Wolves: McHale takes blame but doesn't excuse play

A day after the team he reconstructed trailed Dallas by 31 points at home and lost for the 29th time in 33 games, Kevin McHale on Monday acknowledged he assembled too much youth but said the way his players have conceded defeat is unacceptable.

"We have guys getting beat down and losing their competitive edge," said McHale, Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations. "You can't do that. You can do a lot of stuff, but you cannot not compete. I understand why it happens; it's human nature. You have to fight through tough times, and we're going through tough times."

McHale traded away veteran superstar Kevin Garnett last summer and assembled a team with nine of 15 players age 25 or younger.

It's a youth movement that has produced half the number of victories as the NBA team -- Miami, which brings its 8-26 record to Target Center tonight -- with the next fewest victories.

Fifteen of the Wolves' 29 losses have been by more than 10 points, including five in their current eight-game losing streak.

"You knew there would be a few fluctuations," McHale said.

He said the Wolves should have won more games -- "You win four more games and all of a sudden, you're tied with Seattle," he said, forgetting one of the Sonics' nine victories -- but also said winning now is not the foremost priority.

"This is a process, and you knew it was going to be a process," said McHale, whose team has lost a lead after three quarters eight times. "I didn't have any expectations as to wins and losses. Wins and losses are not as important to me as defining roles and identifying a group of four or five players we can move forward with. Those are decisions this franchise has to make: Who do we move forward with and what level [financially] are we willing to do to keep everything in place? At times within the process, it's frustrating."

McHale called the Wolves' performance Sunday against Dallas "terrible." He also said he will judge this season by personal improvement he sees from players.

"It's professional basketball, it's not a church league," said McHale, whose teams have advanced past the playoffs' first round once in his 13 seasons as the franchise's basketball decision-maker. "You have to win some games. We have to develop our guys and get to the point where they are better basketball players weekly. Unfortunately, right now, I would say some guys have regressed, some have moved forward. Right now, I'd say the jury is out with a lot of guys."

McHale also said he is confident coach Randy Wittman hasn't lost his players' attention.

"I think they're fine; today they had a good practice," McHale said. "He's frustrated after the game, he's great the next day. I tell you, I couldn't be happier with how he's handling the team the next day."

He learned Monday that second-year guard Randy Foye, whom McHale referred to as the team's second offensive "prong," was cleared to return to practice for the first time since October.

"He won't be ready for a while," McHale said. "Since we're struggling, the desire to put him out there before he's ready is always strong. You can't do that. It's not fair to him."

McHale questioned his team's competitive edge but not its "competitive spirit."

"I can tell you that a veteran group going through this would not have the same resilience," he said. "A veteran group, they'd all be like, 'Get me out of there.' These guys are like, 'How do I get better?' Sometimes the youth is a positive. It is as good a group as I've had since I've been here. You put what has been happening with some other groups and it would have been an implosion of epic proportions. These guys are still trying, still working. The character is there."