<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MINNEAPOLIS ? Criticism of Minnesota Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale has been building, at least locally, in recent months. But team owner Glen Taylor said Friday that McHale is still his man. "I hear what people are saying," Taylor said, "but I don't let that bother me." Many fans were surprised by last week's multiplayer trade with Boston which brought guard Ricky Davis to Minnesota and sent swingman Wally Szczerbiak to the Celtics. The popular Szczerbiak is having a career season, the players received beyond Davis weren't big names and the Wolves gave up a first-round draft pick ? which has been in short supply in Minnesota for several years. (This one is lottery-protected.) But Taylor, who stressed a wait-and-see analysis of the latest move, did not question the job McHale has done for him as the chief decision-maker on all personnel matters over the past decade. "I think most fans overreact when we do well and overreact when we do poor," Taylor told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "I just have to look at the long run. In the long run, we've done some really nice things. Overall, our team ? since I bought it 10 years ago ?we've been a really good team. "That's how we really calculate the results that Kevin has done, from where we started to where we are now. I don't just take it one day. I like what Kevin has done." Signing Joe Smith to an illegal long-term contract ultimately cost the Wolves three first-rounders, and many of the picks McHale has supervised ? excluding Kevin Garnett and Szczerbiak ? have not panned out. There have also been questionably expensive contracts. But, as Taylor noted, Minnesota was a mess when McHale was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 1995. "I don't think anybody's as good as they think they are," Taylor said, "and I also think they are not as bad as some people think they are. I back up Kevin, and I ask him to take risks. I ask him to do things that aren't exactly popular." McHale has occasionally hinted that this isn't a long-term gig for him, and he normally re-evaluates his interest each summer. But Taylor said he has not had any discussion with McHale about whether he'll continue beyond this season. "I can tell you this ? that he's really immersed into the team right now," Taylor said. "He, like I, would like to see this trade work out." The Wolves were one of the teams pursuing volatile forward Ron Artest, who eventually landed with the Sacramento Kings. Taylor expressed some interest, but he acknowledged that a bad experience with his last acquisition of a player with a questionable past might have dissuaded him from approving a potential deal. Latrell Sprewell had a solid 2003-04 season after arriving in a trade and helped lead Minnesota to the Western Conference finals, but he carped about his contract at the beginning of the next season ? souring the experience for everyone. "As the owner, you have to look at some things other than winning at all costs," Taylor said, "because you're looking at the long run. Player characteristics are important to an owner." </div> Source
