So did Tom Penn turn that job down or not?
Interesting. At the Friday news conference to announce that David Kahn is now running things at Minnesota, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said – in response to a question about whether the job had been offered to anyone else – ”We’ve had nobody turn the job down.”
It has been reported that the Blazers’ Tom Penn turned it down. Don’t ask me, I just pass this stuff along.
Quotes about Kahn distributed by the T-Wolves at a Friday afternoon news conference:
“David helped me as much as anyone that I worked with during my time in Indiana, and his work with Conseco Fieldhouse made it the best building in the league,” Donnie Walsh said. “David has a wealth of experience and will do a great job in Minnesota. He’s very capable of capitalizing on the position the Timberwolves franchise is in and taking that team to the next level.”
“David is a remarkably gifted individual, with a combination of high intelligence, a major-league work ethic, and a great understanding of what makes teams successful,” San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said. “His ability to understand the dynamics of an NBA franchise is a real strength and he’ll be someone the Timberwolves can look to for leadership and sound decision-making.”
“I think the world of David. I’ve known him since we first crossed paths back at UCLA and I have nothing but admiration and respect for all that he’s accomplished throughout his career,” said Charlotte Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown, who worked with Kahn for two seasons in Indiana. “David will bring a tremendous background to the job, particularly from his time with Donnie at the Pacers. I’ve always had a fondness for the Timberwolves, and with the group of exciting young players they’ve assembled, I think they have a great opportunity in front of them. I’m thrilled that David is getting this chance and I think he’ll do a phenomenal job.”
“I’m very happy for David. He’s a very intelligent guy and knows the ins and outs of this league as well as anyone,” said Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird, who coached the Pacers while Kahn was the team’s GM. “He has all the tools to get the job done in Minnesota.”
“An excellent hire. David has great knowledge of both the basketball and business sides of an NBA franchise,” said Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle, who was Bird’s assistant at Indiana. “David is a highly-motivated person that will bring out the best in the people who work with him.”
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | May 22, 2009
David Kahn, Donnie Walsh, Dwight Jaynes, Glen Taylor, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, Larry Brown, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Carlisle, Tom Penn
I never thought about it before, but when an executive is applying for a job, do they elicit reference letters, much like you and I would? Where else would quotes like these have come from?
Of course Penn didn’t turn down the job… He got his promotion with the Blazers before the T’Wolves could offer it to him.
I think David is right and Taylor is just using standard PR speak to cover the fact that Penn didn’t want the job. They just never formally offered him the job.
Wolves blog editor at Canis Hoopus who was in attendance:
“that was the biggest farce…
….of the conference. It was problematic on both sides of the fence. On one hand, the question was wrong. It’s not that people turned the job down, it’s that they ran away before even getting to the part where they could really negotiate. On the other hand, Taylor knew damn well what people were talking about since he seemed to be so knowledgeable of all the other speculation on the web. Taylor had an awful performance. It was simply terrible. It really showed how out of touch he is on the process and that you can’t run an NBA team like a wedding invite empire.”
http://www.canishoopus.com/2009/5/22/883734/initial-reaction-thread
Is Larry Brown the next Timberwolves head coach? Sure sounds like he is campaigning for the job.
To Job or not to Job, It probably was not offered but was implied that if he wanted the job it was his. So “technically” they are both right, he turned down the “suggestion” and they did not “offer” the job. In the big scope, does it even matter. Glad you stayed Tom.
If it’s me, I say the same thing. There’s an unspoken agreement in professions where the pool of potential employers/employees is small. You “withdraw” yourself from consideration or the potential employer doesn’t call it a job offer until the contract is signed. This allows everyone to save face just in case you end up working together down the road. I have no doubt that Penn was offered the job if he wanted it. As an organization, you just can’t leave yourself looking like an idiot…Particularly when the guy that turned you down turned you down for a less prestigious (arguably so) position. So you say “we only offered this job once”; pretty standard.