The Minnesota Timberwolves fired Ryan Saunders on Sunday, hours after the team with the worst record of the season lost its eighth game back in the NBA.
The club was finalizing plans to introduce Toronto assistant coach Chris Finch as the new coach on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Finch’s hiring had not been officially completed.
ESPN has reported first on Saunders’ dismissal, and The Athletic first reported Finch’s upcoming arrival.
Saunders, 34, the son of Minnesota veteran coach Flip Saunders, was with the Timberwolves for parts of three seasons, in which he finished with a 43-94 record. Minnesota has the worst record this season with 7-24 and is already 7 and a half games from last place to reach the Western Conference postseason.
“We would like to thank Ryan for his time and commitment to organizing the Timberwolves and wish him all the best in the future,” said team basketball operations president Gersson Roses. “These are difficult decisions to make, although this change is in the best interest of the organization’s goals in the short and medium term.”
It’s been a very disappointing season for the Timberwolves, who started 2-0 and haven’t had much to celebrate since. Karl-Anthony Towns, the team’s best player, dislocated his left wrist in the second game of the season and missed six games, came back and was left out another 13 after testing positive in COVID-19 .
D’Angelo Russell, the other key piece of the planter, underwent surgery last week on his left knee and could stay out until April.
It didn’t look like the Timberwolves had stopped playing for Saunders. On Sunday they lost 21 points in the third quarter to the New York Knicks, but then took the lead in the final minutes before losing 103-99.
Finch, meanwhile, has a past with Roses, as they both worked together with the Houston Rockets. He coached the team’s subsidiary in what is now called the G League, winning a championship with Rio Gran Valley before becoming an assistant to the Rockets. He then had assistant positions at the Denver Nugges, New Orleans Pelicans and was in his first season with the Raptors.