Things were going downhill for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009. Kevin Garnett, traded two years earlier, had gone to back-to-back NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Wolves had gone through five head coaches in five seasons.
Following a 24-win season in 2009, Kevin McHale fired Randy Witman (who was 38-105 in 2+ seasons) and hired long-time LA Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis. Rambis, an assistant under Phil Jackson with the LA Lakers, was a student of the triangle offense...an offense that produced 11 NBA titles. An offense that had produced 11 NBA Titles was worth a shot, right?
What is the Triangle Offense?
The Triangle Offense has been, pretty much irrefutable, the single most dominant offensive attack (in any major sport) over the past 20 years" - Chuck Klosterman
The Triangle Offense was designed by Sam Berry at USC in the 1940s. It was picked up and developed further by Tex Winter, who would coach at Kansas State as well as for the Houston Rockets. It really took off when Winter became an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls in 1985 and began to teach the offense to Michael Jordan. Two years later, the Bulls hired the head coach of the CBA's Albany Patroons Phil Jackson (as an assistant), who immediately became obsessed with learning the style under Winter.
When Phil Jackson was promoted to head coach of the Bulls in 1989, he had mastered it and coached the Bulls to 6 NBA titles between 1989 and 1998,, then would win four more titles with the LA Lakers from 2000-2010, including a three-peat in the early 2000s.
The Triangle focuses on three players: the center at the low post, the forward at the wing, and the guard in the corner. The strategy is to create good spacing between players and allows each one to pass to four teammates. Every pass is dictated by what the defense does.
When Phil Jackson was promoted to head coach of the Bulls in 1989, he had mastered it and coached the Bulls to 6 NBA titles between 1989 and 1998,, then would win four more titles with the LA Lakers from 2000-2010, including a three-peat in the early 2000s.
The Triangle focuses on three players: the center at the low post, the forward at the wing, and the guard in the corner. The strategy is to create good spacing between players and allows each one to pass to four teammates. Every pass is dictated by what the defense does.
Why didn't it work for the Wolves?
Phil Jackson had a couple once-in-a-generation players playing for him: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neil.
Kurt Rambis did not.
He would have to make due with the youngest roster in the NBA featuring Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, and rookie Jonny Flynn.
Also, David Kahn was putting together his roster.
A key component of the Triangle is the players you have on the court. To say the Wolves didn't have the talent of the Bulls or Lakers dynasties is a dramatic understatement. In Rambis's first year with the Wolves in 2009, the team won 15 games...their lowest win total since the 1991-92 season.
Rambis and David Kahn agreed that the reason the team wasn't clicking was because they weren't "athletic enough". The Wolves ranked 20th in PPG (98.2) and 29th in Opponent PPG (107.8). They figured the odd man out on the offense was 290 pound center Al Jefferson (the Triangle suited 325 lb Shaquille O'Neil just fine...) Jefferson averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds that year.
Following the 2009 season, Kahn traded Jefferson (the final remaining piece of the Kevin Garnett trade three seasons earlier) to the Utah Jazz for Kousta Koufas (who played 39 games for the Wolves) and two first round picks: Dontas Motiejunas (Rd 1, Pick 20 in 2011) and Terrence Jones (Rd 1, Pick 18 in 2012).
D-Mo and Jones never played for the Wolves. Motiejunas was drafted by the Wolves, then immediately traded to Houston with Jonny Flynn for Brad Miller (who played 15 games for the Wolves) Nikola Mirotic (who never played for the Wolves but was immediately traded to the Chciago Bulls for Norris Cole and Malcom Lee), Chandler Parsons (who refused to play for the Wolves, so he was traded back to the Houston Rockets for cash) and a first round pick in 2012 which ended up being Andre Robertson (who never played for the Wolves, but was traded with Malcolm Lee to Golden State for cash).
Got it? Me neither.
With Jefferson gone, it opened the door for recently-signed draft bust Darko Milicic to assume the center role with second round pick Nikola Pekovic (6'11", 307 lbs, seemed to fit the mold of a David Kahn athletic center) coming off the bench. The Wolves also acquired Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour and Sebastian Telfair and drafted Jonny Flynn's former Syracuse teammate Wesley Johnson with the fourth overall pick (over players like DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George and Gordon Hayward).
