The following year, at 32, McKinney landed his first general manager job with the expansion Timberwolves, and in 1992 he accepted the unenviable task of breaking up the aging “Bad Boys” in Detroit. McKinney traded John Salley and Dennis Rodman but also drafted Lindsey Hunter and Allan Houston. He wept tears of joy when he landed future Hall of Famer Grant Hill with the third pick of the 1994 draft. When the franchise predictably struggled during its rebuild, McKinney took the hits — sometimes literally. During a practice in 1993, guard Alvin Robertson choked McKinney after being fined and suspended for skipping games, practices and rehab sessions.
