prodson
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Joined: 4/14/2003
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- - - Kevin McHale was sitting behind the microphones, displaying more energy than any NBA general manager had a right to have, given the grueling day he had just completed.
Good news will do that. Good news that comes to those who wait, that is. What began as a four-team NBA switcheroo was complicated at mid-day when another team tried to get into the mix. When the fifth team finally dropped out, the deal finally got done.
"I found out one thing," said McHale, the Wolves vice president. "Five general managers can't make a cake, but four can."
Terrell Brandon and the salary-cap relief his contract represents is gone, to Atlanta. Center Marc Jackson is off to Philadelphia. Four-time All-Star Latrell Sprewell comes to the Wolves.
Six players and two draft picks were a part of the deal. Glenn Robinson went to Philadelphia, Keith Van Horn to New York, Randy Holcomb to Atlanta.
Latrell Sprewell Associated Press The 76ers also sent a first-round draft pick to Atlanta, reacquiring a 2006 second-round pick in return.
For the Wolves, it is the latest in an off-season of moves that has turned over the roster. It began with the trade with Milwaukee for Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson. It continued last week when center Michael Olowokandi was signed to replace the departed Rasho Nesterovic.
But Wednesday's announcement might be the clincher. Suddenly the Wolves are quicker, more athletic. The blend of experience -- Cassell has won two titles, Sprewell has played in the NBA Finals -- youth and talent had McHale, well, on the verge of giddy.
Kevin McHale Richard Tsong-taatarii "We've never had as much youth, experience and talent as we have right now . . ." he said.
And to listen to McHale, that's where the future is -- now.
"You know, to be truthful, you get into such a rebuilding mode," McHale said. "Then, all of a sudden, some of the players are a little younger and you're thinking, 'Geez, that guy might be a better player in four years.' But then you say, 'Hey, you have to make a run.'
"You can't keep building and building. At some point you have to make a run. And I told Glen [Taylor, the Wolves' owner], 'You know what? This is our time to make a run. Right now.' "
The Wolves still have some moves to make. McHale said Wednesday that other offers had been tendered. Names such as Eric Piatkowski and Mark Madsen are among the players the Wolves could be interested in, sources say.
But the substantive moves have been made, and the Wolves are a deeper, more talented bunch than they were only weeks ago, with a lineup that includes point guards Troy Hudson and Sam Cassell, Sprewell at shooting guard, forwards Wally Szczerbiak and Kevin Garnett, and Olowokandi at center.
"We have a couple offers out to people to fill out the roster," McHale said. "And then we're going to buckle it up and play."
In Sprewell, they get a player who will have to check a little extra baggage on the flight to Minnesota. But he is the sort of athletic player McHale believed was the ideal addition to the team.
"We wanted to get more athletic at the [off-guard] spot," he said. "A little bigger, get a defender-type of guy, a guy who can run the court. He's taken and made some very big shots in playoff situations. He's got a lot of guts. He's a tough, hard-nosed competitor, and he gets after it. He fits in perfectly."
McHale said Sprewell's sometimes-controversial past didn't deter him.
"Our league is a small league; it's like living in a neighborhood that has 29 houses," McHale said. "Everybody knows everybody's dirty laundry after a while. Latrell's been very good in New York. . . . It's a hell of a world if you make a mistake and everybody holds it against you the rest of your life."
McHale said he's long past that. He's already trying to deal with those problems basketball teams love to have. Things like, how do you accommodate all that talent with one basketball? How will you mesh all of those personalities?
"We have a lot of guys who have been around long enough that winning is very important," McHale said. "And it is. These guys have contracts, they're not going anywhere. They've already hit some home runs in their career, contract-wise, and then it all blends together, you hope. You know, it will be interesting."
If the season is as interesting as the offseason has been, that will be a good start for the Wolves.
"We could have made moves for younger players," Taylor said. "But when I looked at our team and said, 'What do you need?' it was a [player] who could play defense, and who could drive in to take pressure off Kevin and Wally. To me, that's Latrell Sprewell."
all those years as a fan and now i'm the anti-knick. life is crazy aint it.
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