The T'Wolves' "ordeal" regarding the signing of F Joe
Smith "effectively ended" when Owner Glen Taylor and
VP/Basketball Operations Kevin McHale accepted a settlement
of their suspensions on Friday, according to Steve
Aschburner of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Taylor was
suspended, but "in a nod to McHale's Hall of Fame status,"
McHale agreed to take an "unpaid leave of absence," through
July 31, 2001. Both are "prohibited from attending games or
practices, from entering the team's office and from taking
part in player personnel decisions." In return, the
T'Wolves' '03 first-round pick was returned, meaning that
team forfeited a total of four draft picks (Minneapolis
STAR TRIBUNE, 12/9). As part of the settlement, Taylor's
suspension runs until next September. Meanwhile, T'Wolves
attorney Jack Regan is prohibited from representing the team
through August (Scott Soshnick, BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/8).
YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT: McHale said he settled the
suspension instead of challenging the league's ruling in
arbitration: "We got something back. If we keep on
fighting, I'm not sure what else we're going to get back."
McHale, on the NBA's investigation and punishment of the
team, "I figured we would (get caught) eventually. I don't
think it was done with as much malice as was reported by the
league. I think the league said 'We've finally caught
somebody doing these things that we've spent millions of
dollars investigating.' They looked at the thing and they
were out for blood. And they got a whole bunch of it"
(Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/9). McHale: "It's very
embarrassing. ... I feel very bad for the fans and very bad
for the players. They didn't bargain for this. This is
very embarrassing, but this happened ... and I'll take part
of the responsibility" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/9).
