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.”

Tweet This Post

They’re coming off a huge win Monday night at Orlando, but the Blazers have done that, too. Dallas has been playing better and scoring more points since Coach Rick Carlisle handed the play calling over to Jason Kidd.

At this point of his career, I would think that’s one of the big advantages Kidd could bring to the floor. He never was much of a shooter and the great defense he used to play is a faint memory. But if you’re looking for leadership and a sensitive feel for the NBA game, man he’s got to be one of the best — if not THE best — in the business.

I remember the days when football teams used to let the quarterback call his own plays and when you had a great, veteran signal caller it was a tremendous advantage. In this case, not only do you get Kidd’s expertise you also uptempo your game quite a bit because the point guard isn’t looking over his shoulder at the bench all the time, like a batter stepping out of the box waiting for a sign from the third-base coach.

I’ve never been a big fan of Kidd. I’ve said it many times before, but I always seem to like shooters and he’s never been that. But I could see — and it’s not going to happen — how much good it would do a team like this, or a young point guard like Jerryd Bayless, to have Kidd around for a season or two to mentor them.

There’s no getting around what a smart player he’s always been and it would be a bit of a Scottie Pippen-like Blazer move. That gamble, by the way, was extremely expensive but it worked — until a fatal fourth-quarter flameout in Los Angeles in the conference finals derailed a team that should have won a championship.

Tweet This Post

A take a little heat from some people about my unwavering belief that Oden is going to be a terrific NBA player. But all I’m doing is echoing what I believe a lot of smart basketball people think. I keep hearing the same things over and over.

“I think he’s going to be great,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Thursday night prior to the game, during a conversation with me and Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.

“People have no idea how hard it is to miss an entire season and then come back and play again,” he continued. “It happened to me late in my career. I hurt a shoulder and missed a season, then it took me at least half of the next season to get back. The speed of the game, something . . . it was just really hard to get everything back.”

Tweet This Post