I'm going to start this off with why I hate Twitter. Twitter is a bunch of facebook statuses combined so that we can waste even more time checking another random website. As Conan O'Brien suggested, in the year 3000, You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter will all combine to form a mega time wasting website known as "You TwitFace".
This view was confirmed by Kevin Love's Twitter page at about midnight last night when he announced that Kevin McHale would not be returning as Wolves coach. The only problem was that he was the only one who knew about this. So Twitter beat ESPN.com to the punch. After all, the Celtics, Lakers, or Knicks didn't fire their coach, so why would they?
I'm kind of dissapointed by this. McHale says he didn't step down and said that he wanted to see the young roster that he assembled continue to grow for the next couple of years. However, this also contradicts his past statements of how much he hates traveling and media committments. So now who's next as Wolves coach?
Avery Johnson - 194-70 as Mavericks Head Coach (2004-08)
I don't know what to think about the little general patroling the sidelines in Minnesota, but I was screaming for it last year. A lot of people might point to the Mavericks choking in the playoffs a lot, but Avery got his team deep into the playoffs with the exception of the first round loss to Golden State that cost him his job. Even if he sucks as a coach, he would instantly be a favorite on KFAN because of his high pitched voice.
Bill Lambeer - (Won 3 WNBA Titles with Detroit Shock)
The darkhorse candidate, but Laimbeer recently resigned looking for a NBA coaching job. He did a good job with the Shock, but does that translate to the NBA. No WNBA coach has coached in the NBA as of yet so it would be interesting to see a transition.
Sam Mitchell - (156-189 with Toronto Raptors; 2004-2008)
Mitchell has a losing record, but I think this is the guy that most Wolves fans want. Mitchell was Mr. Timberwolf before some Kevin Garnett guy got to Minnesota. Mitchell's main accomplishment was that he guided Toronto to the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. That being the high point of Toronto Raptor basketball. Mitchell would bring the same discipline that McHale would have brought to the team.
Expect a decision a week after the NBA draft at the absolute latest. Chad Ford currently has the Wolves taking Tyreke Evans (PG - Memphis) in the first round.
As for the Minnesota Wild, they introduced Todd Richards as the second head coach in Wild history. Richards was an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks, who won the Presidents Cup last season for having the most points in the Western Conference. Richards is also a Minnesotan native who starred at Armstrong High School and then at the University of Minnesota, becoming team captain in 1989.
All thats good and all, but can he win. Well, he's won at every level. He's won a Calder Cup in Milwaukee and nearly won another with the Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins. The Sharks weren't that bad last year either. Anyways, many people think that if Richards hadn't left the Penguins organization, he would have become the head coach. That wouldn't have turned out too bad for him. Instead, Dan Bylsma got the job and his name on the cup.
Bylsma complimented the Wild by saying that Richards and new Wild GM Chuck Fletcher were "the perfect team to lead the Wild into the future". From a Stanley Cup winning coach, I can't say that's a bad suggestion to have on your resume.
Now the elephant in the room is what style will Richards play? It sounds like the Wild will be scoring more than 2-3 goals a game next season...so will this appeal Gaborik? I think so. But I don't think he's staying here. The green light style will tempt Gabby a bit, but I think this happened way too late in the game. However, I don't think the setback will be too much for the team.
The slew of offensive defenseman (Burns, Begeron, Zidlicky, and Johnsson to name a few) will actually be allowed to leave their post. Video Game Hockey is going to make it's way to Minnesota and players will improve. Remember how much James Sheppard hated Lemaire's neutral zone trap? Well, I think he'll have a monster year next season now that the chains are being taken off.
Coming up for the Wild, the draft. This should be interesting because Fletcher is shopping players, presumably goalie Josh Harding, and winger Pierre Marc-Bouchard. From there, the Wild will hit the free agent market, and then Fletcher will try and commit highway robbery later in the summer by trying to find teams over the cap and getting solid players from them. Stay tuned.
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