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The Minnesota Timberwolves finalize a multi-year deal on Monday to make Toronto Raptors assistant Chris Finch the franchise’s new coach, sources told ESPN.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas fired Ryan Saunders on Sunday, clearing the way for Minnesota to avoid an interim coach and quickly move on to hiring a full-time replacement.
Rosas informed Saunders of the decision after a 103-99 loss to the New York Knicks that left the Timberwolves at 7-24, the NBA’s worst record.
Rosas kept Saunders as his head coach after being hired in May 2019, a process that included an interview with Finch for the job. Rosas and Finch have a history stretching back to their days together in organizing the Houston Rockets.
Finch is expected to start work Tuesday in Milwaukee with Saunders coaching staff in place, including associate head coach David Vanterpool and assistants Bryan Gates and Pablo Prigioni, sources said.
Finch was an assistant coach with Houston, Denver, New Orleans and Toronto, and won a G-League title with Rio Grande Valley in 2010. Toronto hired Finch during the offseason as Nick Nurse’s best assistant. , but did not want to stand in the way of him accepting a head coach position during the season, sources said.
No assistant coach has transitioned to a head coach position with a new team this season since Memphis hired Lionel Hollins from Milwaukee in 2009.
Rosas did not want to spend the season with an interim coach, sources said, wishing to maximize the development of a core of veterans around center All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, Malik Beasley, overall top pick Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo. Russell, who has knee surgery.
Saunders was 43-94 as a Timberwolves coach in addition to two seasons as a coach. He has only been able to coach his two All-Star players, Towns and Russell, in five games since the franchise was traded for Russell in February 2019.
Minnesota has been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 issues this season. Russell played 20 games before recently undergoing left knee surgery that will put him on the sidelines for the next four to six weeks. Towns has only played 11 games this season between a wrist injury and the contraction of COVID-19.
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