After a couple of lackluster Timberwolf performances, Kevin McHale, Wolves GM, took it upon himself to storm into the locker room and berate the players himself. McHale said the team didn’t finish strong, they weren’t aggressive enough, and that they played scared.
Kevin Garnett felt like the diatribe was aimed mainly at him. So he responded. “I ain’t fuckin’ playin’ scared. I ain’t fuckin’ playin’ to lose. I ain’t fuckin’ puttin’ my head down. I’m fuckin’ tryin’ as hard as I can every night.”
And then he topped it with, “If you don’t like how I’m playing, get me the fuck out of here. Trade my ass.”
It’s tough to blame Garnett on this one. I’ve been critical of him before, but the Timberwolves are just a terribly built team, he does play his ass off, and any bitching that Kevin McHale does about the team that isn’t aimed at a mirror is misguided. Also, I love the repeated use of the word fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
I think it’s rarely a good idea for a GM to come storming into a locker room to deliver lectures. If you want to coach, Kevin McHale, coach. But if you don’t want to coach, if you can’t handle the pressures that go along with it, then stay out.
If you’re going to come into that room and bitch at Kevin Garnett, then you should be pretty sure that you’re doing your own job as well as you can. And for a guy who just traded about every asset he had to acquire Ricky Davis, I’m not sure that Kevin McHale is in any kind of position to bitch at anyone else.
The Big Picture
Kevin McHale can jump in the same boat with Isiah Thomas as a good player and a fucking terrible GM. I love that Kevin Garnett said fuck, by the way. After seeing his most recent commercial, he seems so friendly.
January 30, 2006 at 2:51 am
Andy
In a year, Kevin McHale has turned Flip Saunders into Dwayne Casey, Sam Cassell into Marko Jaric, Latrell Sprewell into nothing, and Wally Szczerbiak into Ricky Davis.
Being a lifelong Pacers fan, I’m a little intrigued about him making a deal with his old teammate Larry Bird that would turn Kevin Garnett into an always-injured Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley. I have plenty of faith in McHale’s ability to get that done.
January 30, 2006 at 4:01 am
Maber
McHale could probably get a pretty good player for Garnett’s ass.
January 30, 2006 at 8:55 am
Mullet
No, I’m serious…you said that tooo fast.
January 30, 2006 at 9:12 am
Nikki
I am a long time timberwolves fan and would never want to see KG traded, but I would no longer be a wolves fan if it happened, I would be a KG fan. That guy plays his heart out every night and this team has failed to give him the supporting cast he deserves. The list of fuckups by Kevin McHale as GM of this team goes on forever. He can’t make a trade or draft a player, probably better that he keeps giving away his 1st round picks!!
January 30, 2006 at 2:11 pm
phenyl_engine_rods
I agree with everything you say, MJD, but come on. You can’t just link to a Vecsey article and present it as fact.
January 30, 2006 at 10:13 pm
the mighty mjd
You’re right, and I actually considered that… and I would’ve mentioned it, if I hadn’t seen it elsewhere first. Vecsey was actually a couple days late on it, as was I…
January 31, 2006 at 7:33 am
ralph
The timberwolves can be a lot better team. Mchale, as shady as he is, cannot put together a team with the amount of money he’s already giving Garnett. Earn your money, you dawg.
January 31, 2006 at 9:50 am
AlexG.
Mchale is a little basterd who shouldn’t have fired Flip… And KG… KG is too good for the Wolfies, so me being a huge fan of the Wolves and an even bigger fan of KG, I would be happy if he left… He deserves to be on a team that will win some!!!
February 5, 2006 at 1:34 am