KFAN Rube Chat

Well, most people don't care because your sport sucks, Dan.  When the offseason is more interesting than the NBA finals, it's a pretty good indication of that.  And don't tell me I'm only saying that because the local team is a joke.  I watched, and was entertained by the NFL playoffs, the NCAA basketball tournament, and the major college bowl games, and the local teams were a joke in all those sports as well this past year.  

Obviously it was interesting if you're a fan of San Antonio or Cleveland, but that's hardly a good measuring stick of your sports appeal.  You could see the national coverage of the NBA step up the moment the finals ended.  That's a pretty good indication that you have a major problem.

Dan, for all of the honesty, frankness, and anti-parochialism that make your radio show (and my ride home from work) something to look forward to, it seems to me that your biggest weakness is your sometimes total inability to appreciate the sport from a joyful fan's perspective.  

Yes, blaming KG (probably Minnesota's most popular sports figure over the past decade) for the Wolves problems is a unique approach that gives you a comparative advantage over homer-ish talking heads like Mike Max and Sid Hartman.  But c'mon...do you really think that KG's behavior is THAT unreasonable given the circumstances of this franchise?  How do you reconcile ripping this dysfunctional franchise on a daily basis, and then suggest that KG deserves the blame for our lot in life, simply because he doesn't want to go to another dysfunctional franchise headed by a washed-up Celtics great?

I think that Wolves fans are fed up with this franchise, but it's foolish to get sucked into conversations about how to turn this ship around, without recognizing that there probably is no basketball franchise in Minnesota today, if not for the contributions of Kevin Garnett.  You said yourself that it's dumb for fans to speculate on trades that may or may not exist.  The Iverson deal was supposedly a done deal, only to find out that McHale was sitting in his seat at the Target Center at the time the supposed "final negotiations" were being hammered out.  As a franchise, you make your own bed when you sign a superstars with a $20 million/year contract b/c you know ahead of time it won't be easy to move a player like that in a trade.  T-Wolves fans are not going to rebel against KG just because he might have had a hand in blocking one of the few possible scenarios that the Wolves and Celtics have boxed themselves into...not that Al Jefferson was going to come in here and save this franchise anyway.  If KG blocks the Boston trade, and ends up in Phoenix for Stoudamire (unlikely as that may be), you'd probably call him a hero!

I have to admit I didn't like the original deal with Garnett to the Celtics...but I saw the Celtics would take Troy Hudson off our hands. I think I just got a boner.

I bet Garnett nixed it because of THud.

Lifelong Garnett fan, I hope he is traded and at this point I have mix feelings of hoping he wins a title. The Boston deal was perfect for the Wolves (Hudson leaving?! Sign me up!) I don't do the Phoenix trade if they do not include Stoudemire, which means Garnett will probably still be in Minnesota next season unless Phoenix pulls in a third team and/or Shawn Marion accepts his assignment to Boston and we get the stuff from Boston we were supposed to.

"enabling the Wolves' stupid pre-occupation with Joe Smith and Troy Hudson"

That's a stretch even for Barreiro.  

I've got no problem with being down on KG for not elevating his game and taking the franchise to the title when he had the chance.  But suggesting that he "enabled pre-occupation" . . . that's just silly.  Well, actually, it's stupid.  

You're actually pissed that he wasn't more of a clubhouse cancer, working to dissuade management from signing players?!?!  What's next, he's responsible for a lack of club favorable T's and C's in player contracts?

Had KG even been rumored to say to McHale, "Pssst don't sign that guy" Dan will blog on how players should play and managers should manage.  

That's a weak and lame criticism, even from you.

For the rest of us, sports are an escape, not a job.  I kind of like the whole loyalty idea, and even if that loyalty was bought via the giant contract, it should be Ticket's choice if he ends his career here or not.  Although he and Wally hated each other, KG still passed him the ball when he was open.  And remember, KGs critics of Wally were on the money, he is a jump shooter with no game, and 60% of the time a liability on the floor.
Also, there's no way T-Hud would be included in that trade.  The money for Garnett is too high to include another player.

 
StormJH1 was kind enough to provide you with a velvet box!

Now that it is apparent the KG era in Minnesota is all but over, I think we can fairly summarize his legacy: He is the most overrated Minnesota sports star of all-time.

I am not sure if you are trying to villify KG, but it sure sounds like it.  Yes, he has made a boatload of money and to a degree hampered the franchises ability to sign really good supporting free agents.  But bulding the team is hardly his responsibility.  

I have a tough time calling a guy overrated, when he has never been found with drugs, guns, gotten a DWI, or hanging with loose women.  He donates time and money to the community.  Time, money and supplies for victims in the Gulf Coast and much more that we probably dont know about.  

I say let's thank KG for playing as hard as he has for as long as he has for a go no-where franchise with no support on the court or in the front office.  And now you want us to turn on him because he doesn't want to go to another go no-where franchise, that is f---ed up!    

