Clearly, making millions of dollars is no longer enough. Clearly, an unyielding sense of obligation to put out at least a professional effort for fans who now are required to pay absurd ticket prices is not enough, either.

After the Timberwolves led for all of 31 seconds at Target Center against a team that had lost 20 of its past 22 games, after your valiant heroes played defense with less verve than is displayed at a luxury cruise line shuffleboard competition, these assertions can no longer be doubted.

Especially when even the normally mild-mannered Trent Tucker, a former pro who sits courtside at Target Center, is moved to say: "As an ex-professional, I was really bothered by what I saw [Tuesday night]. I can live with some problems in the offense. But to not go out and give any defensive effort? You have to have some pride."

Clearly, the basics are no longer enough.

The modern athlete apparently demands something extra to get juiced up. And so, for the Warriors, it is not their 18-52 record that offends them. It is that Wally Szczerbiak has referred to them as a bunch of clowns. Only then is their pride wounded enough for them to perform.