It was an exciting offseason for Wolves fans. We dispatched some fat in Wes Johnson, Michael Beasley and Wayne Ellington. We coaxed bum-kneed Brandon Roy from his pension couch; we brought in experience and athleticism in Andrei Kirilenko and Chase Budinger. But by the time we drafted the particularly pasty Robbie Hummel and moved for, in all their vanilla glory, Alexy Shved, Greg Stiemsma and Lou Amundson, fans commenced a hushed chorus of "Wait a minute ... "
What resulted was a 15-man Wolves roster containing just five black players, making your 2012-13 Wolves the whitest, most up-and-underiest NBA team since the 1980s Boston Celtics. Largely, however, this white elephant in the room was ignored until the Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda and Dennis Brackin wrote an Oct. 28 story on the matter, one with quotes from confused forward Dante Cunningham, concerned Twin Cities black leaders and a dismissive David Kahn, the Wolves' president of basketball operations (Vita.mn is published by the Star Tribune).
In the article, Tyrone Terrell, chairman of St. Paul's African-American leadership council, opines that Kahn designed the roster as a ploy to get white Minnesotans back in the stands.
"I think everything is a strategy," Terrell told the Strib. "Nothing happens by happenstance." Kahn denied these claims, saying the moves were strictly basketball-driven, asking what would have been the reaction if they had landed Nicolas Batum or Jordan Hill, two black players the Wolves tried and failed to nab in the offseason.
It's hard to rebuff either assertion. Though in August you half-expected to read that Mark Madsen was coming out of retirement, anyone who knows how to spell basketball could tell you the Wolves -- at least with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio -- are fielding their best roster since the Garnett Era.
So what's an eager, not-racist Wolves fan to do?
Terrell's question is pertinent and astute. If it can be proven that Kahn meticulously whitewashed our team to dupe rural fans into subconsciously finding it more relatable, we'll have to ask for his badge. Until that happens, though, we'll have to concentrate on what we do have: our first playoff-caliber team in years.
