NBA: The Future of Kurt Rambis and the Minnesota Timberwolves
Do the Timberwolves have a head coach? Kurt Rambis doesn't seem to know.
While he has attended a few of the draft workouts this summer, his quotes seem to indicate uncertainty.
"The way I see it, I'm doing my job," Rambis said back in early June, his first public statement regarding the job situation since the draft workouts have begun. "I'm still the coach of this team until something happens otherwise. So I've got to be watching for talent."
Rambis was heavily criticized by fans and media alike—mostly for his questionable rotations and his implementation of a version of the triangle offense, an offense he mastered while working under the wing of all-time great Phil Jackson.
The problem was that the triangle never really fit the playing styles of the core Wolves players: Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Wes Johnson, and Jonny Flynn.
The triangle is usually at its best when you have a great post scorer that can pass from down low. The Wolves started Kevin Love and Darko Milicic last year. Love was excellent this past season, but post play is not one of his strong suits.
Darko is Darko. At times, he was an excellent post player and passer from down low. But most of the time, he looked like the lazy, sloppy bust that many people have labeled him as. So perhaps, if Rambis does come back, it would be a good time to implement a new system that better suits the players he's working with.
A few reports via twitter have reported that Rambis is indeed coming back next year, but would likely have to re-tool his coaching staff and incorporate a new system.
In a recent interview with Fox Sports Radio Network's "Petros and Money Show", Rambis seemed slightly more upbeat and confident about the situation, and spoke on the addition of Ricky Rubio to the system for the upcoming season.
"He does have terrific court vision and passing capabilities," Rambis said. "He does a good job playing passing lanes and reading pick-and-roll situations well. But just to have a guard who can pass the basketball, get it up the floor, deal with pick-and-roll situations and move the ball on— those pass-first guards are valuable in the system I'd like to implement."
This quote should be seen as a good sign for Wolves fans. If Rambis is truly going to incorporate a pick-and-roll style offense, that could mean more sensible style for the collection of talent David Kahn and company have acquired.
Assuming Rubio and Love are both Wolves next year, they're as close to an ideal pick-and-roll, or pick-and-pop, duo that you would find in the NBA. That, along with the occasional isolation for Michael Beasley, would be a more efficient use of players, and likely a more efficient offense.
And we haven't even mentioned defense.
All season long, the inside was fairly well protected. Milicic finished the season in the NBA's top five for blocked shots per game, and the Wolves were fairly competent in protecting the paint. Some say it came at the cost of open shots from the three-point line though as their perimeter defense was, to put it lightly, suspect.
Beasley was usually a fairly unimpressive defender, but all the blame can't be put on him. Wes Johnson, who played zone defense almost exclusively in college, has struggled playing man-to-man at the next level (though he did show improvements as the year went on). Luke Ridnour has been an average defender his whole career, and Flynn's entire game, both offensively and defensively, was off all of last season.
As cliché as it sounds, defense is all about desire— and the Wolves didn't show much of that at all guarding the perimeter. Whether it's a lack of communication, or the lack of Rambis stressing defense to his roster, it starts with the coach.
So will that coach be Rambis next season?
This late in the offseason, it would probably be tough to make a change, so Rambis is probably in a good position to redeem himself. A new offensive system seems to be in the works, but this is a two-way game. We'll have to wait and see if he acknowledges that fact.
