Would you rather: Celtics or Wolves?
COMMENTARY
Here it is, guys. Let me know if there are any questions.
Would You Rather: Celtics or Wolves?
I’ve always been a fan of the hypothetical “Would You Rather’’ game — you know, the art of throwing out monumentally stupid questions like: Would you rather have your eyes on the side of your head like ears, or your mouth stuck to your stomach like a belly button?
Would you rather drive cross-country while squished in the back of a pick up truck between Pablo Sandoval and Vince Wilfork, or sit shotgun by yourself next to Phil Simms?
Would you rather never have sex again or legally change your name to Adolph Hitler?
We can go on but for the sake of time let’s narrow it down to one specific Would You Rather that popped upon Monday after the Celtics’ 124-122 loss in Minnesota.
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For a little background this was Boston’s second loss in three games since the All Star Break and it highlighted a few issues. For one, the Celtics really miss Kelly Olynyk. Without a ManBun to spread the floor and keep the opposing defense honest, that defense is more focused and composed. That makes it easier to keep tabs on Isaiah Thomas. Is it a coincidence that Isaiah’s -33 and 15/39 from the field in the two losses since Olynyk went down? Sure, it could be. Maybe he’s just tired, or in a slump, but it’s something to watch. Same goes for Boston’s defense, which used to be their calling card, but not lately. The Celtics have given up 114 points a game over their last seven, and while that has something to do with pace, and they’ve still scored 116 a night themselves, you can’t win in the playoffs with this kind of basketball. Boston needs to buckle down and get stops, and that’s one thing they can’t blame on Olynyk’s absence.
Just in general, post-All Star life has been frustrating for the Celtics, but never more than Monday in Minnesota. It’s not that they blew a winnable game, even though they did. They were 4.5-point favorites. The Wolves came in with only two more wins than Brooklyn. This was the kind of game Boston is supposed to win, and the kind of game they’ll have to win moving forward to secure home court. But for all the disappointment, here’s the worst of it: The Celtics lost that game on talent.
They might have the better team, but the young Wolves have better players.
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So, here’s the game: If you could only pick one roster to build around moving forward, Would You Rather have the Celtics or the Wolves?
Which team gives you the best chance to win a championship?
That’s the question, and if you’re still thinking just stop because there’s nothing to think about.
The answer is Minnesota.
It’s definitely Minnesota.
Their top 3 scorers are all younger than Marcus Smart and two of them are significantly better with higher ceilings. At this point it will be a shock if Andrew Wiggins doesn’t someday average 30 points a game. It will be a shock if Karl Anthony Towns doesn’t evolve into the most complete center in basketball. Danny Ainge would kill to land just one guy of that caliber with these three Nets picks, and Minnesota already has two of them. They also have 20-year-old Zach Lavine, whose actual potential is hard to judge because his athleticism is that rare. With Lavine, Towns and Wiggins, plus 26-year-olds Ricky Rubio and Gorgui Dieng, the Wolves might pack the most imposing arsenal of young talent since the early years of Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka in OKC.
If given that choice you’d take the Timberwolves roster (with at least two future stars) over the Celtics and their balanced bargains and draft picks every time. In a vacuum, the Timberwolves are a rebuilder’s dream.
But here’s reality in the form of another question:
Who will win a championship first, the Celtics or the Wolves?
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Unfortunately for Minnesota, this one’s just as easy. You’d be crazy to pick against the Celtics here and you can start at the top with ownership. It always begins with ownership. The owner might not make every decision. He might not even hire the guy who makes every decision. But at some level you better believe he hired the guy who hired the guy. He sets the tone.
With that I won’t say that Wyc Grousbeck is the best owner in the NBA because it’s very subjective, but at the same time you can’t name an owner that’s objectively better. You can’t pinpoint a single aspect of Grousbeck’s existence that fails to place Danny Ainge in the best position to succeed. Over 13+ years, Grousbeck’s shown a willingness to pay the luxury tax and stay out of the way, and what more can you ask for?
Well, maybe for an owner that isn’t a horrible person that (like some in this league) profits from fracking or rallies against gay rights or just plain doesn’t like black people — and fortunately Grousbeck doesn’t appear to fall into any of those categories. He represents the Celtics well. He’s an owner that Boston can be proud of. He sets a classy example that reverberates through the organization and manifests itself into the kind of infrastructure that allowed a superstar like Kevin Garnett — who was initially wary of Boston — to almost instantly fall in love with his surroundings.
Of course in Garnett’s case, the love for everything Boston was at least somewhat a product of how disillusioned he’d become with everything Minnesota — specifically with owner Glen Taylor. Let’s be honest: Taylor is a mess. In this, Minnesota’s 27th year as an NBA franchise (and Taylor’s 22th season of ownership) the Wolves have still only advanced passed the first round once. Taylor has only paid the luxury tax once. He also hired David Kahn, and let him run the team into the ground for four seasons. He was also part of the brain trust that fired Dwane Casey for Randy Wittman and Wittman for Kurt Rambis. Oh, and Taylor once cost his team four first rounds picks and was suspended for a year after cutting a secret under the table deal with a slightly above average power forward.
And really, the respective ownership aura trickles down the food chain of these organizations. Under Grousbeck (eventually) there’s Danny Ainge, who’s been on the job for 13+ years and over time has built a small circle of trust that rivals any in the league. When Ainge brought on Brad Stevens, he gave the coach six years before he probably deserved it, just so Stevens would feel the same level of investment and security that Ainge has benefited from. Three years later and the Ainge/Stevens combo is one of the most cogent coach/GM relationships in the league. They have a system. They have a program. Everyone is on the same page.
On that note, can you imagine a parallel universe where Brad Stevens spends this and the next four seasons coaching this Wolves core?
No of course you can’t, because Taylor’s Wolves would never try anything so innovative. That’s not how his franchise works and that in large part is why the franchise has never worked. Even this past offseason, after Flip Saunders tragically passed away, and with this super young team in need of stability, Taylor promoted GM Mitt Newton but then wouldn’t guarantee him more than a year on the job. He gave newly promoted head coach Sam Mitchell the same weak vote of confidence, basically: “I’ll give you a season to prove what you can do, and we’ll go from there,’’
Two-thirds of the way through, and despite Sunday’s win the Wolves still have the fifth worst record in basketball. That probably doesn’t bode well for the coach or the GM, especially when both those jobs, with this roster, will be highly coveted. Taylor probably figures he’ll have coaches and executives knocking down his door. That means more changes, and more turmoil for his young core, and more chances for Taylor to make bad decisions that leave this franchise in the hands of the wrong people. It doesn’t have to happen, and it’s a shame if it does happen, but history suggests that it will and I wouldn’t bet against it.
So, which roster would I rather build around as GM?
Wolves every time.
Which team would I rather invest in as a fan?
Celtics every time.
Eyes for ears, or a mouth for a belly button?
Come on, that’s ridiculous.
Belly button mouth for life.
Meet the 2015 Boston Celtics
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