By Adam Winegarden

As a player be was best known for his “slippery eel” move to the hoop. As a GM he has become known for another slippery move, the signing of Joe Smith to an illegal contract. He is Kevin Mchale. And he doesn’t get enough respect.

Mchale’s recent acquisition of PG Sam Cassell has caused many casual NBA fans to sit up and notice. The trade with Milwaukee, obviously in the Timberwolves favor due to financial reasons, has brought a new notoriety to Mchale, the GM. Finally some attention is being cast Minnesota’s way, and hopefully this new light can uncover some of the more positive moves Mchale has made during his tenure as the team’s GM.

Few of today’s younger fans remember the horrid Timberwolves teams of the franchises first years. After an NBA record setting run of four consecutive seasons of 60 or more losses, Minnesota was in need of a savior. In steps Mchale, in his very first move he changed the face of the franchise. With the 5th overall pick in the 1995 Draft he selected Kevin Garnett. Mchale, today often criticized for not taking chances, took a huge chance in selecting a high school player in the draft lottery. Garnett has become the most visible Minnesota Timber wolf and one of the best players in the entire NBA.

In December of 1995, Mchale took another chance by replacing head coach Bill Blair with Phil “Flip” Saunders. Saunders had never before been a head coach in the NBA. Saunders has helped lead Minnesota to its best seasons and is widely considered one of the most inventive and successful coaches in the NBA. Saunders has even been courted by other NBA teams, teams willing to give Minnesota compensation to steal Saunders away. Under Saunders, Minnesota has advanced to the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons.

With these two pieces of the championship puzzle, Minnesota reached heights previously unheard of. Mchale continued to add pieces to this puzzle, Stephon Marbury, Tom Gugliotta, and then Joe Smith.

The illegal signing of Joe Smith and the punishment imposed by the NBA was supposed to cripple Minnesota. Without the infusion of cheaply paid draft picks the team wouldn’t be able to continue to improve. This however, has not been the case. In each of the past 3 seasons since the punishments were handed out, the Timberwolves have reached the playoffs. In 2000-2001, they made it into the Western Conference playoffs as the eighth seed. In 2001-2002 as the fifth seed and last season Minnesota gained home court advantage as the fourth seed for the first time in franchise history.

To accomplish such success without the infusion of young talent, Mchale has repeatedly been forced to find diamonds hidden in the rough of the NBA free agent landscape. Players like Malik Sealy, Laphonso Ellis, Rod Strickland, Kendall Gill and Troy Hudson have given the Timberwolves unexpected success. By finding valuable pieces in players considered too old, too injured and too inconsistent Mchale has proven time and time again that despite public sentiment, he is an impressive evaluator of talent. Mchale has found players that fit within the system of the Timberwolves, and through that system installed and run by Saunders, Minnesota has maximized its production.

The Milwaukee-Minnesota deal caught much of the NBA world by surprise. However, given Mchale’s track record, Minnesota’s continued success at finding the right pieces shouldn’t be such a surprise.