http://www.startribune.com/150/story/958438.html The Timberwolves could defend their decision to fire coach Dwane Casey if he were allowed to execute one final act as a Wolves employee: help Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor pack. McHale will need help gathering the tools of his trade as an NBA executive -- the calculator that exponentially inflated the value of the likes of Michael Olowokandi, Troy Hudson and Eddie Griffin; the magnifying glass that helped him discern the talents of Mike James and Marcus Banks; the appointment calendar with the summer months missing. Taylor will require assistance assembling his Kevin McHale posters, his Kevin McHale throwback jerseys, and the decoder ring that was to keep the illicit Joe Smith deal forever secret. Casey's first year as an NBA head coach was unimpressive, and it ended with him chuckling over Mark Madsen firing three-pointers in an embarrassing game the Wolves threw to improve their draft status. During the portion of the second season he was allowed to coach, Casey looked more capable, and he was more determined to run the team his way, even if that meant benching the mercurial Ricky Davis and Hudson or banishing Griffin. Casey was a work in progress who was fired because the average team he had been given faltered whenever McHale thought the Wolves should be ascending the standings. Fine. Firing Casey might not be fair, but these jobs have little relationship with fairness. Casey was given a chance to be an NBA head coach and he was paid well. Designating Casey as the one Wolves employee responsible for their continuing mediocrity, though, is the latest myopic move from Taylor and McHale. If Casey is to leave, he should be the third person out the door. McHale has maneuvered the Wolves into no-man's land. With Garnett, they'll never be lousy enough to rebuild with high draft picks, and how could I even write that sentence, since McHale gives away first-round draft picks the way restaurants dole out after-dinner mints? Take the Szczerbiak trade. McHale dealt his most valuable chip (Wally), an expiring contract (Olowokandi) and another first-round pick to Boston for Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Banks and Justin Reed. Blount has turned into a fine player. Davis is what we thought he was -- a dynamic talent who can't be trusted. Banks, McHale's point guard of the future, was a bust here, and now is a bust for Phoenix. Reed is a bit player. McHale's determination to quickly assemble a winner around Garnett has led him to more mistakes than can be listed in a single newspaper, which, if you have any regard for management structure, means the Wolves' mess is not solely his fault. In fact, he's no longer even first in line for taking blame. That honor now belongs to Taylor, the genial but obtuse owner. Taylor has allowed McHale, perhaps one of the three worst sports executives in the nation, to fire two coaches in three seasons. McHale has done so during seasons hamstrung by players who he chose -- Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell under Flip Saunders, and James, Davis and Griffin under Casey. That McHale never has paid for his mistakes means that Taylor has now ascended the Wolves' throne of culpability. McHale's bumbling has become rewarded behavior. Blinded by McHale's once-winning personality and on-court greatness, Taylor unconditionally handed him the reins, without demanding of McHale what he would demand of any other highly ranked employee in any of his ventures -- around-the-calendar diligence and accountability. Casey should regard the firing as a reprieve. No longer will he shoulder blame for the incessant mistakes made by McHale and his unconditional friend Taylor. --

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