It appears that the NBA community is beginning to come around on the “infamous” Timberwolves General Manager David Kahn. After 2+ years of hearing nothing but criticism from not only Minnesotans but also throughout the NBA world, apparently the panel of NBA team executives voting on the award had much more positive evaluations of Kahn than many basketball fans have had during his short tenure as the Pups GM.
Turns out drafting Ricky Rubio was not an idiotic, wasted draft pick that was detrimental to the franchise, but rather the move gave the Pups the youngest player in NBA history to average 8.2 assists per game (minimum 30 games played). Oh, and it also turns out that Kahn’s “incompetence” was not enough to keep one of the most respected and successful head coaches in the history of the league from coming to the unattractive Minnesota winters to accept a four year contract. With the addition of Rick Adelman and his wonderful assitant coaching staff, players like Nikola Pekovic have already seen drastic improvement in their games as Pek has quickly become one of the best young centers in the NBA. Kahn made the right decision in the 2011 NBA draft and took Derrick Williams, who displayed his star power at times throughout the season and looks to be the teams starting SF of the future. With Brad Miller retiring, Darko likely being an amnesty casualty, and Beasley, Randolph, and Webster being non-tendered, the team will have much flexibility in free agency and could add a few impact players via free agency. While Minnesota’s own first-round draft pick belongs to the Hornets, the Pups will receive Utah’s pick via the Al Jefferson trade and sit at #18 in one of the deepest drafts in the last decade.
It is time for many NBA fans to reevaluate their ideas on David Kahn, because NBA executives just dubbed him as the 10th best executive in the league despite running a team that just finished 26-40. It has been fun for many people to take the popular side that rips Kahn unjustly in many ways, and the honest truth is that there are few people who possess original opinions on the man who has been pronounced as the ruin of the organization. Let us all think before we speak about something next time, because the Timberwolves are on the verge of being a perennial playoff contender and Kahn is looking at being GM of this organization for many years to come.
Photo Credits: The Sports Bank