You know what? Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale does not deserved to get bailed out for their problems. I think it's funny to see those two get screwed.  They deserve every bad fortune that they get. Good for KG.

<i>...that is not exactly isolated</i>


What is this inferring?  Did Garnett state somewhere his aversion to landlockedness?

To hell with KG! I've wanted that overpaid, self-promoter gone for years!

You clowns need to think outside of the proverbial box. Barreiro's incessant and whining aside, Garnett may be the reason the team was good ... but he's also the reason the team never won anything of value.

Hey Lew -- we agree!

Any respect I had left for KG is now gone.  He doesn't want to play is Boston. Waaaaaaa.  His agent said he has always been a class act.

KG gets paid 20M+ to play basketball.  Some class act that is real loyal as long as the greenbacks come his way and management signs the players (stiffs) he likes.

KG has never elevated his game to the level of a true superstar.  He is an excellent Pippen, but not a Jordan.  KG the class thing would have been to accept a Boston trade and quietly not resign if you so desired.  I really feel for you that you may have to give up that 23M option.

I obviously agree there is plenty of blame to pass around in the country club.  Trading KG won't fix all of the Wolves problems.  Then again, whoever gets him will end up with an excellent inside fadeaway shooter that turns into Casper the Ghost in the 4th (for whatever that is worth).

As usual Barriero take every oppurtunity to bash KG. Sad.
Why should KG help out this organization? He wants to go to a contender if traded, can you blame him? KG and PP is a nice combo but not enough to be a contender as is the way the league is now. You could call KG selfish for mot obediently going along with the trade but it is his career and if the Wolves want to trade him why exactly should he be required to make himself unhappy so Wolves fans can be happy? Sounds to me like some Wolves fans are guilty of being selfish also.

Who exactly do you think would bash KG and why?  You keep bringing this up on the show, in your blog and few seem to agree with you.  It feels like you are trying to start something where nothing exists.  KG has performed admirably here, whether or not he has taken every shot in the 4th quarter you think he should have.  The "grievances and manipulations" seem pretty minor.  The only things I remember are "Thank God for opt outs" and just recently his agent said he really wants to stay here, but would like Phoenix if he has to go.  He has bitched far less, as a player than you have, as whatever you call yourself, and it's his career being wasted,  not yours.  I can't imagine why you have such a thing about this guy.  You want character, charisma, loyalty etc. and this guy has it, but you can't let it alone.  Why should he feel compelled to offer up the balance of his career to make Wolves fans happy as he is traded away?  Put yourself in his shoes:  you're 18, you are offered a huge contract, you go out every day and play hard, you are the victim of bad luck, bad management, personal loss, you try (naively) to arrange for players you want & it blows up.  But you keep going to work every day and doing your best.  You are an asset to your community and you conduct your business with class, but you really want to win, so you spend extra time with the young guys and keep working at it, but it never really works.  Then as you are traded away, because management was never able to put together a team around you, you are supposed to sacrifice a little more and sign an extension to play in another bad situation?   You are nuts if you think any reasonable fan would expect this.  You lose your credibility with everything when you go off on this stuff-it is transparent and kind of pathetic.

KG is class, but he was paid THAT kind of money to make the guys around him better.  So in a way, he was paid Michael Jordan money, but never led the team to a championship.  He never has made people around him better.  

I gotta believe he had an opinion on every move made in the last 5 years.  Maybe it was offered to him, but he refused to take it.  This would be his out-clause.  The ultimate in being passive-aggressive.  That is KG's style of play.

As to a future in the NBA, that in my opinion is an oxymoron.  If it wasn't for corporate America, this game would already have died.

Still can't figure out why the WNBA hasn't folded.  Maybe no salary burden?

If Barreiro hadn't already been fired from the Strib I would be e-mailing him constantly:

"Thank God for Buy Outs."

I am convinced that one of the Kevins -McHale or KG- stole Dan's girlfriend. Even when they were on a roll and went to the WCF he was a constant naysayer.

I guess it's just how he makes his cabbage but I, for one, have stopped listening to his repetitive rants on the radio and am always amused when I check in here at how predictable his takes are.

As subtle as a jackhammer.

Try not to be so lazy with your next blog.  This one is pretty lame.  Hey KG! Didn't you know you were hired not only to be a player, but also to take care of the drafting, financial management, and future direction of the team?  Give me a break.  Normally you have something reasonable to say Dan, but you really dropped the ball on this one.  KG is probably the most consistent high production guy in the NBA.  McHale decided to pay him the salary, and Taylor signed off.  KG was just taking care of his business, and has never produced less than anyone whould have expected from him (more than the vast majority of players mind you).  McHale and Taylor manage the financials, personel, and future of the team.  It's like blaming the $25.00/hr. fry cook at the local bar and grill for the bars financial struggles when 85% of the customers come in only for the fries.  The owner made a decision to pay him because he brought in revenue.  That's not the fry cook's fault, and good for him for being so good at his job.  

