Glen Taylor wasn't breathing fire Monday, but he wasn't bubbly, either. A day after the Timberwolves slammed into a first-round wall for a sixth consecutive postseason, the Wolves owner eagerly talked about how to improve his team without tearing it apart. And he was ready to hold members of his team's front office to a higher standard.
But give Taylor credit. He still could crack wise about the Wolves' prospects for future success.
Asked if he might petition the NBA to move the Wolves to the Eastern Conference -- Charlotte, after all, is headed to New Orleans and would have natural rivals in Memphis and three Texas teams -- Taylor said: "I wish that would come through. But by the time it would, then the East would be the tougher side."
So that's not the Wolves' answer? "Shaq retiring is a better answer," Taylor said.
Don't mistake the humor for complacency, though. Taylor, 61, left Target Center quickly after the Wolves were eliminated Sunday, 115-102, by the Dallas Mavericks. He made a similarly hasty exit from American Airlines Center in Dallas after Game 1.
With Taylor's blessing, the Wolves' payroll is the NBA's 10th-highest. His chief basketball executive, Kevin McHale, and coach, Flip Saunders, have unrivaled job security, lucrative long-term contracts or both. Yet the team never has advanced to the second round and, at 5-18 in games and 0-6 in series, has the worst playoff record in NBA history.
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It is all over for the Wolves, the fat lady has sung and now it is time to pick and complain about ever little last feature of every players game.
That is right it is the Star Tribune 2001-2002 players review, read on to see how this years pack of Wolves faired in their eyes.
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How confident were the Dallas Mavs that they would end their playoff series against the Timberwolves with a victory Sunday at Target Center?
Before the game, the Mavs, who had they lost would have had to play Game 4 today at Target Center, checked out of their Minneapolis hotel.
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Timberwolves Apr 2002 Archive
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| Apr 29, 2002
He walked quickly off the Target Center floor, a white towel clutched tightly in his right hand.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 29, 2002
MINNEAPOLIS – Flip Saunders knew the question was coming.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 29, 2002
MINNEAPOLIS – When it wasn't Dirk Nowitzki, it was Michael Finley.
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Star Telegram | Apr 29, 2002
MINNEAPOLIS - Just in case they had the wherewithal to put the Minnesota Timberwolves out of their misery, the Mavericks checked out of their Minneapolis hotel before Sunday's playoff game at the Target Center.
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Star Tribune | Apr 29, 2002
Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 of his 39 points before halftime and lent his hot hand to Michael Finley in the second half Sunday, helping the Mavericks hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves and finish a three-game sweep with a 115-102 victory.
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| Apr 29, 2002
You love Sam Smith.
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| Apr 29, 2002
Wolves coach Flip Saunders had to be physically restrained by a pair of his assistants when his argument with referee Bill Spooner in the second quarter erupted into a full-blown confrontation.
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| Apr 29, 2002
What a show! I sure wish we could swap franchises with Dallas.
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StarTribune | Apr 29, 2002
It happened so quickly, Wally Szczerbiak didn't think he was in trouble.
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Star Tribune | Apr 29, 2002
There was an elephant in the room, but no one was asking or talking about it for several long minutes after the Timberwolves' postseason-ending 115-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon at Target Center.
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| Apr 28, 2002
To use a Kevin McHale-ism, they won't light a stick of dynamite.
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| Apr 28, 2002
As Charlie Walters of the Pioneer Press reports Dallas All-Star guard Steve Nash’s career could have at least started out with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and if it had who knows what things would be like today.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 28, 2002
They've watched the videotape.
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| Apr 27, 2002
Remember all the pre-series discussion about how the Timberwolves' matchup zone might throw a wrench in the Dallas Mavericks' run-and-gun offense?
The Wolves used their zone all of three times in the Game 2 loss in Dallas.
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| Apr 27, 2002
Dennis Green demonstrated in his decade with the Vikings that he had a limited talent for evaluating defensive players.
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| Apr 27, 2002
Wolves center Rasho Nesterovic reacted to the question like he just won the lottery.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 26, 2002
You would think a 2-0 series lead, some praise from one of the best to play the game and three days of rest and relaxation would give the Mavericks reason to pause and appreciate what they have accomplished.
