Timberwolves Courting Spurs Executive Lindsey (Updated, And Duncan/Manu/Mavs Notes)

I didn't know what to do with this because of the added pieces, so here it is. :)

Timberwolves courting Spurs executive Lindsey
Express-News

The revolving door in the Spurs’ front office may be in for another spin.

Spurs general manger R.C. Buford confirmed Sunday that the Minnesota Timberwolves have asked for permission to interview Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey for an opening atop the team’s basketball operations department.

Lindsey has been with the Spurs since the summer of 2007, when he replaced Sam Presti as Buford’s top assistant after the then-Seattle SuperSonics hired Presti as general manager.

Presti had moved up to a role as assistant general manager after the Cleveland Cavaliers hired Spurs assistant GM Danny Ferry as their general manager after the Spurs’ 2005 playoff run.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor removed Kevin McHale from duties as vice-president of basketball operations when he named him as successor on the bench after Randy Wittman was fired as head coach on Dec. 8. The team’s basketball operations now are being conducted by general manager Jim Stack and his two assistants, Fred Hoiberg and Rob Babcock.

During the Spurs-Hornets playoff series last spring, Lindsey was asked to interview for the Atlanta Hawks’ vacant general manager position, but he took his name out of the running for that job after preliminary talks. He declined to comment about the Timberwolves’ request to speak to him about their opening.

Lance Blanks, another former member of the Spurs’ front office and now Ferry’s top assistant in Cleveland, also is believed to be on the Timberwolves’ short list to replace McHale.

Extra work: Though he had a solid offensive showing in Game 1, Tim Duncan was the last player to leave the practice court after the Spurs had a brief workout on Sunday morning.

Utilizing the automated shot machine that fires passes and “rebounds” both makes and misses, Duncan shot for about 45 extra minutes, finishing with five minutes of extra free-throw practice.

Duncan made 13 of 24 shots and scored 27 points in Game 1.

Ghost of Manu: Less than 24 hours after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that he didn’t want his players to consider injured Manu Ginobili a part of the team, it was strange to see Ginobili in a Spurs practice uniform after the team’s workout at its practice facility.

Ginobili, out with a stress fracture of the right distal fibula, fired a few underhanded, full-court shots before retreating to the team’s locker room.

- Mike Monroe

New roles for Dirk, Terry: Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry combined for only 23 field-goal attempts in Game 1. Only once in the regular-season — Nov. 3 against Cleveland — did that duo take fewer shots in a game in which both of them played.

On Nov. 3 against Cleveland — in the third game of the season — Nowitzki and Terry took a combined 19 shots. They tied the Game 1 mark of 23 in back-to-back games on Jan. 8 and 9 against the Knicks and Suns.

The difference? The Mavericks lost two of those three regular-season games. This time, Dallas’ shot-spreading was by design. With the Spurs’ defense hounding Nowitzki and Terry, they were more than willing to let their teammates take the offensive load.

“I think we were great decoys,” Nowitzki said.

“The key to this series is the role players,” Terry said. “If our role players outplay theirs, we’ll have a great chance to win.”

- Mike Finger

Is pop doing some CIA stuff with Manu's situation?

I sure hope so.

Quote:

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Ghost of Manu: Less than 24 hours after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that he didn’t want his players to consider injured Manu Ginobili a part of the team, it was strange to see Ginobili in a Spurs practice uniform after the team’s workout at its practice facility.

Ginobili, out with a stress fracture of the right distal fibula, fired a few underhanded, full-court shots before retreating to the team’s locker room.

- Mike Monroe

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He may play tomorrow

:drunk:drunk:drunk

I don't see the interest of Manu doing that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spurs Brazil

Quote:

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Ghost of Manu: Less than 24 hours after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that he didn’t want his players to consider injured Manu Ginobili a part of the team, it was strange to see Ginobili in a Spurs practice uniform after the team’s workout at its practice facility.

Ginobili, out with a stress fracture of the right distal fibula, fired a few underhanded, full-court shots before retreating to the team’s locker room.

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- Mike Monroe

He may play tomorrow

:drunk:drunk:drunk

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:lol

False hopes...That would be funny if we made it all the way to the WCF and Manu made up for his 2008 ankle injury by pulling a



... :drunk:drunk:drunk

Pop is a smart man to pop that fantasy.

Quote:

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Extra work: Though he had a solid offensive showing in Game 1, Tim Duncan was the last player to leave the practice court after the Spurs had a brief workout on Sunday morning.

Utilizing the automated shot machine that fires passes and “rebounds” both makes and misses, Duncan shot for about 45 extra minutes, finishing with five minutes of extra free-throw practice.

Duncan made 13 of 24 shots and scored 27 points in Game 1.

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:lobt2: :king A man on a mission.

