Lone Ranger

Foremost is that McHale does not put in the time required of an NBA general manager with a struggling team. When Taylor first approached him about a job with the Wolves, McHale warned the owner that he wouldn’t be a workaholic. His family had grown to five children, ranging from toddler to teenager, and the example of his father’s steadfast presence and support pricked at his conscience and goaded him to follow suit. Now that he was finally back in Minnesota year-round, McHale itched for the chance to hunt and fish and wander the woods of the Iron Range, and he didn’t need the aggravation of a job that would get in the way. And McHale didn’t need the money, which gave him leverage. Taylor agreed to time off and flexibility. “Those were the conditions agreed upon and both of us have taken criticism for it,” the owner says, “but to me it would be different if he had promised something different.”

Then there was the scandal involving signing forward Joe Smith to an illegal contract in 2000, resulting in both McHale and Taylor being suspended for a year and the Wolves being deprived of four first-round draft picks over five years, a devastating sacrifice the team could not overcome. Once again Taylor defends McHale, implying he was unaware of or perhaps opposed to the arrangement: “Kevin fell on his sword for that one. That whole story has never been told and probably never will be.”

Afterward, McHale appeared to not intensify his scouting efforts to maximize the second-round picks the Wolves had to rely on. He punted those picks with now-deservedly obscure choices (Rick Rickert? Marcus Taylor? Blake Stepp?). Meanwhile, San Antonio was laying the groundwork for future championships by taking the initiative to scout and draft international players (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili) ahead of the rest of the league.

McHale’s antipathy toward player’s representatives is well known and has its roots in the breakup of the early troika of stars—Garnett, Stephon Marbury, and Tom Gugliotta—that he assembled shortly after taking over the team.