Taylor: McHale welcome back as coach, not as exec

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said the decision essentially is Kevin McHale's and said he expects McHale will coach next season.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: March 4, 2009 - 3:39 PM

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GOLDEN STATE 118, WOLVES 94

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On the same afternoon he announced new season-ticket prices and policies customized for these tough economic times, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed Tuesday what he intimated nearly three months ago when he fired Randy Wittman: ¶ Kevin McHale will return next season only if he agrees to continue as coach. ¶ Taylor said the decision essentially is McHale's and said he expects McHale, the team's vice president of basketball operations for 13 seasons until he was stripped of his front-office duties in December, will coach next season. ¶ "I didn't make him the interim coach," Taylor said. "He's the coach."

Asked if that means McHale's front-office decision-making days are over -- a move for which many of the team's remaining fans have clamored for years -- Taylor said, "For here, it is."

Hours before the Wolves were obliterated 118-94 by equally troubled Golden State before an expanse of empty Target Center seats, Taylor announced the team will reduce 95 percent of its season tickets for 2009-2010 -- most from between $4 to $15 a game -- if bought by July 1 and guarantee a refund of unused tickets for anyone who loses their job by Jan. 1, 2010.

Upper-level season tickets will cost as little as $5 a game. Fans can pay for any season ticket over nine months without interest. Lower-level season tickets have been cut by 11.4 percent, a differential Taylor said he hopes to cover by selling at least 11 percent more season tickets at reduced prices.

"These are very difficult economic times," said Taylor, whose team lost its seventh consecutive game and its 12th in the past 13. "We don't know what's going to happen over this next year in our country, no matter what anyone says."

McHale -- heckled by fans during a second half Tuesday when his team trailed by 30 points -- again deferred questions about his future beyond this season, which now has 22 games remaining. An NBA player, executive or coach for the past 29 years, McHale was asked if he can envision himself not being involved with the game.

"Oh, absolutely," he said, laughing. "Are you kidding me? There's a lot of stuff I want to do. I love the competition, the team element. I've been doing it since I was a 12, 13 year old kid. I long ago played for the love of the game much more than anything else and that's what it is today. That hasn't changed."

Taylor said he hasn't decided if he will hire a vice president of basketball operations to replace McHale or if he will hire a general manager with less sweeping personnel powers. He said he is evaluating how other NBA front offices are organized and said he would consider current executives Jim Stack, Fred Hoiberg and Rob Babcock as well as candidates outside the organization.

He said anyone he hires will have to agree with the franchise's plan to rebuild with young players and future draft picks. He does not expect the front office will remain as it's currently configured.

"I don't think I want to leave it as it is today," Taylor said. "I want to look both internally and externally because I think this is a really important decision for the team. I don't want to do it quickly. I want to give it as much thought as I can."

Taylor said he continues to receive calls from interested coaching candidates if McHale isn't coach next season. McHale and Taylor are expected to meet soon after the season ends April 15 to determine the future. McHale complains coaching's demands -- the travel, time away from his family, media commitments -- but also earns considerably more to coach than he did to manage the team.

"He said he'd let me know at the end of the season," Taylor said. "That's what he says every year. I expect him to be back. I have always expected him to be back, but you should ask him. I expect him to be back not because of what he says. I see how he talks to the players. I see the enthusiasm he has. I see how he cares about these guys.

"To me, that transcends into a guy who really loves his job, no matter what he says."

Taylor said he wants McHale to continue as coach because his relationship with the players, along with the team's 10-4 record in January before Al Jefferson was lost to injury for the season, convinces him he's the right guy for the job. The Wolves are 1-9 since Jefferson tore a knee ligament nearly a month ago.

"We're just talking about next year," Taylor said about McHale's coaching future.

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