Christian Laettner

I think he’ll eventually have the credentials to back up everything he thinks of himself. — Jack McCloskey

Setting the stage

The 1991-1992 edition of the Minnesota Timberwolves remains  the worst team in the franchise’s two-decade history.  And that’s saying a lot.  The 91-92 season (the franchise’s third-ever) represented the second philosophy in the team’s history, as Bill Musselman was shown the door after two seasons for failing to focus on the development of young players.  Jimmy Rodgers, former coach of the Boston Celtics, was brought in to helm the club and develop the young players on the team, including Pooh Richardson, Doug West, Felton Spencer, Gerald Glass, and first-round draft pick Luc Longley.

Rodgers did focus more on the young players, trading Tyrone Corbin early in the season and shuffling Tony Campbell (the team’s leading scorer the first two years) to the bench midway through the season in favor of Glass.  Felton Spencer took over as the starting center for Randy Breuer.

The result of such a change in focus was a disaster in many ways.  The Wolves stumbled to a 15-67 record, fully six games worse than any other team in the league.  And they discovered that much of their young talent wasn’t as good as they previously imagined.  Point guard Richardson continued to plateau after a strong rookie campaign in 1989-90.  Glass proved to be a world-class head case.  Spencer and Longley showed they were little more than functional role players, not the impact players expected from high lottery picks.  If not for the blossoming of swingman West into a solid NBA starter, the new approach taken in 1991-92 would have been considered a complete washout from an on-the-court perspective.  But hope was rising from a different perspective.  College basketball was abuzz with what was supposed to be shaping up to be a historically strong draft class, led by LSU center Shaquille O’Neal, Georgetown center Alonzo Mourning, and Duke power forward Christian Laettner.  The Wolves also presumably bolstered their front office by hiring former Detroit Pistons general manager Jack McCloskey to run the team’s basketball operations.

The ping-pong balls fall

The 1992 NBA Draft Lottery was perhaps the most critical moment in the young franchise’s history, and it became emblematic of the team’s bad luck in the lottery and the lack of success on the court.  When the envelopes were opened, though, Wolves fans were disappointed.  Orlando (who had the second-worst record) and Charlotte (sixth-worst record) both leapfrogged the Wolves to claim the #1 and #2 picks, respectively.

On draft night, O’Neal went to Orlando followed by Mourning to Charlotte.  The Wolves went with Laettner, the consensus #3 pick.  It’s easy to forget now just how accomplished of a player that Laettner was at Duke.  Few players in the history of college basketball can claim the sort of record that Laettner racked up in his four years with the Blue Devils.

• Two-time national champion, four Final Four appearances
• Most outstanding player, 1991 Final Four
• National Player of the Year, 1992
• First team All-America, 1992
• All-time leading scorer, NCAA basketball tournament
• Second team All-America, 1991
• Member of the 1992 Gold Medal winning “Dream Team”

Not to mention the fact that Laettner and the Blue Devils handled O’Neal’s LSU Tigers with relative ease during the 1991-92 college season.  The drop from O’Neal to Laettner wasn’t supposed to be extreme.  Most folks saw Laettner as emerging into an All-Star caliber talent.

Yeah, he sometimes can be stubborn. But he has a heart somewhere…I think. – Chuck Person

Perception becomes reality

Despite his achievements, Laettner came into the league with something of a battered reputation.  It was the Laettner-era Duke teams that established the Blue Devils as perhaps the most hated team in college basketball.  Laettner’s pretty-boy looks (he was named one of Peoplemagazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 1992) were frequently derided, and he was the subject of frequent speculation about his sexual orientation and a potential relationship with teammate Brian Davis.  Laettner’s infamous stomping incident with Kentucky forward Aminu Timberlake also fed the hatred that many felt towards him.  The notion of Laettner as an arrogant whiner — some of it deserved — was cast in stone.  In a league where an aging Bill Laimbeer was on the way out, Laettner was poised to be in as the new villain — if only his play would live up to the hype.

