set on keeping Williams, but trading him for Luc struck me as mistaken at that time and nothing since has indicated otherwise. I've never seen a player as inept as Luc offensively. Williams wasn't coveted around the League, but I'd bet he's a more valuable asset right now than Luc.
THE UGLY
1. Failing to bring any fresh blood or perspective into the organization. He hires his crony from Washington as his GM and keeps his old buddy Rob Babcock rather than bringing in a bigger name or more independent voice who can challenge him and bring in fresh ideas. Then Flip hires himself as head coach after which he hires his son and T-Wolves Sam Mitchell and Sidney Lowe as his assistants. Again, he appears to surround himself exclusively with people unlikely to challenge him or bring fresh ideas and perspectives. I would have preferred signing Blatz, but short of that Flip should have hired at least one front office executive and one assistant coach from outside his old familiar inner circle.
THE UNKNOWN
1. Picking Shabazz rather than Hardaway and the Greek Freak. Right now, the Shabazz pick looks like a mistake relative to at least two picks the Wolves could have make at #12. However, we just haven't seen enough of Shabazz to make even a preliminary judgment. This next season will begin to tell the tale. I think we saw enough of Shabazz to give us some hope and based on what I've heard about his work ethic I'm intrigued. This could turn out to be a great pick and end up in the Good category.
2. Making himself head coach. I don't like this move in conjunction with all the other parochial hiring decisions Flip has made. But standing alone, this could turn out to be a very good decision. There is more than reasonable cause to question Glen's decision to hire Flip as our President of Basketball Operations based the absence of any track record or interest by other teams in Flip for that position. However, there is no question that Flip has proven himself to be a very good NBA head coach. I hope he turns out to be great.
3. Picking Zach LaVine at #13. I'd was tempted to put in the good category, but felt compelled to put it in the unknown category for now. I'm convinced the Zach pick will end up in the good category. In fact, I think Flip hit a home run with this pick.
4. Picking Glen Robinson III with pick #10 in the second round. Like the Zach pick, I'm tempted to put this in the good category. But we'll have to wait for some evidence based on how he plays this upcoming season. Nevertheless, I like this pick a lot. Flip got a guy generally regarded as a 1st round talent 10 deep in the second round.
5. Holding out for better offers for Kevin Love. This is the most important unknown of all. Ultimately Flip's decision to wait will probably, more than any other factor, end up defining his tenure as our top Basketball Executive. Among other deals, it appears we could have gotten Taj Gibson, Snell and both of the Bulls' first round picks for Kevin Love. I didn't love that deal, but we'll see now whether Flip can do better. It also appears we could have gotten Klay Thompson and David Lee for Kevin Love, but the deal collapsed based on Flip's insistence that the Warriors take Kevin Martin and give us another asset or two. We will soon see whether we can get anything better. Flip was either tactically brilliant or naïve. We will know soon.
In sum, Flip's grade a year from now could be anywhere from A to F with lots of unknowns to be resolved. I think the next 4 weeks will tell the tale.
So I'd say that Flip has a lot to prove. I'd also say that it's too soon to render a final verdict on his tenure in the front office role Glen gave him. But here's a review of Flip's key decisions, identified as good, bad, or downright ugly with an additional category called "unknown":
THE GOOD:
1. Drafting Dieng with the 21st pick appears to have been a very good decision based on Dieng's performance late last season. You could argue that Flip didn't need to do the 2 for 1 deal with Utah to get Dieng since nearly every mock draft had Dieng lasting to the Wolves 26th pick, which Flip simply dealt away for nothing. But without knowing for sure whether Dieng would have lasted to #26, you still have to credit Flip for taking Dieng at 21. So kudos to Flip for this pick.
2. The 2 for 1 deal with Utah. I'm going to give Flip the benefit of the doubt on this and assume that Dieng wouldn't have been available at #26. So regardless of how Shabazz pans out relative to other choices at #9, I'd putting this two for one deal in the good column.
THE BAD
1. Signing Kevin Martin to a 4-year deal at roughly $7+ million annually. I didn't like the contract at the time and all you need to know to realize it was a bad mistake is the fact that Flip can't find any team to take Martin and his contract in a deal. Apparently, that was the deal-breaker that stopped the Golden State deal from happening before the draft. As I said at the time, a 4-year deal for that amount to an injury-prone 31 year old who has averaged only around 63 game per season was a mistake. Apparently, other teams see it the same way.