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| Apr 26, 2002
Most NBA teams might, at least privately, feel comfortable with a 2-0 cushion in a best-of-five playoff series.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 26, 2002
As he walked off the floor during a timeout with 4:51 to play, Kevin Garnett's head was cocked toward the Dallas Mavericks' bench.
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| Apr 26, 2002
The Pioneer Press is reporting that All-Star guard Wally Szczerbiak is likely to be traded this offseason, according to people in the know.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 25, 2002
Minnesota never led by more than two in Wednesday's 122-110 loss at American Airlines Center, and they could not keep the Mavericks from the runs that make them such a dangerous team.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 25, 2002
In this series, it's a fairly simple equation, and no amount of interior inferiority or Chauncey Billups is going to change it.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 25, 2002
As the longest-tenured Maverick, Michael Finley is well aware of his team's history.
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Star Telegram | Apr 25, 2002
With shots falling from all corners of the court, the Mavericks did everything but clean the American Airlines Center floor with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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| Apr 25, 2002
Only once before in their playoff history had the Timberwolves scored more than 100 points in a game.
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| Apr 25, 2002
One stabs with finesse, the other with fire.
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Star Tribune | Apr 25, 2002
When Dallas' Don Nelson abruptly took over as Milwaukee Bucks head coach 18 games into the 1976-77 season, he was promoted one spot from his post as Larry Costello's assistant.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 24, 2002
The Mavericks were outrebounded decidedly, outscored on the fast break and outscored in the paint in Game 1 against Minnesota.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 24, 2002
Two minutes into the second quarter, the Mavs had settled into their "it's early and who cares if we fall behind" mode.
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Star Tribune | Apr 24, 2002
Nowitzki and Garnett are two of the NBA's new generation of 7-footers - a small group of big players (throw San Antonio's Tim Duncan in there) with a center's size and a guard's skill.
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| Apr 24, 2002
Elimination? Nope, not yet.
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| Apr 24, 2002
In the history of driveways and playgrounds, no kid ever daydreamed about being the guy, with time running out in the big game, who stands and watches a teammate take the winning shot.
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| Apr 24, 2002
Your name is Glen Taylor.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 24, 2002
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders called tonight's Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks "crucial.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 23, 2002
"I like to scrap and get in there and hit somebody, get hit, whatever," Najera says, grinning, still.
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Star Tribune | Apr 23, 2002
By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS - Playing defense used to be a foreign part of the game for the Mavericks.
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| Apr 23, 2002
Flip Saunders isn't the first coach to fall madly in love with Anthony Peeler's game.
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| Apr 23, 2002
Mark Cuban, the Internet billionaire who owns the Dallas Mavericks but apparently cannot afford a comb, was hanging around the arena for both teams' practices Monday.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 23, 2002
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders listened to Magic Johnson's analysis on television Sunday night, and he couldn't help but agree.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 23, 2002
As anyone who has watched "It's A Wonderful Life" can tell you, one life can impact many others.
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Star Tribune | Apr 23, 2002
Steve Woelfel appears cool and calm as he sits on the couch in his downtown Minneapolis office fielding questions about Fox Sports Net North.
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| Apr 22, 2002
Ordinarily, it's tough to criticize a player who gives you 19 points, 21 rebounds, six assists and, while he's at it, blocks a couple of shots and gets a steal.
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| Apr 22, 2002
Kevin Garnett glanced up, hesitated, then shrugged.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 22, 2002
Minnesota coach Flip Saunders faces a personnel decision for the remainder of the first-round playoff series against the Mavericks.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 22, 2002
Secret priority No.
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 22, 2002
They had a simple case of first-game jitters.
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Star Telegram | Apr 22, 2002
By ART GARCIA
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS - After the Mavericks polished off Minnesota 101-94 on Sunday afternoon, coach Don Nelson made sure to find his biggest playoff rookie and offer a few congratulatory words.
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Star Telegram | Apr 22, 2002
By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS - The first game of the Mavericks' Quest To Win The West went off Sunday afternoon with a few hitches.
