Bad Wolf Waiting At Garnett’s Door

Kevin Garnett seemed to say all the right things about hard work and taking advice when he met with Minnesota officials and the media Thursday. But there were a few raised eyebrows when Garnett said he looked up to Timberwolves guard Isaiah Rider and respected him as a player.

What does coach Bill Blair have to say about the petulant Rider being a role model for an impressionable player just out of high school?

“We’re going to get him another role model,” Blair said.

The last thing the Timberwolves can afford is for Garnett to learn at Rider’s disruptive feet. That is why the first thing the club intends to do - once the league’s messy labor problems are resolved - is to trade Rider.

This should not come as a revelation. The Wolves were trying to trade Rider before they took Garnett with the fifth pick in the draft. Blair’s contempt for Rider and the guard’s unsettling presence in the locker room are tensions the organization wants to alleviate.

With Garnett in place, it becomes imperative that Rider is moved. Minnesota vice president Kevin McHale will not address Rider’s situation directly, but he does indicate he wants to make some major changes before next season.

The Timberwolves also need to put a support structure in place for Garnett. Portland president Bob Whitsitt, who was unsuccessful in his bid to move up to the fourth slot to select Garnett, said before the draft that the club that took the high school sensation would have to commit its entire organization to make it work. Toronto vice president Isiah Thomas, who also coveted Garnett, said if the Raptors had drafted Garnett, the club would have enrolled him in college, let him play in the team’s 41 home games and allowed him to go only to selected games on the road.

That’s easy to say since the Raptors don’t have Garnett. McHale and others in the Minnesota organization talk about creating a “safety net” for Garnett and perhaps setting him up to live with a family in Minneapolis.

But McHale makes it clear it’s not his job to tell Garnett what to do.

“Kevin is going to decide who he hangs out with and where he lives and who he lives with,” McHale said. “Those are all decisions Kevin has to make. It’s not up to us to make them for him.”

A weighty matter

First, it was Phoenix that gave up on Oliver Miller and his battle of the bulge. It took Detroit just one year to become disenchanted with his attitude and ballooning weight.

Toronto is the latest team that will try to tap Miller’s massive potential.

“In my discussions with Oliver, he looks at this as a great opportunity,” said Jeff Blakeley, Miller’s agent. “There are not many situations where you get a fresh start twice. He got a fresh start in Detroit, and he was not able to make the most of it.”

Miller reportedly tipped the scales at 335 pounds when the Pistons left him unprotected on the expansion list. The Raptors have indicated they want Miller to go into counseling to deal with his weight problem during the off-season.

Quiet lockout

The NBA lockout began Saturday just a minute after midnight, but with the league in its off-season there was nothing to miss other than the posturing of the combatants.

Aside from the usual labor rhetoric, no new developments were expected before Wednesday.

Around the league

One reason Jordan gave for quitting baseball and returning to the Bulls was that he was frustrated by the sport’s labor situation. Now, Jordan is helping spearhead a movement that has resulted in the first work stoppage in NBA history. Hypocritical, perhaps?…

For those of you wondering why Isiah Thomas drafted point guard Damon Stoudamire when he has B.J. Armstrong, be advised Armstrong already has been traded to Golden State for Victor Alexander, forward Carlos Rogers (the Warriors are ecstatic to be rid of him) and three second-rounders. While Armstrong is a front-line player, he brings numerous warm bodies, what every expansion team needs…

Word is Thomas will bring in William Gates of Marquette and “Hoop Dreams” fame for a tryout.