“Mistakes happen. Every GM makes them. Some make them more than others.”
Grainy footage of Chris Webber and Grant Hill, hugging each other, confetti dropping as they advance to the Western Conference Finals.
“Sometimes the mistake isn’t clear until later, when you look back and realize everything you could have had.”
Now a photo of Webber, Hill, Robot Pack, and the PBSL Trophy. This is obviously photoshopped.
“Sometimes the mistake is obvious the moment you make it.”
Rip Hamilton and Chris Bosh walk off the Nuggets floor, heads down. They share a look.
“When mistakes meet random misfortune, it’s time to stop pretending. It’s time to forge another path. And that’s why I’d like to thank the city of Minneapolis and the ownership of the Timberwolves for giving me a lifetime contract. So I’m able to make mistakes, learn from them, and move on to make more. Or to make good decisions. Because I’ve proven I can do that too.”
Finally, a singular logo of the Timberwolves.
The JNR: Thank you for joining us. As you can see, this is a different feel than our previous press conferences. Most of them were player based. We’d introduce our new players, have them feel like they’re part of the winning formula, and allow them to answer questions. Today it’s just me. If you had a question to ask about Stromile Swift and his latest drug charge, it’ll have to go through me first.
The vibe here is different too. I’ve been largely positive in my time here, because we’ve been a fairly successful franchise. We have no finals appearances, but we do have two conference finals appearances, and other GMs have noted that we appear in the mix every year. So usually my air is plucky, positive, and perhaps a little overconfident.
You won’t find that today.
The JNR looks at the logo on the screen and sighs.
The JNR: Today we need to be honest with ourselves. Everything about my rebuild around Chris Bosh has gone wrong. We’ve been to the playoffs four times with him, and all four times we’ve been ousted in the first round. I tried to give him a young scorer to pair off with, and the pairing hasn’t seemed to work on the court. I’ve put veteran contributors around him, and we’ve still come up short. So now, the honesty:
This will be one of the worst seasons in Minnesota basketball history. We’ve won 17 games. We’ve won 16 games. This has the potential to be worse. We have pieces that don’t fit well together, or aren’t ready to step up. Chris has had another bad training camp, and doesn’t appear to be the player he was two years ago. We’re in shambles, and to say otherwise would be untruthful.
So, what do we do about it?
Well, I’ve gone through this before. It starts with the point guard position. We need someone who bonds with Chris, who can find him and others in space. We need someone who is athletic and smart. We also need a frontcourt partner for him. And we need luck. A lot more than we’ve gotten recently.
For my part, I’ll do my best not to be impatient. I’ll take the losses as they come, knowing it’s part of a plan. And with luck, and hopefully a few less mistakes on my part, we’ll have a contender in Minnesota once again.
Questions?
