It Was His Time

Flip Saunders. Ava L’Sholom.

No, it wasn’t your fault Flip. You did everything you could. You coddled, you placed blame, you took the team bowling. But after 10 years, one first round playoff series victory, and one downwardly spiraling season, it is time to say farewell.

You are Dennis Green. You are also Ron Gardenhire. You are a Minnesota coach. The paradigmatic Minnesota coach. You give your stars free reign, but you also nurture young teams in to bands of men. You eek out wins, but you do not step on opponents throats. You give us just enough to be content, but you never win the big one. And finally, the man who won three rings by stepping on peoples throats, and the billionaire who earned billions by stepping on people’s throats said “no more.”

The casual Timberwolves fan asks, “Was it right?” “How could Kevin McHale fire AND replace one of his oldest friends?” This is not a situation involving morality. There are no ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs.’ There are no friends and there are no enemies. There are only simple Darwinian mechanisms at work.

Others will ask, “Why didn’t they fire Sprewell instead?” Well, while Sprewell is soon to be shipped off anyway, it is surprisingly an attitude like Sprewell’s that the Wolves need more right now than that of Flip.

Oh casual Timberwolves fan, I will entertain your unknowing question: Was it right? No. But it was his time.