If T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor and VP/Basketball
Operations Kevin McHale are suspended for their involvement
in the salary cap violations around F Joe Smith, names you
"might hear more" of include T'Wolves President Rob Moor and
Exec VP & CFO Roger Griffith, according to Robbi Pickeral of
the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. Taylor, on if he is suspended:
"I have a plan ... but hopefully, that plan will not have to
be put into place" (PIONEER PRESS, 10/28). More Taylor, on
McHale: "They're going to get Kevin. They're trying to get
Kevin and they may. Kevin has resigned to it. He knows it's
a possibility, and he will accept it. He won't quit" (STAR
TRIBUNE, 10/28). In Boston, Peter May wrote that McHale
"messed up, and he should be held accountable. But the
people in the NBA office also know that this particular
transgression, while bad, still runs counter to everything
McHale has stood for and articulated over the years. One
mistake, even a whopper like this, shouldn't besmirch a
career otherwise constructed on all things decent and noble"
(BO. GLOBE, 10/29). In St. Paul, Charley Walters wrote that
despite possible further penalties against Taylor, "people
who know say there is absolutely no chance the Wolves' owner
will sell the franchise" (PIONEER PRESS, 10/29).
HAMMER TIME: In L.A., Mark Heisler wrote that with his
ruling, NBA Commissioner David Stern "might as well have
padlocked the arena." Heisler: "This isn't a good time to be
messing with Stern. The '90s glow is over. Labor peace has
been replaced by a union so hostile, it stymies any move
Stern favors. ... Stern could have taken a draft choice or
two and upheld his principle. Instead, he went for the ax
and offed the head of one of his young" (L.A. TIMES, 10/29).
In Sacramento, Scott Howard-Cooper: "Stern has traumatized
the future of the organization to an extent that its impact
won't be fully known for six or eight years" (SACRAMENTO BEE,
10/29). ESPN's Bill Conlin: "Can the commissioner of a
league totally disintegrate a franchise and cause it to
fold?" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 10/29). In Charlotte,
Rick Bonnell wrote that Stern said that this "wasn't
personal, but who could blame him if it was?" Bonnell:
"Stern fended off a threat by original Wolves owner Marv
Wolfenson to move the franchise to New Orleans" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 10/29). In Newark, Dave D'Alessandro: "The issue
here, make no mistake, was not so much about responding to
Taylor's impudence as it was about the long-term financial
health of Stern's Kingdom" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/29).
FAN-NING THE FLAME: In L.A., J.A. Adande asked, "Now
that the NHL is back with the expansion Minnesota Wild, will
people still pay NBA ticket prices to watch the strapped
Timberwolves?" (L.A. TIMES, 10/28). In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira
Winderman, noting Stern's penalties levied against the
T'Wolves, wrote: "Why penalize the fans, skew the competitive
balance to the point where the Timberwolves could become as
dreaded an attraction as the Clippers, Bulls or Cavaliers?
What exactly did the fans in Minnesota do wrong?" More
Winderman: "The Timberwolves cheated. The Timberwolves got
caught. And, in the end, the fans get to pay. Some justice,
eh?" (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 10/29).
