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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, June 28, 2008

We say: Dave Myers, Tribune sportswriter and copy editor, on the Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin McHale could have made the easy move in Thursday’s NBA draft. He could have selected O.J. Mayo and kept his mouth shut. The Twin Cities media would have piled praise on him (something that hasn’t been happening very often lately) for bringing some excitement back to the Target Center by drafting the much-ballyhooed player/condiment.

Instead McHale continued working to get the player the team truly coveted, Kevin Love. In addition to landing Love, the Wolves picked up a desperately-needed outside shooter in Mike Miller and were somehow able to unload a mediocre Marco Jaric and his all-star caliber contract.

In Love, the Wolves pick up a player who former Milwaukee Bucks all-star Marques Johnson compares favorably to a young Larry Bird, and coaching legend John Wooden compares to Wes Unseld and Bill Walton.

The one knock on Love that seems to have stuck is that he lacks athleticism. I’m not exactly certain what that means, but I do know that his scores in pre-draft agility testing were nearly identical to those of Al Horford who was the third pick in the 2007 NBA draft and singled out for his superior athleticism.

In the end, Love reminds me of Elton Brand and Mayo reminds me of J.R. Rider. And even though Mayo would have been the sexy pick, remembering Rider’s career reminds me that sexy certainly doesn’t mean smart.