Axed
I wasn't planning on posting again until tomorrow, but I got back from an afternoon run to find this. To be honest, I was pretty shocked. I figured that if they were going to fire Flip, they would have done it a while ago. Since this hadn't happened, I assumed he was going to be there at least until the end of the year, at which point the Wolves organization would reevaluate this situation.
It has become clear in the past month or so, that Flip has absolutely no idea how to fix the Wolves problem. In the past, he's usually come up with a rotation of 8 or 9 players that would play regularly, and the rest of the bench would be used sparingly. This season though, he's been mixing it up a lot more. Everybody on the bench seems to get significant minutes, and the starting lineup has been shuffled more times than I can count.
At this point however, I'm not sure that firing Flip is going to help. Will replacing him will McHale help? Would Gregg Popovich be able to salvage the Wolves season? Honestly, I don't think anybody would be able to turn this team into a championship contender. At the same time, the Wolves will enter rebuilding mode next season, and who knows, maybe a different coach would spark some new life. Flip had obviously has lost the respect of Sam and Spree, so maybe McHale will be able to make them not completely suck anymore (though Sam's D is probably beyond repair).
In a nutshell, I'd say that the firing is mostly a desperation and business-oriented move by Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. A trade isn't happening, so not firing Flip would send the message to Wolves fans that they had given up on the season. By firing him, they are at least able to show fans that they haven't giving up on this team that was supposed to contend for an NBA championship. It will keep fans interested (at least for a little bit) and will also get them more excited for the start of next season.
Will it help the Wolves win an NBA championship? Doubtful. Will it get them into the playoffs? Possibly.
It has become clear in the past month or so, that Flip has absolutely no idea how to fix the Wolves problem. In the past, he's usually come up with a rotation of 8 or 9 players that would play regularly, and the rest of the bench would be used sparingly. This season though, he's been mixing it up a lot more. Everybody on the bench seems to get significant minutes, and the starting lineup has been shuffled more times than I can count.
At this point however, I'm not sure that firing Flip is going to help. Will replacing him will McHale help? Would Gregg Popovich be able to salvage the Wolves season? Honestly, I don't think anybody would be able to turn this team into a championship contender. At the same time, the Wolves will enter rebuilding mode next season, and who knows, maybe a different coach would spark some new life. Flip had obviously has lost the respect of Sam and Spree, so maybe McHale will be able to make them not completely suck anymore (though Sam's D is probably beyond repair).
In a nutshell, I'd say that the firing is mostly a desperation and business-oriented move by Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. A trade isn't happening, so not firing Flip would send the message to Wolves fans that they had given up on the season. By firing him, they are at least able to show fans that they haven't giving up on this team that was supposed to contend for an NBA championship. It will keep fans interested (at least for a little bit) and will also get them more excited for the start of next season.
Will it help the Wolves win an NBA championship? Doubtful. Will it get them into the playoffs? Possibly.
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