MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -A year ago, David Kahn didn’t have a place to live in Minnesota, let alone a head coach, as he plunged into his first draft as Timberwolves president.
Owner Glen Taylor hired Kahn to reshape the franchise less than a month before the 2009 draft. With no time to go through a search process for house or head coach, Kahn lived out of a hotel while preparing for the draft with a group of scouts and assistants he was just getting to know.
This time around, Kahn has his coach in Kurt Rambis, a trusted assistant GM in Tony Ronzone and a house in a quiet town an hour outside of Minneapolis.
Beleaguered Timberwolves fans are hoping the increased stability will lead to a fruitful draft on Thursday night. The Wolves hold pick Nos. 4, 16 and 23 in the first round and desperately need a successful performance to expedite the rebuilding process.
stomed to Rambis’ systems on both ends of the floor and Wayne Ellington had ups and downs as a shooter off the bench.
Yet Kahn and Rambis are on the same page heading into the biggest night of the offseason for a team that won just 15 games last year.
“I really like Kurt as a human being,” Kahn said. “I think when it comes to watching players, he has a very keen eye. Especially when it comes to development, he’s especailly astute at picking out the areas a player needs to work and how difficult it would be to develop those aspects.”
Rambis and Kahn did not know each other before they joined up with the Timberwolves, but the coach said it didn’t take long to develop a plan for the future of a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2004.
“We see this as a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity,” Rambis said. “It’s challenging, yet it would be fun to be able to get this franchise up to an elite level. We just like that competitive environment. We were on the same page since day one because we had a good understanding of what we wanted and what our vision was.”
The vision is simple – get bigger, faster and more athletic. The easiest way to do that is to draft well.
ky center DeMarcus Cousins.
The 16th and 23rd picks are up for grabs, as are most players on the roster for teams looking to make deals. Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and others not named Rubio appear to be available for the right offer.
The Timberwolves also have plenty of cap room to be a player either in free agency or through sign-and-trades, so everything does not hinge on Thursday night. Getting a start on upgrading talent, however, is imperative.
“We have needs everywhere, especially at the wing position,” Kahn said. “We desperately need wings. We have a lot of holes. We have a lot of work to do. But I think we’ll have some opportunities throughout the summer, not just in (the draft), to begin to address those.”
Where many fans look at the Timberwolves as a franchise in the doldrums with not even the dimmest of lights visible at the end of the tunnel, Ronzone sees nothing but promise.
“It’s exciting time in Minnesota,” said Ronzone, whose Timberwolves also have two second-round picks. “We’ve got five picks. We’ve got some money to spend. And we’ve got some good, young assets. It’s an exciting future here.”
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