It blows my mind how often Barreiro's blogs are misinterpreted by the rubechat geniuses.  

The ship has sailed on building around Garnett, so obviously trading him is the only option to significantly improve the team.  The Celtics deal would have set the Wolves up nicely and KG vetoed it.  The unfortunate fact to the matter is as long as KG is on the team they are going to stink because there is no room to sign anyone of significance due to his enormous contract and the bloated contracts of T-Hud, Blount, and Jaric.  It's not Garnett's fault they are in that position, it's McHale's, that part is true.  The absurd reality is that in Taylor's mind KG is expendable and McHale is not.  So, if you accept that reality, however absurd, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that KG vetoing this deal is a punishing blow to the future of the Wolves, and the suggestion that this may upset Wolves fans like myself is is a very legitimate one.

To me,  KG's axing of the Celtics deal is also a statement, a statement that says  "The team is going to continue to stink and I'm okay with that."  Going to the Celtics would have at least been a new beginning, and if LeBron James and a cast of unknowns can get all the way to the finals in the East, a KG/Pierce combination could at least get them into the second round of the playoffs, a place KG has been to only once before in his $200 million career.

With the #5 and #7 picks, the Wolves presumably could  have gotten both Corey Brewer and Mike Conley Jr.  Add to that Al Jefferson and the departure of the utterly worthless Troy Hudson, this is the BEST deal the Wolves could have hoped for, and now it's never going to happen.  

KG is a solid competitor, but he lacks confidence in the clutch and is afraid to leave his comfort zone in terms of playing for another team or taking over in the 4th quarter.   Being afraid of 4th quarter shots is inexcusable for a $20 million a year guy.  You can't add a cold-blooded fourth quarter shooter if you have that much money allocated to a passive player like Garnett.

As always McHale is extremely rippable on this one because it's his fault it's come to this, but I'm a bit upset that KG would veto a deal that would be great for the Wolves and good (if not great) for him.  

does anyone truly believe this deal was actually on the table?  my guess is that McAhole and his buddy Ainge threw this out there knowing KG would balk, making him the bad guy when the wolves end up trading him for dirt or losing him for nothing after this season.

I'm losing a lot of respect for you, Bump.  Basically, in the course of five day you managed to take a deal from us getting all the garbage players from a garbage team to a must do deal.  In that period of time the only significant modifications to the same deal you were bitching about was Gerald Green being removed and THUD being added . . .

I sure am glad you finally noticed that the deal was good (although anyone who'd watched Al Jefferson play in the last year would have known that from the word go), but it's kind of creepy how certain you can be on the exact opposite sides of the same story.

Who cares?  It's the flippin Wolves, they suck, so let's move on.

Heard you on the radio here in Phoenix this A.M. I think you may have cought the sentiment that most of the Suns fans really don't want another Mn castoff. We still haven't recovered from Denny.

1st  MOSS GETS TRADED.

2nd  K.G GETS TRADED???

3rd   TORII GETS TRADED???


CMON, THIS IS CRAP!!   KEEP ALL 3!!!

Kandiman Guy, even though I assume I'm one of the misinterpreting "rubechat geniuses" you were referring to, I actually agree with most of your points.  The way you put it, the Boston deal, if that were actually the one on the table, would probably been a pretty nice situation to be in for the Wolves.  But all I'm saying is that your argument (and Bump's, to some degree) ignores all the other factors in play and assumes that KG's single statement last week was the deciding blow to a trade deal that was practically signed off on and ready to go.

There's a reason Boston didn't come up in trade rumors last year or at any point before...presumably, the whole REASON KG wanted out was to go to a contender.  When you're working with a $20 million player, who has an "opt out" for the last year of his deal, you're practically giving up a rent-a-player to a Boston franchise that would not be able to win a championship in one year with KG and Paul Pierce.  Players block potential deals all the time...it's the reason Steve Francis never played for the Grizzlies, or Alonzo Mourning never played for the Toronto Raptors.  This was a trade dreamed up by the Rubes, demanded by the Rubes, that only gained credibility because people assumed Ainge & McHale make deals just for fun, and Wolves Nation wanted a #5 draft pick.

Assuming the Boston trade fell through, it feel through because it became clear there was no reason for the Celtics to dump significant assets to pick up an aging, disgruntled superstar, who wouldn't want to play for them.  Kobe wouldn't play for the Celtics, LeBron wouldn't play for the Celtics, the only reason we're talking about KG not wanting to play for the Celtics is because of a trade rumor.  I don't blame KG one bit, especially when it looked like trades to Phoenix and L.A. were still possible.  KG only gets one career...he doesn't "owe it" to the Wolves to secure their future on his way out the door...that job belongs solely to McHale and the Wolves mgmt (how easily they forget).