Jim Souhan: 'Loser' never applied better

The defining moment in Timberwolves history arrived when one of their emblematic and unfortunate first-round draft picks, Christian Laettner, looked around the home locker room, pointed to each nameplate and said, "Loser, loser, loser, loser ..." If Laettner were a member of the Wolves organization these days, he'd wind up with carpal tunnel syndrome and a sore throat.

The Wolves' organizational futility is accurately reflected by their 4-29 record. This team isn't just bad; it's embarrassingly inept, displaying a lack of effort as well as talent.

Loser? How about the joined-at-the-frontal-lobe braintrust of Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale? Since McHale's decisions helped the Wolves attain the Western Conference finals, his teams are 113-166 despite the presence of Kevin Garnett as an elite player and then a trading chip.

Sunday, during the Wolves' 101-78 loss to Dallas at Target Center, McHale got the latest reminder of one of his worst moves, selecting Ndudi Ebi over Josh Howard, as he scored 22 points with eight rebounds while hardly breaking a sweat.

With just two simple decisions -- taking Howard and then keeping Brandon Roy instead of trading for Randy Foye -- the Wolves could have a three-headed-monster of Garnett, Howard and Roy, or Al Jefferson, Howard and Roy.

Instead, they've got Big Al and The Lilliputians, who have positioned themselves to threaten the worst record in NBA history, and yet Taylor and McHale still are running the show.

Loser? Randy Wittman has coached a couple of awful teams, but can anyone coaching a 4-29 squad be fully excused? Is any NBA team really this bad?

McHale keeps downgrading at coach, from the knowledgeable Flip Saunders, to McHale himself (who was pretty good on the sideline) to the promising Casey, to the floundering Wittman.

Loser? The Wolves made the deal they had to make because of their series of bad decisions, moving Garnett to the Celtics. The problem with that deal: They got back a bunch of Celtics.

Boston was lousy last year. This year, the players who made Boston lousy last year are wearing Wolves uniforms. As a result of the transitive property of basketball, now the Wolves are lousy.

It's been written here that the Wolves might as well lose a lot this year, to maximize their chance at the top draft pick -- but there is a difference between losing with purpose and losing all credibility.

It's been written here that a season spent developing young players can be healthy, but that assumed the Wolves would develop young players and win more than once a month, not implode.

Losers? Imagine paying for season tickets and getting stuck with a team that doesn't score and won't defend. The Wolves recently have been offering free tickets in exchange for filling out All-Star ballots, which is a sure way to keep people from filling out All-Star ballots.

Losers? After the game, Wittman kept referring to his players as dogs who need to learn to fight back when they get kicked. When you get to the point where you're calling your players dogs and they still don't play hard, you may be past the point of rallying the troops -- or saving your job.

"Loser, loser, loser, loser"? After spending a day with the Wolves at Target Center, that sounds about right.