Laettner’s on-the-court play as a rookie was widely lauded.  The rookie forward rolled up 18.2 points and 8.7 rebounds a game, landing on the All-Rookie first team behind Mourning (21 ppg and 10.3 rpg) and O’Neal (23.4 ppg and 13.9 rpg). While Laettner’s statistics were impressive, the Wolves didn’t see the comparable results in the win column.  The Wolves staggered to a 19-win total, despite the addition of veteran sharpshooter Chuck Person before the season.  Rodgers was jettisoned 29 games into the season, replaced by Sidney Lowe.  Laettner’s rookie season was relatively quiet from a personality perspective.  He was considered somewhat aloof and was sometimes hard on teammates, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Inside, though, Laettner was having difficulty accepting the losing in Minnesota and what he considered the less-than-determined attitude of some of his teammates.  Additionally, it was evident to many long-time observers of the league that Laettner’s college reputation and prickly personality were not appreciated by NBA referees, who routinely held their whistles when Laettner was being hacked in the low post.  The seeds of Laettner’s eventual downfall were being sown.

Meanwhile, Mourning’s Hornets made their first playoff appearance, losing in the second round and O’Neal’s Magic improved their win total by 20 games and narrowly missed the playoffs.

The wheels started to come off during Laettner’s sophomore campaign.  McCloskey added mercurial guard Isaiah Rider with the fifth pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, and traded Felton Spencer to the Utah Jazz for Mike Brown.  But the wins didn’t come, and Laettner’s temper started to get the better of him.  Laettner exploded on assistant coach Bob Weinhauer during a February practice, unleashing a profanity-filled tirade that earned him a one-game suspension.  Lowe was dismissed following the 20-62 season, while the Magic and Hornets combined for 91 victories.  While Laettner was demonstrating toughness on-the-court that many didn’t expect him to display, his lack of athleticism was holding him back from becoming an elite player.

Former Washington assistant Bill Blair was hired to take the reins of the team for the 1994-95 season, and the offseason acquisitions included draft pick Donyell Marshall and center Sean Rooks.  Starting point guard Micheal Williams missed the entire season with a foot injury, and the Wolves lagged again, stumbling to a 21-61 record.  Frustration boiled over for Laettner, who unleashed his most famous tirade after an early season defeat.

Loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, loser, winner (pointing to himself) – Laettner

When the time comes, that may well be the appropriate quote to end up on Laettner’s tombstone.  Laettner’s arrogance wasn’t supported by his solid (but not star-level) play on the court.  McCloskey was replaced by Kevin McHale at the end of the season, and McHale made the bold stroke of drafting high school phenom Kevin Garnett.

The entrance of Garnett, plus the success of McCloskey acquistion Tom Gugliotta signaled the end of Laettner’s place as a key cog in the Timberwolves future.  McHale signed veterans Sam Mitchell and Terry Porter to help mentor Garnett (and to limit the influence of Laettner), and midway through the 1995-96 season, Laettner was shipped to Atlanta with Rooks in exchange for the expiring contracts of Andrew Lang and Spud Webb.  What began with a bang ended with a whimper.

Journeyman

The high point of Laettner’s career came the following year, as he made his only All-Star game appearance as a member of the Hawks.  The next season, though, he would lose his place in the starting lineup to Alan Henderson.  Laettner moved on to the Pistons for the 1998-99, season but missed almost the entire season with a torn Achilles tendon.  From there, Laettner bounced to Washington and Miami before retiring at the end of the 2004-05 season.

Thanks to all who have voted!

Alas, such a concept wouldn’t work for our beloved Minnesota Timberwolves.  Having no signature achievements to point to in their 20 years of existence, it makes more sense to honor the unique non-achievements in the team’s history.

As such, All Shook Down is proud to introduce the Minnesota Timberwolves Circle of Infamy, where those who have truly made a mark over the last two decades can receive their just rewards.  Nominees for the Circle of Infamy are below.  Please vote for your favorites.  The top five vote-getters will be given further special recognition upon their induction into the Circle of Infamy.

Christian Laettner:  Laettner is emblematic of the Wolves’ lottery luck (or lack thereof).  The team finished the 1991-1992 season with the worst record in the NBA, then watched as Orlando and Charlotte leapfrogged the Wolves in the lottery, enabling those teams to take Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning, respectively.  As the third pick, Laettner never became the player his extensive college pedigree suggested he would become.  And his cocky attitude, best represented by the infamous “loser, loser, loser, winner” speech he gave in the locker room, necessitated his eventual departure half a season after Kevin Garnett was drafted.

The Draft Class of 1997 (Paul Grant and Gordon Malone):  The single-least productive two-person draft class in Wolves history, and that’s saying a lot.  Grant, a seven-footer out of Wisconsin, was hampered by recurring foot injuries.  He missed his entire rookie season and made his NBA debut half-way through the the 1998-99 season, playing in just four games before being shipped to Milwaukee as part of the Stephon Marbury trade.  Malone, meanwhile, was considered to be a friendship pick by Kevin McHale, selecting a client of his pal, NBA agent Bill Duffy.  Malone never saw any NBA action, and has been drifting through the netherworlds of minor league basketball ever since.

