McHale Explains Ratliff Move

Wolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale addressed selected media members on a conference call, explaining why waiving center Theo Ratliff made sense.

To listen to the entire conversation, click below:

McHale On Ratliff Buyout

The bottom line here is that it made the most sense for both the Timberwolves organization and for Ratliff personally to come to an agreement over what was left on his contract.

The positives:
A) The Wolves get to see more of their young guys, like Chris Richard and Craig Smith, on the basketball floor.
B) The Wolves save some money.
C) Ratliff has the chance to sign with a contender in order to make a playoff run.

The only negative noted by McHale was that the Wolves won't get to watch Ratliff play alongside Al Jefferson.

McHale said that Ratliff's agent contacted the Wolves regarding a potential buyout - and not the other way around - because it was made clear to the Wolves that at this point in his career, Ratliff would prefer to be on a team further along than Minnesota. Translation: Ratliff would not be coming back to Minnesota next season, regardless of if the team wanted to resign him.

"It was (made clear) that next year Theo wouldn't be back, and we only have 26 games left in this season, so (to buy Ratliff out was) the decision that we made," said McHale. "The positive is that we really wanted to get the young guys more time, and now we will."

McHale made the decision after speaking with owner Glen Taylor at length, determining that it made the most sense for both parties to proceed with the buyout. Quite simply, Ratliff had about one-third of his contract for this season remaining to be paid, and the Wolves and Ratliff's agent negotiated a buyout on that dollar amount, which per team policy is not disclosed. Furthermore, McHale explained that the buyout will not affect Ratliff's full contract number coming off the books.

As for Ratliff, because he was waived before the March 1 deadline, he now has the chance to join a contender f he clears waivers in the next 48 hours. Towards that end, the Detroit News has reported that the Pistons will sign Ratliff at the prorated veteran's minimum ($1.3 million) should he not be claimed by another team, which is unlikely.

"At the end, we decided that if the buyout number was where we were comfortable, that we would throw our young guys into the fire a little bit and let them play more," McHale concluded.

Antoine Walker's Situation
In short, the Wolves made a buyout offer to Walker and his agent, and "they said they weren't comfortable with that," said McHale of Walker's negotiating party. McHale expects Walker to remain with the team for the remainder of the season.

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