2. Re-signing Budinger, a perennial bench player coming off knee surgery, to a 3-year deal at $5 million per year. I like Budinger, but he's never been more than a bench player. Moreover, he's a one-way player whose one standout skill -- 3 point shooting -- isn't all that impressive compared to the elite three-point shooters in the League. Add his knee surgery to the mix, which added considerable uncertainty, and you can't justify this contract.
3. Signing Brewer to a 3 year deal at close to $5 million per year. Of the these three, this was the least objectionable. I love the energy and ball-thievery that Corey brings and he meshed well with Kevin Love's outlet passes. But he's one of the two or three worst three-point shooters in the entire League, including corner threes, he's a poor ball-handler, he's physically overmatched by most SFs he guards, and his defense isn't as good as advertised. Moreover, we could have signed DeMarre Carroll for half Corey's annual salary for two rather than 3 years. Carroll brings the same level of energy and hustle as Corey, but he also brings far more physicality -- all of it packaged in a much more team-friendly contract. Note that Carroll's stats were as good or better than Corey's last season.
4. Trading Derrick Williams for Luc MM. I wasn't set on keeping Williams, but trading him for Luc struck me as mistaken at that time and nothing since has indicated otherwise. I've never seen a player as inept as Luc offensively. Williams wasn't coveted around the League, but I'd bet he's a more valuable asset right now than Luc.
THE UGLY
1. Failing to bring any fresh blood or perspective into the organization. He hires his crony from Washington as his GM and keeps his old buddy Rob Babcock rather than bringing in a bigger name or more independent voice who can challenge him and bring in fresh ideas. Then Flip hires himself as head coach after which he hires his son and T-Wolves Sam Mitchell and Sidney Lowe as his assistants. Again, he appears to surround himself exclusively with people unlikely to challenge him or bring fresh ideas and perspectives. I would have preferred signing Blatz, but short of that Flip should have hired at least one front office executive and one assistant coach from outside his old familiar inner circle.
THE UNKNOWN
1. Picking Shabazz rather than Hardaway and the Greek Freak. Right now, the Shabazz pick looks like a mistake relative to at least two picks the Wolves could have make at #12. However, we just haven't seen enough of Shabazz to make even a preliminary judgment. This next season will begin to tell the tale. I think we saw enough of Shabazz to give us some hope and based on what I've heard about his work ethic I'm intrigued. This could turn out to be a great pick and end up in the Good category.
2. Making himself head coach. I don't like this move in conjunction with all the other parochial hiring decisions Flip has made. But standing alone, this could turn out to be a very good decision. There is more than reasonable cause to question Glen's decision to hire Flip as our President of Basketball Operations based the absence of any track record or interest by other teams in Flip for that position. However, there is no question that Flip has proven himself to be a very good NBA head coach. I hope he turns out to be great.
3. Picking Zach LaVine at #13. I'd was tempted to put in the good category, but felt compelled to put it in the unknown category for now. I'm convinced the Zach pick will end up in the good category. In fact, I think Flip hit a home run with this pick.
4. Picking Glen Robinson III with pick #10 in the second round. Like the Zach pick, I'm tempted to put this in the good category. But we'll have to wait for some evidence based on how he plays this upcoming season. Nevertheless, I like this pick a lot. Flip got a guy generally regarded as a 1st round talent 10 deep in the second round.
5. Holding out for better offers for Kevin Love. This is the most important unknown of all. Ultimately Flip's decision to wait will probably, more than any other factor, end up defining his tenure as our top Basketball Executive. Among other deals, it appears we could have gotten Taj Gibson, Snell and both of the Bulls' first round picks for Kevin Love. I didn't love that deal, but we'll see now whether Flip can do better. It also appears we could have gotten Klay Thompson and David Lee for Kevin Love, but the deal collapsed based on Flip's insistence that the Warriors take Kevin Martin and give us another asset or two. We will soon see whether we can get anything better. Flip was either tactically brilliant or naïve. We will know soon.
In sum, Flip's grade a year from now could be anywhere from A to F with lots of unknowns to be resolved. I think the next 4 weeks will tell the tale.