Ndudi Ebi:  Perhaps it’s somewhat unfair to Ebi to be on this list.  The real blame, one supposes, should lie with Kevin McHale for selecting Ebi in the first place.  But Ebi, like Grant, was a first-round pick who made no meaningful contribution to the team, playing a total of 86 minutes in 19 games over two seasons.  The sting of the Ebi pick was only compounded by the fact that Kendrick Perkins and Josh Howard were taken in subsequent picks, and Ebi was the only first-round pick the Wolves had during the Joe Smith sanctions.

Foreign White Guy Three Point Shooters (Shane Heal and Igor Rakocevic):  Target Center crowds have been captivated at two points over the last two decades with spunky but otherwise irrelevant three-point shooters.  Aussie Shane Heal spent the 1996-97 season with the club, flashing his Zack Morris hair and a knack for shooting the long ball.  Making it was another story, as Heal only converted on 30% of his threes (and 27% overall from the field).  In 2002-03, the Wolves were treated to the basketball stylings of Igor Rakocevic.  Rakocevic made 41% of his threes, but was largely a bench-rider and trudged back to Europe at the end of the season, where he has legitimately become one of the better guards on the continent.

Kevin McHale:  The Hibbing native and Celtic legend has sullied his reputation with the locals based on a record of disastrous personnel moves.  If I need to list them all here, you haven’t been paying close attention.

 Randy Wittman:  Wittman has long ties to the organization, joining in 1994 as an assistant coach to Bill Blair.  After five years with the Wolves, Wittman got a shot a being a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Two years and 62 wins later, Wittman was back on Flip Saunders’ staff, departing after the 2004-05 season for a one-year stint with the Orlando Magic.  One year later, Wittman was back with the Wolves as unofficial coach-in-waiting to Dwane Casey.  Forty games into the 2006-07 season, with the Wolves at 20-20 and in 8th place in the Western Conference standings, Casey was fired and Wittman promoted.  Wittman’s Wolves proceeded to lose 30 of the next 42 games and missed the playoffs by 10 games.  Following the KG trade, Wittman guided the Wolves to a 27-85 record before being put out of his misery early in the 2008-09 season.

Eddie Griffin:  Griffin was a troubled soul, dealing with drug and alcohol addiction his entire career (culminating in his death in 2007).  Perhaps the most notable event in Griffin’s three years with the team was the SUV crash he got in 2006, where he allegedly hit a parked car while masturbating to a porn movie playing on the SUV’s in-dash DVD player.

Isaiah “J.R.” Rider:  Rider was another Wolves player withan “interesting” personality.  One of the most talented players ever to wear the Wolves uniform, Rider stormed into the league in the 1993-94 season, racking up a berth on the All-Rookie first team and winning the Slam Dunk Contest with his infamous between-the-legs “East Bay Funk” dunk.  Off the court, though, Rider racked up an impressive list of transgressions, including kicking a female manager of a Mall of America sports bar, marijuana possession and using an illegal cell phone.  After three seasons, Rider was shipped to Portland for Bill Curley and James “Hollywood” Robinson.

Rashad McCants:  McCants, in many ways, was a lesser version of Rider.  Fewer run-ins withthe law (good thing),  and less talent (not so good).  The less talent piece of the equation made his surly and distant attitude difficult to deal with.  On the court, McCants was up-and-down, frequently looking disinterested and was not considered a good team player.  After three-and-one-half seasons of mediocre play, McCants was traded to Sacramento for Shelden Williams and Bobby Brown.  The emergence of Danny Granger (taken after McCants in the 2004 draft) as  an All-Star talent also did not endear McCants to the Wolves fans.

William Avery:  Avery, along with Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, were among the first notable players from Duke to leave early for the draft.  The Wolves selected Avery with the 14th pick in 1999, becoming the last of four Dukies taken in the first round.  Avery washed out of the league following his three year rookie deal with the Wolves, and based on the results, it’s not difficult to see why.  Avery played just 142 games in those three seasons, averaging 2.7 points per game and shooting 33% for his career.  Avery is now playing for his tenth European team in seven years overseas.

Vote Now!

Voting has closed.  Thanks to all of you who voted.  Results will be released shortly.