http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ci_6577691 Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves' vice president in charge of spending Glen Taylor's money, hasn't done a lot of talking lately. But he sure opened up when we talked the other day after the news conference to introduce the five players the Wolves acquired from Boston in the Kevin Garnett trade. McHale talked at length about himself and about Al Jefferson, the power forward who was a key player in the deal. BS: You once were extremely popular in Minnesota. You're not so popular anymore. Do you ever think about saying, 'To heck with it." KM: A long, long, long, long time ago, I realized you're never as good as they say you are, and you're never as bad as they say you are. It really doesn't bother me, someone's opinion. It never has affected what I would have done. If it did, I never would have played at the University of Minnesota. People said I wasn't good enough. And, "How could he be the third pick in the draft? He'll only be an average NBA player." Unfortunately, our society is that way. It's a very negative-driven society. I will tell you, probably my biggest frustration in this job has never been anything that was said about me. It was the fact that some years we had some very, very good teams here, and they were pooh-poohed. I thought the Malik Sealy-Terrell Brandon years, we were winning about 50 games, in a Western Conference that was every bit as good as it is now. We got close in the playoffs. But you have to punch somebody in the mouth to win in the playoffs. BS: Did you try to get K.G. to be more physical? Is that an area of his game that he never gave you, and you hoped he would? KM: Kevin is such a gifted player. He rebounds like he's 8 feet tall. But he plays offense like he's 6-4. That was the game that was best suited for him. BS: Did you get frustrated, as some fans did, that K.G. was a reluctant go-to guy at the end of games? KM: Kevin is a pass-first player. Always has been. Always will be. He'll score 25,000 points in our league and be a pass-first player. Which is amazing. Most of those guys get 15, 16,000 points and have a 15-year career. He's going to have 25,000 points, or more. He's just such an instinctive player. I remember a game we played years ago. We were playing San Antonio. Kevin drove and made a little dish for the last shot to Dean Garrett, and Dean missed about a 15-footer. I remember thinking, "Oh, man, why didn't he shoot?" Then you look on film and you say, "That's the right basketball play. Dean was wide open." And Kevin just plays that way. That'd be like saying, "Doggone it, Marvin Hagler just didn't box enough." He wasn't a boxer. Marvin Hagler was a slugger. You are who you are. Kevin is a passer. That's always going to be his instinct. The most amazing thing is, if you run your entire offense to Kevin to score, he'll average 25 points a game. If you run nothing to Kevin, he'll average 22 points a game because he just plays. He's really unique. That never bothered me. I think I understood at an early age with Kevin that he's just going to move the ball on and do stuff. Are you going to say, "Joe Mauer has got to be a home run hitter?" Well, Joe Mauer is a contact hitter. You are who you are. So, I did not have that frustration level. I knew who Kevin was. BS: This past season, Jefferson had statistics similar to Garnett's at the same age (16 points and 11 rebounds for Jefferson vs. 15.8 and 9.6 for Garnett during 1997-98). Can Jefferson be the next K.G.? KM: They're completely different players. Jefferson is a low-post, bang-them, punch-them-in-the-mouth kind of guy. Kevin was always more of a finesse guy. When he came into the league, he was so slender. Al's a different type player. But, for me, I like the way he roots around in the post and stays in the paint. I like the game being played in the paint. For me, I'd take a hundred shots in the paint. I wouldn't take a jump shot the whole game. But that's just me. BS: Can Jefferson have the impact K.G. did with the Wolves? KM: I think that's an unfair comparison. One thing that is fair is if you track guys in our league who have gone from the rebounding numbers that Al has; they've never taken a huge step back. They've never, at 21 years old, averaged 11 rebounds a game and then, all of a sudden, average six. Al is a blue-collar guy that gets in the paint and likes to muck around down there. They're going to be different players. What made K.G. so unique was he really played at 6-11, like a two (shooting guard) or three (small forward). Al plays like a power forward. BS: Maybe I asked about the wrong Kevin. Can Al Jefferson be another Kevin McHale? KM: I don't know about that. He's going to be the next Al Jefferson. Again, I like the game played in the paint. I know that may sound funny if you've seen our team play over the past few years. There was a lot of jump shooting. That drove me nuts, as much as it drove anybody nuts. A lot of stuff happens with the San Antonio Spurs, but in the last five minutes of the game you throw the ball to Tim (Duncan) in the low post, and you say, "OK, big fella, we're playing inside out." Or, they give it to Manu Ginobli on a screen to drive in the paint. You need to have some guys you can go to like that down the stretch to control the game. And that's why I did like Jefferson. He's unique on to himself. He just turned 22. He's a puppy, man. He would just be a senior in college. BS: Can this Wolves team have a winning record this season or even make the playoffs? KM: I'm not trying to be evasive. I think the easy thing to say is, "Oh no, no." That's going to be dictated by how these guys play. I don't think anybody can answer that honestly. Our league now, from the 26, 27 years I've been in it, has never been so wide open. You're not talking Kareem, Worthy, Magic. With 30 teams and free agency and all that stuff, the talent level is not the same. Years ago, you used to have teams that were loaded. You had teams that had four, five and six hall of famers on a team. Now, if you have one, you're excited. It's how well you come together. Two years ago, I was laughing because everybody was like, "The Clippers found the formula." I said, "Wait a year." And it all imploded on them. The players didn't change. The year after we went to the Western Conference finals, we didn't make the playoffs. The togetherness changed. BS: Do you have the nucleus of a team that someday can make a championship run, or are there key players still missing? KM: There's a great nucleus of young guys. How that evolves is going to be all up to them. --

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