Optimism, Pessimism or Realism?

I thought my Dad was one of the most pessimistic dudes I'd ever met. I would accuse him of that every time he went into one of his long diatribes about how awful a particular situation was. His reply: "I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist." My father's words were echoing in my head as I read the StarTrib's accounting of the Lynx game last night, especially how optimistic everyone associated with the team was in beating a top flight team who sat their starters. Reading through my blog posts, it's clear my pessimism was predominant for the entire season. Am I merely a buzz killer, or a realist, when it comes to the Lynx, or the Taylor basketball organization for that matter? Probably a bit of both.

No doubt the Lynx have something to work with next year; but as with the men's side, the people that have created two consecutive disastrous seasons are still at the helm. They want a premier frontcourt player they tell us, but that's what they said before the season started when they suddenly reversed course and made a play for Harding. Zierden talks about the last 13 games where a couple of breaks either way could have resulted in a winning stretch of games and mentions the Washington game in particular. He forgets to say how big of a lead they had in that game, how incompetent he was in protecting the lead, and the inability of Noelle Quinn to break a press. For each positive the team touts, there's a pessimistic item that can be added.

Since I am not quite my father, I will simply say that this club hasn't demonstrated yet that they can assemble a solid winning team. There is hope, but it's fair and realistic to say that the proof is not in their hype, but in the execution of a solid organizational plan. We can pray for yet another ping-pong ball lottery to go our way, but would a third straight league number one reverse our fortunes? We'll just have to wait and see.

Bringing up the rear

If you're a manufacturer of ping-pong balls; I would consider the Twin Cities a prime choice for expansion. The demand in this area has gone dramatically up in the last week, with the KG trade and the ladies' performance. In the loss to Houston last night, we all but guaranteed the worst record in the league for the season. And, in a year where a 10-18 team still has a shot at the last playoff spot, we've eliminated ourselves from contention. As George Bush has said, that's hard work!

Hopefully, we won't be seeing a blueprint for the future on the Lynx side any time soon; that indeed would be the kiss of death. Their plan seems to be deceptively simple: Acquire league number one draft choices, and forget about the rest. Getting the first two hasn't done a thing to reverse our fortunes in the slightest, but maybe the third time will truly be the charm.

Not much has been said since it was reported early in the season that a Denver group was thinking of bringing the team to Colorado, but given the moves of this team, it still makes sense that something could happen. The Taylor organization certainly hasn't done anything to endear themselves to the Twin Cities basketball market, on either the men's or women's side. Without a substantial increase in wins, or recognizable player acquistions (Candice Parker, Whalen, McCarville), one would expect the same attendance for next year: between 2,000 to 6,000 fannies in the seats, with a couple of spikes given former Gopher appearances or cross-promotional efforts. That can't be good news for Mr. Taylor, affectionally known here as Clueless Glen. If they are to remain here, however, here are some suggestions:

1 - Bump Don Zierden to the front office, and establish Teresa Edwards as coach.

She's probably a little raw yet in terms of experience, but she understands the women's game, and as a former elite PG in the game, I think giving her the reins at this point would be perfect for a young team. Zierden has been a loyal employee for the Taylor organization; he has been consistently overmatched as a head coach, but he hasn't been given much to work with either, especially in the front court. Reward him with a spot where he truly belongs, either as an assistant for the men's team, or a front office exec. They seem to enjoy acquiring front office "talent" as much as putting qualified players on the court--what's one more for the country club?

2 - If the number one choice is NOT Candice Parker, deal the pick for some front court help.

Janel McCarville may still be available; she had a breakout season, but the Liberty also have had a tough year. What the Lynx have now will not do it for them. They have enough youth on their team. Vanessa Hayden will likely be coming back, but as I've said before, she's never been in good enough shape to consistently help the team. Which leads to:

3 - Dump Nicole Ohlde.

She seems like a very nice person, and so I won't be overly critical of her anymore, but enough is enough. She's not the answer, or even the question.

4 - Acquire a veteran point guard to back up Lindsey Harding.

It's clear they need to be able to run a half court offense if the transition game isn't happening for them. SA has to work way too hard for shots, and it shows in the fourth quarter. Even with her injury, Harding has to come a long way to demonstrate her ability to run a team.

5 - Hire a defensive minded assistant coach, either to replace Edwards, or Jenkins.

They really need help on the defensive end, even more than their offense, if that's possible.

6 - Get the pecking order straight.

It's pretty bad when early in the season all a team had to do was double-team SA, make her give up the ball, and watch the turnover happen. Ohlde failed miserably as a second option, Harding was inconsistent; only Svet showed up as a viable option this year. Part of a successful half-court offense is solidfying the options; if option number one is down, swing the ball side-to-side or inside- out, and run a play for option two or three. Or, have SA create, draw a crowd and have her distribute. As Trent Tucker used to say, "basketball is a very simple game". We need to know who those second or third options are, and we have not done much this year to develop them.

There you have it, for better or worse. Meanwhile, I'm searching through my portfolio, looking to buy stock in a ping-pong conglomerate...

Truth or Originality?

"No, I don't quite understand why McHale still has a job. And I think he failed to take advantage of one of the greatest players in NBA history. Now do you want to tell me how this is even remotely qualifies as an original, interesting take on August 2, 2007?

What is interesting to me is that the guy I've been bashing has had three pretty good drafts in a row. That those drafts and the trade he just made point toward a philosophy of play he has always preached, one directly at odds with the two most influential figures in the Wolves' past success--KG and Flip Saunders." - Britt Robson, August 2, 2007

I would offer to Britt that what's unoriginal lies in the continual and long standing failure of the Wolves organization to acknowledge what the real problem is. Isn't it usually said when a coach gets fired, that it's easier than firing all the players? Well, in this case, both the coach AND the players are getting fired, with the core issue remaining...the Iron Ranger and Clueless Glen. There is absolutely no evidence that McHale's new Navy will be any better in the end. Why? Because it's not simply about the players; it's also how you treat them, how you work with their agents, what type of contracts you sign them to. It's a skill set beyond the hardwood, and the Ranger doesn't have it. We've seen this now for many years. THAT is what's unoriginal. We're still waiting for Godot, and it's time the play ends.

I can certainly argue that the last three drafts haven't been that good. McCants hasn't proven a thing, while Danny Granger's upside is at least as viable. Randy Foye or Brandon Roy? Hmm...I think I'll take Roy. And, if all Corey Brewer becomes is Bruce Bowen or Raja Bell, that's a waste of a good seventh pick. Usually players of that ilk should be found in the late first or second rounds. Add to that all the familiar and unoriginal examples...Ebi, Paul Grant, William Avery, and the results are overwhelmingly negative in evaluating McHale's tenure here.

For the record, it's not because KG was traded that I harp on these facts. Some of the things KG said at the Boston press conference was incredible. Taylor showed plenty of loyalty and love to the guy, over 200 million worth. KG--while great--was an over priced talent, but never recognized his role in all this mess. He's content to play victim. Now as you, me, and many others have said, there are no excuses. But the fact remains everything negative about the Wolves has flowed downhill from the front office. Marv Wolfenson, Harvey Ratner, Bob Stein, Jack McCloskey, Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. A wall of organizational shame.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens, and I'll go to games, because I love basketball, and it will be a challenge for me to guess which referee is actually on the take. But even more than wasting a top talent like KG, the real tragedy is here ruining a basketball market with incompetence, arrogance, and spin. It's an old familiar theme; boring, unoriginal, but it's the truth.