Manu said in his facebook page he started doing weightlifting and pool exercises last friday. First day he was allowed to do that...
One other tidbit from a Q & A session he did with fans:

Q: If the Spurs make it deep in the Playoffs (which I doubt)... Could you return this season? Is there any remote chance?

Manu: They told me I was OUT, and if I don't practice with the team and I'm out of shape it's almost impossible. But I never say completely impossible... I think that if we make it to the Finals, I would play them even WIHTOUT A FIBULA!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpursFan0728

Is pop doing some CIA stuff with Manu's situation?

I sure hope so.

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Si los Spurs llegan lejos en los Playoffs (cosa que dudo)...¿Podrás volver en esta misma temporada? ¿Hay alguna chance remota?
Me dijeron que estaba OUT, si no entreno con el equipo y no estoy en forma es casi imposible. Pero nunca digo imposible del todo… creo que si llegamos a las finales, las juego hasta SIN EL PERONE!


Q & A from manu's fb today

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ElNono

Q: If the Spurs make it deep in the Playoffs (which I doubt)... Could you return this season? Is there any remote chance?

Manu: They told me I was OUT, and if I don't practice with the team and I'm out of shape it's almost impossible. But I never say completely impossible... I think that if we make it to the Finals, I would play them even WIHTOUT A FIBULA!

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:lol
of course!

...now I'm thinking Pop should have told the team to win this championship for Manu.
Maybe he did in secret and just wanted the press to print that "forget Manu" spiel.

thanks ElNono for the translation..

haha...I would play them even WIHTOUT A FIBULA!

sounds like manu:lol:toast

Manu also just posted all those questions that he usually answers and when someone asked about his rehab he said they're not really in hurry to do any right now so I can't see it happening. You know Manu is really bored when he has to turn to playing video games on his Wii :lol.

Manu played the 08 WCF on one leg and we all saw how that turned out.

manu is the most selfish player
spurs say no you are out
and then he says finals I WILL PLAY
geez he does not understand who the boss is
THE BOSS IS THE ONE THAT IS PAYING HIm

spurs need to forget manu for the season like pop is FINALLY saying
but manu is not helping things

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DynastyBuilder

Manu played the 08 WCF on one leg and we all saw how that turned out.

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yeah he cost the spurs atleast one game
barry played manu minutes spurs would have won that game

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phila_Chamberlain

Anything can happen.

Willis Reed played that 70s finals on one leg.

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dude players are better now then back then

The other side.

Outside hiring might mean McHale is done
The search for a new Wolves general manager appears to be down to two candidates, and whoever is hired won't be obligated to keep Kevin McHale.
By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor appears focused on hiring an outside candidate to lead his team, an indication he is prepared to make sweeping organizational changes soon that would include Kevin McHale's departure after 16 years with the franchise, 14 years as the basketball operations boss.

Taylor said Sunday afternoon that he has not extended a job offer yet and is completing final reference checks in a search he hopes to complete in the next week or two.

He refused to address chatter around the NBA that he has narrowed his search to a short list that includes San Antonio vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey and Cleveland assistant general manager Lance Blanks, citing a promise he said he made to all candidates to keep the process confidential.

If the Wolves go outside the franchise rather than promote Fred Hoiberg or Jim Stack -- both appear long shots at this point -- the person hired to reorganize the front office of a team that won 46 games the past two seasons would have no reason to bring McHale back as head coach.

Taylor repeatedly had said McHale himself would decide whether he returns, ever since Taylor sent his personnel decision-maker from the front office to the coach's bench in early December.

He reversed course last week, telling the Star Tribune the new boss won't be obligated to retain McHale.

Why the switcheroo?

Maybe he never really meant it and instead wanted to give McHale, whom he promoted from assistant general manager to vice president of basketball operations in May 1995 after buying the team in 1994 and has remained so loyal to ever since, a graceful way to exit.

Or perhaps he realized he had the process backward, and candidates he sought are unwilling to remake such a mismanaged franchise if they must keep McHale and his looming presence.

Taylor also has called this moment a chance to chart a new course for the "first time" since be bought the team and hired McHale.

While McHale presumably has gone home to fix his deck or to his northern cabin to rake pine needles and contemplate his future, Taylor and team CEO Rob Moor have been completing research to make a crucial decision about the franchise's future.

They apparently have turned that search toward a Spurs family tree that has produced four NBA titles and such astute draft selections as Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford on Sunday told the San Antonio News-Express he has granted the Wolves permission to talk to Lindsey, a process believed to be well along.

Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry told the Cleveland Plain Dealer his office hadn't formally given the Wolves permission to talk with Blanks, whom a source suggested is, along with Lindsey, a finalist for the job.

The Spurs hired Lindsey in June 2007 just after they won that fourth title to replace wunderkind Sam Presti -- whom the Seattle SuperSonics had just hired at age 30 to run their basketball operations -- after he spent 11 seasons with the Houston Rockets, the last five as VP of basketball operations/player personnel.

