Class...and the lack of it.

This has got to stop. The criticism of Kevin Garnett by the Wolves front office--Glen Taylor in particular--has to stop.

What exactly is the point of all these "revelations", at this time? I realize the Wolves front office has taken a beating in the last few years...columnists, radio talk show hosts, bloggers, posters, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians...heck, if the Apostles were Wolves fans, they probably would have put in a few choice words about them as well (Taylor 3:16?). But if the Apostles were to comment on this situation, I have a feeling that forgiveness and moving on would be central to their message.

Most of us will never know who was responsible for all the events that have brought this organization to where it is today. Like it or not however, the Taylor organization--and Glen Taylor himself--are accountable for them. It's his team. KG didn't tell Mark Madsen to shoot threes against Memphis a couple of years ago, or make those horrendous personnel moves to put them in a position where tanking even became a consideration. Seemingly, he did advocate the signing of folks like Troy Hudson and other mediocre veterans. All that proves is there's enough blame to go around. But it's all in the past.

Attempting to tarnish KG's icon status in this market is curious strategy, one that hints of desperation. After all this time, does Glen Taylor believe he will regain credibility with the fan base with this approach? Why would anyone who's already convinced he's a poor owner believe him now? This attempt to set the record straight only seems petty and unprofessional. Add to that the chance of Garnett coming back here and being an ambassador for the organization after his on-court career is done seems absolutely nil. When he makes it to the Hall of Fame, which jersey will he want to wear? Not ours any more, regardless of what happens in Boston. The man who help put the franchise on the map has now taken us off.

Looking past this event, why would any star veteran want to sign with the Wolves? The cold and remoteness is reason enough, but this behavior simply creates another obstacle. How many players and coaches have been thrown under the Taylor bus after they've left? It's usually someone else's fault with this club; I certainly wouldn't want to be a scapegoat for a bad organization.

Yeah, Garnett acted like a total punk in Boston with the whole jersey thing. And, his pre-season shots at the Wolves were unnecessary. But someone here has to rise above it all, and demonstrate class and professionalism. Credibility for this franchise will only be restored one way...by winning.

This childish behavior needs to stop; it's time for this organization to focus solely on rebuilding this club.

Please.


Right on sir. I had failed

Right on sir. I had failed to add Garnett's performance in Boston against the Wolves to the equation, but I still think Taylor was in the wrong here. Why even respond to that question? It looks like serious defensiveness.

Besides, other execs have handled it WAY better after worse circumstances: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20080319_Snider__Cheeks_take_high...

KG's response: "Glen Taylor

KG's response:

"Glen Taylor was good to me while I was a Timberwolf. I'm a Boston Celtic now. I'm not going to be going back and forth and saying tasteless things," Garnett said. "That's not in my character. I'll let him speak if he wants to.

"I have nothing to do with the Minnesota Timberwolves. That's my past and I'm in a new chapter in my life. I thank him for the opportunity, for giving me, when I was younger, being able to not only explore my dream, but to make it to where I am today. And that's all I'm going to say about that."

Makes Taylor look like a fool. Of course, this whole thing started because of the inane column that "Top Jimmy" Souhan wrote last week. Taylor could just have said, "Well, Souhan's just trying to sell newspapers, and as we all know, the Strib needs to concentrate on doing just that."

Top Jimmy is turning out to

Top Jimmy is turning out to be the Katherine Kersten of the sports page. It's stir-the-pot journalism at its worst: no fact checking, lazy generalizations, and garbage analysis for nothing more than the sake of a cheap response. It works with about 30% of the population. As for the rest...not so much. It's times like this where I'm glad I no longer get the Strib. I love how folks that work at the Strib view bloggers as being somehow beneath them when their very own colleagues pull crap like this. Aaron Gleeman had another example over at his site today about Joe Mauer playing 3rd base. It's garbage.