By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Minnesota Timberwolves have fired head coach Ryan Saunders. He led the team as their head coach for two-plus seasons.
The 34-year-old took over as interim head coach once Tom Thibodeau was fired by the team on January 6th, 2019. Then, several months later, he signed a multi-year deal to be a team’s head coach.
Basketball
Basketball (Photo by Pixabay)
“We would like to thank Ryan for his time and commitment to the Timberwolves organization and wish him the best in the future,” Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas said. “These are difficult decisions to make, however, this change is in the best interest of the organization’s short and long-term goals.”
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Rosas has been leading the Timberwolves Basketball Operations since May 2019. He is the one, who signed Saunders to the multi-year extension.
The team has not named an interim head coach. The Timberwolves are expected to name their new head coach on Monday.
The son of the late Flip Saunders guided the Timberwolves to a 7-24 record during the 2020-21 season. As of Sunday, that was the worst record in the NBA.
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Saunders’ departure comes after the Timberwolves lost at Madison Square Garden. They were defeated 103-99 by the New York Knicks in the Big Apple.
Since taking over as interim head coach, Saunders has gone 43-94 as the team’s head coach. He did not win more than 19 games in a season as the team’s leader.
This is a tough year for the team’s fans to see it struggle, as it is their first full season with Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Last February, the Timberwolves acquired Russell in a trade with the Golden State Warriors.
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Also, Anthony Edwards was drafted by the team with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The team has lost the past four games. Their last win came on Sunday, February 14th, against the Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