Rambis had his re-tooled, athletic and faster roster. This would be the breakout year for the Wolves, right? The pieces were in place.
The Wolves won 17 games in 2010, and Rambis was fired in the second year of a four year. He went 32-132 in his two seasons with the Wolves. The Wolves hired Rick Adelman to replace him.
Adelman won 26 games in 2011, and the Wolves finished 40-42 in 2012...their best season since 2004.
Rambis was re-hired by the Lakers as an assistant after getting canned by the Wolves. A year later, he would follow Phil Jackson, who was hired as the president of the New York Knicks, to the Big Apple. He worked as an assistant under Derrick Fisher for two seasons until Fisher was fired by Jackson would fired in 2016. Rambis was named the interm coach, and led the Knicks to 9-19 record over the final 30 games that year.
Kurt Rambis did not.
He would have to make due with the youngest roster in the NBA featuring Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, and rookie Jonny Flynn.
Also, David Kahn was putting together his roster.
If there were any wheels in David Khan's head, you
would probably see them turning in this picture.
A key component of the Triangle is the players you have on the court. To say the Wolves didn't have the talent of the Bulls or Lakers dynasties is a dramatic understatement. In Rambis's first year with the Wolves in 2009, the team won 15 games...their lowest win total since the 1991-92 season.
Rambis and David Kahn agreed that the reason the team wasn't clicking was because they weren't "athletic enough". The Wolves ranked 20th in PPG (98.2) and 29th in Opponent PPG (107.8). They figured the odd man out on the offense was 290 pound center Al Jefferson (the Triangle suited 325 lb Shaquille O'Neil just fine...) Jefferson averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds that year.
Following the 2009 season, Kahn traded Jefferson (the final remaining piece of the Kevin Garnett trade three seasons earlier) to the Utah Jazz for Kousta Koufas (who played 39 games for the Wolves) and two first round picks: Dontas Motiejunas (Rd 1, Pick 20 in 2011) and Terrence Jones (Rd 1, Pick 18 in 2012).
D-Mo and Jones never played for the Wolves. Motiejunas was drafted by the Wolves, then immediately traded to Houston with Jonny Flynn for Brad Miller (who played 15 games for the Wolves) Nikola Mirotic (who never played for the Wolves but was immediately traded to the Chciago Bulls for Norris Cole and Malcom Lee), Chandler Parsons (who refused to play for the Wolves, so he was traded back to the Houston Rockets for cash) and a first round pick in 2012 which ended up being Andre Robertson (who never played for the Wolves, but was traded with Malcolm Lee to Golden State for cash).
Photographic evidence that Braid Miller did,
in fact, play for the Timberwolves
Got it? Me neither.
With Jefferson gone, it opened the door for recently-signed draft bust Darko Milicic to assume the center role with second round pick Nikola Pekovic (6'11", 307 lbs, seemed to fit the mold of a David Kahn athletic center) coming off the bench. The Wolves also acquired Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour and Sebastian Telfair and drafted Jonny Flynn's former Syracuse teammate Wesley Johnson with the fourth overall pick (over players like DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George and Gordon Hayward).
Rambis had his re-tooled, athletic and faster roster. This would be the breakout year for the Wolves, right? The pieces were in place.
(They weren't.)
The Wolves won 17 games in 2010, and Rambis was fired in the second year of a four year. He went 32-132 in his two seasons with the Wolves. The Wolves hired Rick Adelman to replace him.
Adelman won 26 games in 2011, and the Wolves finished 40-42 in 2012...their best season since 2004.
Rambis was re-hired by the Lakers as an assistant after getting canned by the Wolves. A year later, he would follow Phil Jackson, who was hired as the president of the New York Knicks, to the Big Apple. He worked as an assistant under Derrick Fisher for two seasons until Fisher was fired by Jackson would fired in 2016. Rambis was named the interm coach, and led the Knicks to 9-19 record over the final 30 games that year.
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