There are so many words out there that have already trashed the indefensible signing of Darko Milicic so I don’t really need to. I do, however, need to take more than a few Wolves fans to task for having more than questionable judgement. As much as I thought this ridiculous move by David Kahn would finally unite all of us against him, a quick peek through some Timberwolves message boards has shown me that there is far more work to be done.
by Peter Christian
Darko Milicic is who he is. He’s not going to have some sort of epiphany and suddenly become even an average NBA player just because people believe in him (which Darko’s agent claims with a straight face). He’s not a religious icon, he’s a basketball player and a mediocre one at that. He will, however, continue to be a guy who sucks at scoring, rebounding and many other fundamental avenues of the game and is mildly talented at blocking a shot or two per game.
In David Kahn’s mind, seven seasons of paltry performances equal upside. I, who have fundamentally disagreed with David Kahn’s decisions since the day he accepted the position to helm the Timberwolves, optimistically believed that this signing would be a rallying point among myself and those who decided to stand behind Kahn and we would combine our voices in unity to cry out against the incompetence of David Kahn. Boy was I wrong.
I did find a few like minded individuals by scouring Twitter and other message boards but I was alarmed at how many “fans” were still optimistic about the signing and the team alike. Most that agreed with me are people that have been laughing/yelling at Kahn since the start, whereas the brainwashed remained supportive of the decision to sign a player who is widely thought to be the biggest bust in the league in the decade. I’m not sure if there was a secret “kool-aid” party that I missed that has allowed me to see Kahn for what he really is, but there is no reason to continue thinking the path that the Timberwolves are on is anywhere close to being righteous.
My revelation of these duped fans is shocking only in the fact that I thought people in Minnesota were above blind faith. Especially when it meant that the faith was in a man who has zero track record of building a successful basketball team at any level. I knew people would be nice enough to give the guy a chance, but I had no clue that they would give him so much slack to work with.
To those who still believe, please reconsider.
Reconsider because the team is worse now after 14 months of David Kahn than it was after 15 years of Kevin McHale. Reconsider because Kahn has yet to lay out exactly how he plans to accomplish his 3 year plan of rebuilding, but continues to say he has a 3 year plan. Reconsider because David Kahn preaches one thing but will regularly do something completely different. Reconsider because the team has no direction and won’t as long as David Kahn runs the team into the ground. Reconsider because it was only 6 years since this team was a bona fide contender and we shouldn’t have to watch a rebuild on top of a rebuild.
And of course, reconsider because no team can say it’s road back to respectability included the phrase “signs Darko Milicic for 4 years and $20 million.”