Wolves owner okay with risks of Darko, Beasley

Kurt Rambis had no problem with the players’ effort. But he needed players who played his style, which is passing and defense. So immediately after the season, he went to president of basketball operations David Kahn and requested a different type of player. Kahn obliged and continues to do so. Team owner Glen Taylor got involved, too, after seeking reasons for Rambis’ request for more athletic players. “Kurt said they were really good kids, but that he just couldn’t get them to play the defense he wanted,” Taylor said Tuesday night. So Kahn and Rambis and Taylor are trying something else. “We talked about what I would call taking some risks,” Taylor said. “The idea is, you bring in these young guys and some of them probably have the potential. We’ve just got to coach them better, or differently, or maybe give them a second chance. I think what we have to do as a team to get up there faster is take some risks.” That means getting more out of some players than other coaches could. For instance: 6-foot-10 forward Michael Beasley and 7-foot center Darko Milicic. “Michael Beasley was drafted No. 2 overall, went down to Miami and hasn’t performed to the level that they expected, for a lot of reasons,” Taylor said. “The same thing with Darko. Darko was drafted No. 2 (by Detroit in 2003).
“I met with Darko last year, and I said, ‘Darko, this may be the first time in your life that a coach has selected you instead of a general manager.’ There’s a huge difference when the general manager selects you but the coach doesn’t select you.” Taylor told Milicic it was Rambis who encouraged Kahn to get Milicic from New York, that Rambis is a guy who will give Milicic a chance.” — Pioneer Press