A teammate of future NBA players Micheal Williams and David Wesley at Baylor, Lindsey has coached at a Reebok camp overseas for top European players the last four summers. Lindsey interviewed with Atlanta last year, but withdrew his name from consideration to lead the Hawks.

Taylor seemingly has pursued assistant general managers rather than executives who already hold the top job with their teams, presumably because of cost efficiency in these troubled economic times and his timeline.

He wants to hire the new guy in the next few weeks because this is a crucial summer for his franchise. NBA teams prevent employees from making lateral moves before the June draft while assistants usually aren't denied the promotion. Milwaukee hired assistant GM John Hammond away from Detroit last May; the SuperSonics hired Presti three weeks before the draft the year before that.

The Wolves own three first-round picks in the June 25 draft, have the expiring contracts of Brian Cardinal and Mike Miller to dangle in potential trades and possess enough salary-cap space the next two summers to trade for an impact, well-paid player.

All those factors make the Wolves' job attractive, despite their record the past two seasons. All those factors also suggest Taylor might believe now is the time to finally make a significant move about which his team's remaining fans have just one question:

What took so long?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ducks

manu is the most selfish player
spurs say no you are out
and then he says finals I WILL PLAY
geez he does not understand who the boss is
THE BOSS IS THE ONE THAT IS PAYING HIm

spurs need to forget manu for the season like pop is FINALLY saying
but manu is not helping things

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I'm not sure why I even try to explain it to you, but I'll try one more time.
His comment is more wishful thinking than anything else. He's fractured and he's not coming back this season. He knows, the Spurs knows, and you know too. Stop the douchebaggery now please.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ElNono

I'm not sure why I even try to explain it to you, but I'll try one more time.
His comment is more wishful thinking than anything else. He's fractured and he's not coming back this season. He knows, the Spurs knows, and you know too. Stop the douchebaggery now please.

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:lol

Pick your battles. It's not worth it.
Ducks is so deranged, only he would take that comment the wrong way and try to interpret it as "selfishness."
The fact that Manu's enthused about the Spurs having another chance at the 'ship and would make a fanciful remark.
I think any teammate who'd see that comment would feel motivated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ducks

yeah he cost the spurs atleast one game
barry played manu minutes spurs would have won that game

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If the Spurs had a 20 point lead in game 1 after having their flight delayed they should have won in spite of Manu but they all ran out of gas in the 4th Q against a younger bench. You win as a team, you lose as team. You don't get to pick and choose conditions that apply to the player you hate, while omitting other conditions for the loss. Shut up.

I rember other posters posting the same thing about had barry played manu minutes spurs win
also earlier in the year some said if spurs had mason against lakers they would have won

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ducks

manu is the most selfish player
spurs say no you are out
and then he says finals I WILL PLAY
geez he does not understand who the boss is
THE BOSS IS THE ONE THAT IS PAYING HIm

spurs need to forget manu for the season like pop is FINALLY saying
but manu is not helping things

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You are like a child.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ducks

I rember other posters posting the same thing about had barry played manu minutes spurs win
also earlier in the year some said if spurs had mason against lakers they would have won

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posters say a lot of things...you might as well cite the generic comments from Jeff McDonald to add validity to your statements.

Please hire that douchebag Lindsey.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baseline bum

Please hire that douchebag Lindsey.

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I would like Presti and PJ Carlesimo back... :depressed

Then again, I have not completely lost my faith in Pop. I just hope he doesn't go into full stubborn mode like in '06 and small ball.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ElNono

I would like Presti and PJ Carlesimo back... :depressed

Then again, I have not completely lost my faith in Pop. I just hope he doesn't go into full stubborn mode like in '06 and small ball.

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An individual like Presti would be cool... I really don't have a gauge on how good PJ Carlismo was for us...

Quote:

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Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor appears focused on hiring an outside candidate to lead his team, an indication he is prepared to make sweeping organizational changes soon that would include Kevin McHale's departure after 16 years with the franchise, 14 years as the basketball operations boss.

Taylor said Sunday afternoon that he has not extended a job offer yet and is completing final reference checks in a search he hopes to complete in the next week or two.

He refused to address chatter around the NBA that he has narrowed his search to a short list that includes San Antonio vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey and Cleveland assistant general manager Lance Blanks, citing a promise he said he made to all candidates to keep the process confidential.

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Both Lindsey and Blanks have Spurs connections and Minny will need a new coach. So I wouldn't be surprised to see coach Bud also leaving SA to be Wolves' coach.

Spurs will maybe need a new lead assistant coach. The most logical would be internal promotion or to bring back PJ but I don't know if PJ is still interested by that role and if Pop values enough one of his assistant to give him the lead assistant job.