Written by Zach Harper | 18 June 2009

As a T'Wolves fan, everyday is a struggle and you're one roster move away from going on a rampage with a bottle of bourbon and a t-shirt cannon.

During the Kevin McHale era, we forced ourselves to be talked into Dean Garrett, an even more broken down LaPhonso Ellis, and worst of all - Troy Hudson. We knew that whatever trade, signing or draft happened was probably the wrong move. We should have known that Ray Allen would be a Hall of Famer after we traded him away. We should have known that Brandon Roy would be a better player than Randy Foye after the swap was made. We got used to apathy, disappointment, and resentment. It wasn't like we were these horribly tortured fans like the Cubs, Red Sox, and every team in Cleveland history. We just expected to be downtrodden and hoped to be wrong.

When Kevin McHale was removed from the front office and put on the sidelines to coach his roster for the second time, it was an encouraging sign of a possible change. Sure, Glen Taylor was still the owner so bad decisions were going to be made on some level but maybe we'd luck into hiring a good young GM to persevere through the incompetence. And then we were given David Kahn. Now, David Kahn hasn't done anything wrong by any means since taking over the team. But there are plenty of stories out there that led us to believe this might not be our salvation.

However, after all of my ranting and raving in a state of frustration and delirium I decided to let it go, sit back and watch what unfolds. And then I'm treated to this next sentence on the crawl of my sports ticker this morning (and I'll paraphrase):

"Phoenix Suns discussing trading Amar'e Stoudemire to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Al Jefferson... and the 6th pick in the draft.

Now, at first glance as I was getting ready for work I didn't see the part about the 6th pick being involved. I thought to myself, "wow, Amar'e is only a couple of years older than Jefferson but if they draft a good point guard then perhaps he could really add a more potent offensive weapon inside."

Then, the crawl on the screen came back around like one of the Sentinels in the Matrix that knew I wasn't dead yet and needed to be finished off. I saw that the 6th pick would be included and screamed to the TV, "ARE YOU F^%$ING KIDDING ME!?!"

Now, I don't mind shopping any player around if it means improving the team. After Kevin Garnett was traded a couple of years ago, I gave up on the idea that guys could be untouchable. So an Al Jefferson for Amar'e deal doesn't sound like it's really accomplishing anything but I don't mind considering it. But to give up the 6th pick in the draft when you're getting the lower end of the swap already is just confusing.

Stoudemire is a free agent after this season, while Al Jefferson is locked in for the rest of President Obama's first term. Both have had major knee injuries with Jefferson being the most recent. It's pretty much an even swap for this coming season but you're essentially mortgaging the future for what reason? Why make that trade when you have no shot at winning 35 games much less contending? Why throw in the 6th pick in the draft with that gamble? Do you want to lose out on the next four years at multiple positions? Do we really need a guy that will have a robotic eye (okay, that might be pretty cool)?  

I understand that it's just a trade rumor and I shouldn't put much weight into it. But this was leaked out to the press by one side and if it's the T'Wolves side, I like to think that there's a lot of merit to it. Whether, it goes down or not remains to be true. But the fact that this could have been discussed as a way to "move in a new direction" leads me to believe that nothing has changed in the front office. We're still swapping the better player for the worse players.

Except this time, we're throwing in Top 10 picks to sweeten the pot for the other side and to force me to grab the t-shirt cannon, a duffel bag full of crew necks, and a bottle of Bulleit.

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