Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Koritz

"Khan" New G.M. Turn Minnesota Timberwolves Around?

Andrew Koritz — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:33:39 -0400

Admit it. You could care less about the epic Denver Carmelos vs. Los Angeles Kobes western conference showdown. And the Dwight Howard/LeBron James matchup in the east? Boring.

No, the real drama over the past few weeks has been who the juggernaut Minnesota Timberwolves would hire as general manager. On Friday, owner Glen Taylor unveiled his new man, David Kahn, as the upper midwest displayed a collective yawn.

Khan, who worked in Indiana earlier in the decade under Donny Walsh, was not exactly Minnesota's first choice. Or second choice. Or third choice. So you can't exactly blame the remainder of the dwindling fan base for being upset with this hire. The search process has made Taylor look like Raiders owner Al Davis, without the senility defense.

At Friday's introductory press conference, Kahn appeared as a confident (cocky?) individual who spoke of a team on the rise who had the assets to reach contention quickly. It remains unclear if Fred Hoiberg will remain in the front office in any capacity, although that appears to be likely given that Kahn comes in with more of a financial background instead of one in evaluating players.

The bigger question is whether Kevin McHale will return as coach. Speculation swirled that Taylor's insistence on McHale stayed aboard may have scared off the other candidates, but Khan said no decision has been made and the two men will talk soon.

Kahn appeared to be a strong speaker and the hire is boosted by ringing endorsements from Walsh, Larry Bird and Larry Brown. However, talk can only take someone so far and with three first round picks, ample salary cap space and desirable contracts for trades, the pressure will be on for Kahn to turn things around quickly, even if noone expects the team to become a contender overnight.

Whether it is McHale back on the bench next year or a new coach (Sam Mitchell?), expectations will have risen since the club showed some major progress before Al Jefferson's season-ending injury last season.

It won't exactly be tough for Kahn to top McHale's run as a front office executive, but he will need to show consistent progress for an owner desperately trying to keep fans coming into Target Center.

Madieu Williams Bids Adieu to the Minnesota Vikings

Andrew Koritz — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:57:41 -0400

Following the season-ending injuries of special teams captain Heath Farwell and backup defensive end Willie Mitchell, the Vikings were dealt another tough blow on Monday as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported free-agent signee Madieu Williams could miss as many as six weeks with a neck injury.

Rookie Tyrell Johnson is expected to replace Williams as the starting safety alongside veteran Darren Sharper.

Johnson was selected in the second round out of Arkansas State as Minnesota's top draft pick this year, after the team traded its first rounder as part of the trade for Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen.

Several scouts and analysts praised the selection of Johnson on draft day, with many saying he—not Miami safety Kenny Phillips, taken 32nd overall—was the best safety in the draft.

Johnson has impressed defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier thus far in training camp, with strong instincts and a tough, physical style.

He played fairly well in the preseason opener vs. Seattle, often showing a good nose for the ball and ending up in the right spot.

While Johnson may contribute with Williams out, the injury is still a big blow.

If he misses as many as six weeks, he would be back no later than Week Three or Four of the regular season.

Missing a couple weeks may not seem so bad, but the Vikings have a tough stretch to start the year.

Week One, the team gets Donald Driver and the Green Bay Packers, Week Two brings Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, and Week Three offers up Steve Smith and the Carolina Panthers.

Minnesota could clearly use Madieu's good coverage skills against the elite offensive players they will see the first few weeks of the season. When the Vikings signed Williams this offseason, Frazier said:

"It just makes us so much better from a coverage standpoint. He'll be a tremendous asset. This is the type of safety you look for in the draft, a guy who can hit but still has coverage ability as well."

Perhaps the team will get some good news, and Wiliams could return by the start of the regular season.

Until he steps back on the field, however, it's on Johnson, Sharper, and starting cornerbacks Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin to step their collective games up.

All good teams must overcome injuries.

If the Vikings, a trendy pick to win the NFC North and perhaps make a deep playoff run, expect to succeed this year, some of the younger players must step up.

Tyrell Johnson, it's your time.

Randy Foye Is the Key to Timberwolves' Turnaround

Andrew Koritz — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:55:34 -0400

Coming off a 22-60 season in the first year of the PGE (post-Garnett era), Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations/Danny Ainge buddy/media whipping boy Kevin McHale stated that he expects the Wolves to win at least 20 more games in 2008-09.

That's an extremely lofty expectation, one which would put the Timberwolves right in the thick of the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff race. The unlikelihood of the prediction is enhanced by the fact that the Timberwolves have, arguably, the NBA's worst head coach in Randy Wittman.

Dwayne Casey was fired midway through the 2006-07 season, with Minnesota having "underachieved" with a 20-20 record. Wittman took over and guided the team to a 12-30 finish. He's posted a career coaching record of 96-192 (.333) with Cleveland and Minnesota.

Despite major coaching deficiencies, the Wolves' roster is much improved this year. The club shipped out underachieving, overpaid cancers Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker.

They brought in Kevin Love and three-point specialist Mike Miller in the controversial draft night trade which sent O.J. Mayo to Memphis. (Side note: Anyone else think the Grizzlies were so eager to trade the No. 5 pick so that the nickname for its best duo wouldn't be Gay/Love?)

They signed all their key free agents—Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Ryan Gomes—all of whom should be better with another year of experience.

You also have to figure Rashad McCants and Corey Brewer will also improve and mature with age.

But the real success or failure of the team lies squarely on the shoulders of Randy Foye. Fans have unleashed their fury on him, especially since the team traded Brandon Roy (an All-Star last season) for him while also passing over exciting youngster Rudy Gay on draft day.

However, when you evaluate Foye based on his own numbers, they suggest he could be primed for a breakout in year three. Many fans who bash Foye forget he too made the 2006-2007 All-Rookie First Team alongside Roy.

Foye's injury certainly was a blow to the club last season, as Foye missed the first 43 games for the season. The club went 14-25 in the 39 games he played in, a record that is hardly stellar but much improved from the 8-35 mark without him.

Foye, as to be expected, was rusty when he first returned. But he was able to settle into a nice groove in the final month of the year, averaging 18.4 points and 5.2 assists.

With Telfair as the team's only other point guard, Foye shoulders much of the expectations for the upcoming year. While it seems certain he will be able to get his points on a nightly basis, the team also needs him to step up his level of defense.

In a back court featuring defensive liabilities such as Miller and McCants, he must improve his on-ball defending against the opposing teams' floor generals. In addition, the burden will fall on him to find three-point shooter Miller behind the arc and feed the ball down low to Love and franchise cornerstone Al Jefferson in the post.

Foye certainly has the ability to still develop into a young star in this league. The sooner he does, the sooner the club will head back towards respectability, and the sooner the critics of the draft day trade will be silenced.