My last post talked about a team that has finally turned some of their negative attention around by putting a friendlier face on their franchise. Following the lead of the Blazers in Portland, it looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to do the same thing, although this time it’s with a coach, not a player.
The T-Wolves just hired head coach Rick Adelman to lead their team, a surprisingly smart move from a front office that’s been known for their blunders the last few years. Owner Glen Taylor and President David Kahn have seemed intent on running the team into the ground since they let Kevin Garnett go back in 2007. And if that was their goal, they’ve succeeded. The team has only 32 wins over the last two seasons.
Now it looks like they’ve finally done something right.
They’ve hired a coach who can win. Someone who can take a talented group of guys and get them going in the right direction. I’m not saying we’ll see the Timberwolves in the playoffs next year, but they’re putting pieces together to be a better team down the line.
Adelman will have some solid building blocks to work with. You’ve got Kevin Love who can go out and get you 20 and 20 on any given night. Love has already come out and said he loves the new coach hire by the T-Wolves, and it probably will keep him in Minnesota longer than he would have normally stayed. When a coach already has support from his players before even setting foot on the court, you know it was the right move.
Adelman will also have his hands full trying to make good use of a lot of undisciplined talent. Michael Beasley could step up as one of the team’s leaders, but the new coach will have to make sure Beasley knows his role. The T-Wolves used their second pick in this year’s draft to take Derrick Williams, a very talented player who came into the spotlight during last year’s NCAA tournament, but he’ll definitely need some coaching. Adelman will also finally get to use Minnesota’s 2009 draft pick, Ricky Rubio and no one really knows how that’s going to go.
So basically, Rick Adelman has inherited a big mess, but it’s a mess with lots of potential. He’s got a team with some of the best young talent in the league, and I think he’s the right guy to take that mess and shape it into a masterpiece. Like I said, it may be a while before we see this team make a solid run at anything, and even longer if we don’t get a season this year. But we can definitely count on some noise out of Minnesota before Adelman’s time is through.
