It's time we stopped mincing words. I'm tired of the excuses, and tired of the blundering. For too long, we have waited to take the next step, only to see the other shoe drop. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the forces that put Bobby Jackson in a Sacramento Kings uniform, the very same forces that continue to guide the rudderless ship known as the Timberwolves.
I've always liked Bobby Jackson. Best Gophers player since McHale; best guard they ever had, period. Jackson's game is high-speed and derring-do on both ends of the court, with healthy amounts of pride and effort thrown in. Bobby Jackson produced when he was with the Wolves, and the team played well under his direction as a fill-in for the habitually-injured Terrell Brandon. Jackson's talents were evident to more than just the Wolves; when Bobby was a free agent after the '99-'00 season, he was one of the more coveted lower-tier players. The Wolves took a look at their point guard situation, saw the rapidly fading (but very expensive) Brandon, and their thus-far bust of a 14th pick, Will Avery, and decided that Brandon and Avery would be the better (and cheaper) tandem to go with.
Now, there was some outcry here in the Cities, but not anything like a fan revolt. Jackson was going to get a real raise, and the Wolves Brass told us that this was necessary to keep the larger components of the team together. Besides, they said, now that Will Avery had a year of experience, he should be ready to actually show something. Well, maybe. Who knew? Avery had played so little his first year; but what was seen wasn't encouraging. He clearly was the 11th man on the roster. Still, as a fan, I figured that McHale and Saunders had seen Avery (and Jackson) plenty in practice, and had to know what they were doing.
Cut to last night. Jackson torches the Wolves yet again, then shares his feelings of contempt for the team, because of the way they treated him on his way out.
Bobby, I'm with you. Anybody who had the chance to watch you and Will Avery for a full year in a practice and game environment and made the choice to go with Will Avery deserves our scorn. Sure, it was a money issue at the time, but then we turn around a year and a half later and give a large contract to Marc Jackson? Something stinks around here, and I'm going to start the call to take out the garbage.
That's right. I'm calling for the heads of Saunders and McHale, and I'm calling on Glen Taylor to actually instill a sense of accountability for himself and his franchise. Let's review the facts:
We'll start with the reasons to keep Saunders and McHale, including any good things they did in the past:
Saunders and McHale brought credibility to the franchise. This is true; it's hard to remember just how low things were before they arrived. The Wolves were a laughingstock. Saunders and McHale turned this team into a winner and gave them an identity. Of course, now the Wolves are a laughingstock again because of the Joe Smith and playoff exit debacles; their identity is currently that of a team going nowhere, and of a first-round loser. So, what was a positive is now a negative.
Saunders and McHale moved J.R. Rider and Christian Laettner. At the time, very few thought this was possible. Sure, they gave them away for very little, but that was the only way to move them. A positive, to be sure...but that was seven years ago!
Saunders and McHale brought in Kevin Garnett. This is their highlight. They bit the bullett and took the high schooler, when that was a very risque thing to do. But it's not like they had the first pick; they had the fifth. Garnett wouldn't have fallen too much farther, as Brien Hayes likes to point out. Still, they made the move; a lot of other GM's wouldn't have done it. Again, this was seven years ago. Every team has a good draft once in seven years.
Saunders and McHale dealt Donyell Marshall for Googs. This was the watershed moment for the team. This is when they turned it around. A great deal...that happened seven years ago.
Saunders and McHale brought in Marbury. Again, I give them credit for identifying the best player and getting him from Milwaukee. Marbury and Garnett could have been a dynamic duo. We'll get to all the downside of that deal later. Again, this deal happened six years ago...
Saunders and McHale brought in Terrell Brandon and Wally Szczerbiak. Say what you want about TB. The fact is, once Steph decided he wanted to leave, the Wolves had very little leverage. They were able to get a starting PG and a good draft pick out of the deal.
Saunders is a good coach. I believe that's true; he's very highly regarded around the league as an innovator, and as someone who can get a lot out of his talent.
OK. So, looking at the positives, I see one that has any future value, and that is that Saunders can coach. Anybody get the feeling McHale has seven years' worth of messages on his voice mail?
The bad? Let's go stream of consciousness here. Playoff debacles. Turned down Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell for Googs, then lost him for nothing. They signed Terrell to a monster deal that everybody knew was a bad mistake, but they needed to do it because they didn't have a point guard, because Will Avery sucked, and Will Avery was their only choice because they let Bobby Jackson go because they wouldn't sign him for a fraction of what they ended up paying Brandon. Marc Jackson. Joe Smith once. Joe Smith twice. Joe Smith to an illegal deal. Lose three draft picks. Draft Will Avery over Corey Maggette. Draft Wally over Andre Miller. Going forward? Hmmm...Team seems to have plateaued. McHale hasn't been heard from in literally months.
My verdict is in. They have to go. When the milk goes stale, you have to get it out of the fridge, or else it starts to stink the place up. And then you lose in the first round again. It's all very clear.
12:58:35 PM 
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