"Manna from Heaven"

That is what Minnesota Timberwolves' president of basketball operations called Serbian center Darko Milicic on Wednesday night during an in-game interview with Chris Webber and Matt Winer at the 2:35 mark of the video below. Kahn then goes on to say that he has "never seen a big man pass like him (Milicic). He really does pass like Vlade (Divac)." Much to Webber's dismay, Kahn goes on to say that Darko's maturation and career is reminiscent of Webber's own career (3:52).

Webber's response to this statement was classic, "We are not talking about me and Darko Milicic in the same sentence." Not only was Divac one of the better passing centers of all time, but Darko turns the ball over as much as he logs assists. And Webber averaged 17 pts, 9 rebs and 4 assists a game from day one in the league compared to Milicic's 1.4 pts and 1.3 rebs his rookie year. The comparison was ridiculous, and I'm glad C-Webb kept it real.

This brings up a good question, is there anyway David Kahn should be in a decision-making position for an NBA team? This exchange typefies the incompetence Kahn has displayed over his two years in Minneapolis.

Darko Milicic's 4-year $20 million deal is one of the latest of the series of illogical moves Kahn has saddled Minnesota and their fans with. The only people that should see Darko as "Manna from heaven" are the guys who write the FreeDarko blog (http://www.freedarko.com). Other than that, Darko has been more like mold from the underworld for the teams that have employed him over his 7-year career.

What has Darko done for the Wolves to reward Darko so handsomely? The answer is nothing. Last year, in 24 games (starting 18!), Darko averaged 8.3 pts 5.6 rebs and 1.4 blks per game. Not terrible numbers for a backup, but as a starter these are below average. To think that Kurt Rambis started him over Kevin Love is ludicrous. Love average 14 pts and 11 rebounds a game but Milicic got the nod because of his passing and defensive chemistry with Al Jefferson.

Kahn's other moves this year, so far, have been:

1. Signing 30 year-old backup point guard Luke Ridnour to a 4-year $16 million deal to be a 3rd point guard until they find someone to take Ramon Sessions off their books.
2. Trading a top-five in the league low post scorer, Al Jefferson, who was the Wolves best player since stepping in the arena in 2007. You would think the Wolves could net an impact player for big Al, but instead they got two protected future first round picks from the Jazz, Kousta Koufos (a stiff), and cap space. David Kahn says this is the best they could have gotten for Al. However, the two picks will be late first round picks since this trade will make Utah a perennial high-seeded playoff team.
3. Kahn also traded for Michael Beasley to further confuse Kevin Love about what his role will be on this team in the future. Who will get the minutes at PF? It doesn't seem like Kahn cares about rotations, he just stockpiles young point guards, small forwards, and power forwards instead of allowing them to develop.

The past two years have been an embarrassment to the NBA. How someone as clueless as David Kahn got hired as president of basketball operations is appalling. He doesn't even know who his best player is and isn't ashamed to admit it! The team traded away its only identifiable player, and wants to run an uptempo offense with a coach who wants to slow it down and run the triangle. Glen Taylor, the Wolves' owner, needs to come to his senses and fire Kahn. The city of Minneapolis deserves better, and the league deserves better. This summer the Wolves had cap space to make efforts to sign impact players and they didn't, they also had the ability to pick an impact player with the 4th-pick. Thus far, it is looking like Demarcus Cousins will be vying for rookie of the year, while the Wolves rookie Wesley Johnson will be fighting for minutes with the likes of Corey Brewer and Martell Webster.

Jobs like this are so sought after, I just can't believe Kahn still has his.