The Wolves canned coach Randy Wittman on Monday and replaced him with Kevin McHale, the executive responsible for assembling the current mess. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about the shuffle ...

Canis Hoopus: "After 13 years of gambling away the good will of his selection of Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale has now been put out to pasture on his own personal walk of shame. The party is over, the music long since turned down, and he gets to walk his way back to the north woods in full view of an all-too-ready-to-laugh fan base.  The Iron Ranger will now get to call the shots for a team with no point, a 6th man masquerading as a starting off-guard, an over-the-hill big at center, a 35 year old journeyman at the 1, a 3-point specialist who doesn't shoot, and a defensively inept #1 scoring option." 

The Sporting Blog: "Having to coach a team is the ultimate test of general manager accountability. And McHale has long been considered one of the league's dimmer executives; his most notable moves are drafting Garnett and trading Garnett in what looked like a favor to old Celtics pal Danny Ainge. Oh, and forfeiting the team's No. 1 pick for several years in a frenzied attempt to resign Joe Smith. At best, he's ineffectual, at worst, disastrous. So why not put him in charge of the roster he's assembled? Clearly, he had some vision in mind when these players were acquired. Now, it's time for him to put his money where his other job is, and show us exactly what the hell his master plan's supposed to look like."

Sam Amico, Pro Basketball News: "The Timberwolves have more talent than their 4-15 record indicates? WRONG. Their record is actually a very accurate reflection of their personnel. They can make substantial progress under McHale, who has 31 games of head coaching experience and reportedly didn’t even want the job this time around? WRONG. Not even Red Auerbach could turn this basketball water into wine — or anything close to a winner."

KFAN Sports Radio, via TWolves Blog: "How do we evaluate Kevin McHale as a Head Coach? He has disdain for certain parts of the job which are unavoidable including travel and dealing with the media. Insiders tell me McHale almost walked away from the coaching position during the 31 games he coached ending the 2005 season. The 19-12 finish after replacing Flip Saunders sounds good but lets not forget Cassell and Sprewell had pouted throughout the year over contract talks and conveniently played better when the final decision maker was now the head coach."

Hardwood Paroxysm: "I think all of us that aren't named Kevin McHale or Mrs. McHale are probably rooting for him to be out by the end of the season. So let's go, Wolves: I want to see you play competitively for three quarters, and then go into all-out tanking mode in the fourth. I want Madsen to average more threes than minutes. I want half-court shots, bizarre injuries, lazy passes, Bassy fadeaways, Collins isos, Calvin Booth at point-center, and everything else you can cook up. I'm tired of watching Minnesota be mired in McHale's incompetence, and it's about time that the league's biggest punchline (post-Isiah) gets his pink slip. Fire away, Mad Dog!"

NBA FanHouse: "How many wins does McHale need to win to keep his job? Fourteen in the remaining 63 games, which would beat Wittman's record this season? If McHale does well from the bench, will Taylor ask him to stay on the sideline and leave the front office work to GM Jim Stack and franchise golden boy Fred Hoiberg? Does McHale want to coach permanently? (I think we know the answer to that last one.)"

Le Basketbawl: "Taylor in talking about McHale taking over as head coach, seemed to infer that the Hall Of Fame forward better improve the record, or there may be consequences. Taylor said, 'Kevin has assembled the players on this team, and believes in their talent and skill level. It is my expectation that Kevin will be able to get the most out of our team and our players in his new role as head coach.' Reading between the lines it seems that Taylor may have finally grown weary of having McHale running the franchise."

HoopsWorld: "The Timberwolves are not a good team, but it doesn't seem realistic to put all the blame on Wittman. He didn't put the roster together, and the Wolves are right about where everyone outside of the organization expected them to be. Firing Wittman is just about finding a scapegoat instead of addressing the real issues. And what are those? Among other things, very little veteran leadership on the roster, too many guards, and not enough defensive toughness. Oh, and the reality that this team is in transition and really needs to be given time to grow — that's a minor thing. Firing Wittman now, in this situation, really only shows the Wolves' management had completely unrealistic expectations on the season."

Deadspin: "This is the 14th season that McHale has had his job. Fourteen. From one Lions fan to the Minny faithful, I can only say, 'This too shall pass. It's got to, right?'"

Related: The Internets are alive