The Minnesota Timberwolves are moving on from head coach Ryan Saunders, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The team announced their decision following the Timberwolves’ 103-99 loss to the New York Knicks, Sunday. No interim coach has been named.
“We would like to thank Ryan for his time and commitment to the Timberwolves organization and wish him the best in the future,” said President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. “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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Under the leadership of Saunders, the Timberwolves currently maintain a disappointing 7-24 record on the season. After over two years with the organization, he finishes with a 43-95 overall record.
Saunders is the son of Timberwolves’ legendary coach Flip Saunders, who coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005, as well as 2014-2015. Flip was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015 and passed away on October 25, 2015, at the age of 60.
Rosas says the Timberwolves will announce the next head coach on Monday, February 22. Under their new head coach, the team will travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks on Tuesday night.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Timberwolves will hire Toronto Raptors’ assistant coach Chris Finch.
[Via]