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| Apr 22, 2002
Their team is as deep as any going around, yet for some of their talent it was a matter of firsts.
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| Apr 21, 2002
"Your best player dictates your (team's) personality.
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| Apr 21, 2002
Shhhhhh! These are the NBA playoffs, where every possession is sacred, defense gets the salaams, coaches long for PlayStation control of their athletes and the only venues serious enough for the games should be laboratories, cathedrals or the greens of Augusta National.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 21, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 20, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 20, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 20, 2002
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| Apr 20, 2002
The Timberwolves say it isn't a factor, that if they take the playoffs one game at a time, their season finally will stretch past the first round of the playoffs.
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| Apr 19, 2002
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders did not mince words Monday night.
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| Apr 19, 2002
The Timberwolves' first-round playoff opponent wasn't known until about 11 p.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 19, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 19, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 19, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 19, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 19, 2002
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Star Telegram | Apr 19, 2002
They will need to maintain that sharpness to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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The Rocky Mountain News | Apr 18, 2002
Kyle Ringo sums up Kiki Vandeweghe's offseason in this paragraph:
"He must hire a coach, draft three players, sign free agents and restore Denver to respectability in time to keep McDyess from bolting for greener pastures.
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The Rocky Mountain News | Apr 17, 2002
Notes and probable starting line-ups for Denver's final regular season game.
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| Apr 15, 2002
They've secured the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the best they have ever finished.
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Star Tribune | Apr 15, 2002
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| Apr 14, 2002
He sat between the Timberwolves' two active point guards before Thursday's game, joking and encouraging and watching film.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 14, 2002
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CNNSI | Apr 14, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 13, 2002
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| Apr 12, 2002
Timberwolves point guard Terrell Brandon rejoined the team in street clothes Thursday.
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| Apr 12, 2002
The heritage always was implicit in the nickname.
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Star Tribune | Apr 12, 2002
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Dallas Morning News | Apr 11, 2002
Kevin Blackistone writes for the Dallas Morning News that the Dallas Mavericks are answering the charge that 'white men can't hoop.
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| Apr 11, 2002
Several former Minneapolis Lakers stars and their coach will be honored tonight before the Los Angeles Lakers game with the Timberwolves.
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Star Tribune | Apr 11, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 11, 2002
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| Apr 10, 2002
Just when the Timberwolves wanted to start playing forward Marc Jackson more, they couldn't.
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Associated Press | Apr 10, 2002
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| Apr 9, 2002
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| Apr 9, 2002
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| Apr 9, 2002
Marc Jackson spent the first four months of the 2001-02 NBA season mostly sitting on the Golden State Warriors' bench.
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CNNSI | Apr 9, 2002
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| Apr 8, 2002
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| Apr 8, 2002
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| Apr 8, 2002
With less than 10 seconds left in Saturday night's game, Joe Smith had one thing on his mind: "I did not want to let him score.
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| Apr 7, 2002
Because Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett is asked to do so many things — score, assist, rebound, lead —coach Flip Saunders said recently it would be difficult for him to lead the NBA in rebounding.
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Star Tribune | Apr 7, 2002
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The Sporting News | Apr 7, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 7, 2002
Same spot.
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Pioneer Press | Apr 7, 2002
Same spot.
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| Apr 6, 2002
When put in a last-second, go-to, pressure situation, Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett says you have to "pretty much go with your instinct.
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The Denver Post | Apr 5, 2002
Marc Spears writes about Chauncey Billups and the trade that sent him away from Denver.
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The Rocky Mountain News | Apr 5, 2002
The Denver Nuggets have now won 5 of their last 8 games.
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| Apr 5, 2002
Prior to Minnesota's 88-87 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, coach Flip Saunders agreed with forward Kevin Garnett's assessment that the Timberwolves must concentrate on execution in preparing for the playoffs.
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Star Tribune | Apr 5, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 5, 2002
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The Denver Post | Apr 4, 2002
The Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Denver Nuggets at 7 pm tonight in the Pepsi Center.
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Star Tribune | Apr 4, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 4, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 3, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 3, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 2, 2002
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Star Tribune | Apr 2, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 1, 2002
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Pioneer Press | Apr 1, 2002
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