MINNEAPOLIS — Glen Taylor has completed step one for reshaping his Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even though David Kahn is now in place as the chief decision maker on the basketball side of Taylor’s most high-profile company, the owner knows there are still many questions to be answered as the Timberwolves continue their rebuilding plan.
One thing Taylor made abundantly clear when he introduced Kahn on Friday as the president of basketball operations — decisions on the future of coach Kevin McHale and the rest of the front office will be made solely by Kahn.
The former Indiana Pacers executive said he will meet with McHale next week to begin talks about his future with the team. The two don’t know each other very well and Kahn said no decision has been made.
If Kahn wants McHale to stay, McHale must also decide if he wants to continue.
“It would be very easy for me to sit here today and say, ‘You know what, I’m going to fire Kevin,’ ” Kahn said. “That would show all of you out here that I have the authority, which I do, to do what I want to do.
“I won’t make decisions, though, to do what’s in my best interests. I’m interested solely in making decisions that are in the best interest of the Minnesota Timberwolves, period.”
The new basketball czar in Minnesota said whatever happens with McHale, who has been part of the organization since 1994 and was a prep star in Hibbing and a college star at the University of Minnesota, it will be handled with respect and professionalism.
“Kevin has a long history here and a relationship with the owner that I respect and trust,” Kahn said. “I will not hurt Kevin McHale. I will not.”
Taylor insists Kahn was the only candidate offered the job, but the agent for Portland assistant GM Tom Penn said his client was offered the job and declined in favor of accepting a promotion with the Trail Blazers.
San Antonio assistant GM Dennis Lindsey and former Miami Heat GM Randy Pfund also pulled their names from consideration earlier this month.
“We’ve had nobody turn the job down,” Taylor said.
Even if that were the case, Kahn joked, “I don’t think Adam Lambert’s going to have a tough career.”
Lambert was beat out by Kris Allen for the title of “American Idol” on the hit TV show.
Because the hiring comes just five weeks before the draft, Kahn said he won’t make any changes to the front office until late June, if he deems changes necessary.
The potential for awkwardness is high. GM Jim Stack and assistant GM Fred Hoiberg were candidates for Kahn’s job.
Now they are being told they will be kept on staff through the end of June to help evaluate draft prospects for a team that has three first-round picks.
What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
“I know this will be hard for them, but we simply don’t have the time,” Kahn said. “We don’t have one waking moment that we can devote to staffing issues or any extracurricular issues.
“We have five weeks to get ready for a draft, an important draft. . . . So I need all hands on deck. I need everybody to put aside their personal concerns. I need them badly because they are the ones that are best prepared to take us through this period.”
Hoiberg and Stack were unavailable for comment Friday.
