Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 Reasons Why Kurt Rambis Should Be Fired
The ongoing saga between David Kahn and Kurt Rambis has been an interesting one to watch for all Minnesota Timberwolves fans. Reports have said they are on the second day of a two-day meeting to discuss his future as head coach.
Although I was originally excited about the prospect of having a coach with a winning pedigree (even if it was only at the assistant level), I am now strongly in favor of getting rid of Rambis.
I will admit that I did see some nice individual improvement from Kevin Love, but Rambis has been unable to create continued growth over the course of his two-year tenure with the 'Wolves.
Here are five key reasons on why the 'Wolves need to get rid of Rambis now (and I promise it is longer than simply repeating his record as head coach five times, 32-132!).
1. Offensive Schemes
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Minnesota had one of the most stagnant offenses in the league this year. It was plagued by selfish play and a lack of overall player and ball movement. On top of these glaring issues, Rambis failed on numerous occasions to get players the ball in positions where they would be successful. This was especially true coming out of timeouts and late in the fourth quarters of close games.
One of the reasons why the Timberwolves hired Rambis was his vision of implementing an offense that would be efficient and effective, but he has failed on both accounts. With Rubio coming to play with the 'Wolves next year, they need a coach that will put an offense in place that will utilize the skills of Rubio, Love, Beasley and the No. 2 pick.
2. Motivation
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The Timberwolves have been plagued by uninspired play the past two seasons. Although many people could blame this on the immaturity of a young roster, this should fall squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff.
I rarely saw Rambis getting in the face of players and challenging them. Instead, Rambis often sat on the bench seemingly disinterested in the game. This young roster needs a coach that will challenge each player on this roster in order to get him to reach his potential. It certainly would be nice to see some inspired play during the second half of the season and maybe even see a push for the playoffs.
3. Failure to Identify Player Roles
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Over the course of the season, I felt that I would be able to see the roles of some of our young players begin to develop. I was hoping to see Beasley develop into an elite perimeter scoring threat/closer, and other players take on more specific roles to help the team win. However, each game it seemed that I was watching a completely different team.
Being a young team, we have a bunch of players that are hungry to prove that they belong in the league. As a result, a lot of our players only looked out for their own interests and statistics.
Part of this certainly has to do with having a young roster filled with lots of potential. Still, it would have helped the entire team if the coach clearly defined roles for the players. It seems as if Rambis failed on all accounts to hold these players accountable and to give realistic expectations. As a result, the 'Wolves had a lot of young players looking to prove something in the league and cohesive, team-oriented basketball seemed to be an afterthought.
4. Player Development
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Jokes were made when we hired Rambis that our team was going to be run in order to “develop some of the young players,” very similar to a NBDL team. Kahn cited player development on numerous occasions as one of the main reasons the 'Wolves hired Rambis two seasons ago. Although Kevin Love has developed into an All-Star over the past two seasons, it’s hard to find another player on the roster that has had continuous growth over Rambis’ tenure as head coach.
The most glaring case against Rambis’ ability to develop players has to be Jonny Flynn. Although Flynn had to deal with the hip injury that plagued him for the first half of the season, he was constantly struggling with offensive schemes and confidence issues that tie directly back to the coaching staff. It seemed as if Rambis never allowed Jonny to fully realize any of his potential by putting him in situations where he could be successful.
The Timberwolves can’t afford to have another blunder in player development with the addition of Ricky Rubio and the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. We need a coach that will be able to create offensive and defensive schemes that will enable these players to grow together over the course of the season.
5. Future Plans of the Team
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Kahn has yet to inform Rambis he is coming back to coach the team next year. Not only is that an awkward situation for Rambis and the players, but it also seems to be a clear indicator that Rambis is not in the future plans for this team. With a young roster hoping for a breakout season next year (we won’t have the hope of a high lottery pick), we need to look for a coach that will be able to stay for the growth and development of this young roster.
Rambis has had two full seasons to show that he has the competency to develop this young team and has failed to do so. I do understand that he has not been working with the most balanced roster in the league, but there certainly is more talent on the roster than his record showed.
Most importantly, our roster will have two more young players (unless we trade the No. 2 pick) this year and we need to have a coach that can implement schemes that will take advantage of each of the players’ unique skills and allow them to develop into a playoff contender in the next couple years.
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