The Minnesota Timberwolves’ unusual pursuit of a new coach could have a ripple effect through Portland.
The Timberwolves have asked the Trail Blazers for permission to interview assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff for their soon-to-be vacant head coaching position, and president Larry Miller gave the OK late last week.
Miller and Blazers coach Nate McMillan did not know Monday afternoon when Bickerstaff was scheduled to interview for the job and Bickerstaff was not immediately available for contact.
“Bernie’s been in that position before,” McMillan said of being a head coach. “So we’ll see what happens. I don’t want to speak for Bernie, but I know he’s extremely happy with Portland and being here working with me. He’s said time and time again he likes where we are and what we’re doing. It’s going to have to be something really attractive to go.”
Bickerstaff just completed his first season with the Blazers as part of McMillan’s revamped coaching staff, but has been around the league for decades in a variety of positions. His first NBA job came with the Washington Bullets in 1973, when became the league’s youngest assistant coach at 29. His first head coaching job came with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1985 and two seasons later he was named the NBA Coach of the Year by the Sporting News.
Bickerstaff has been a head coach with four different teams (Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte) and has a career record of 415-517. He also has extensive front office experience, serving as the president/general manager of the Denver Nuggets for seven seasons and general manager/coach of the Charlotte Bobcats for three seasons.
He was McMillan’s first coach in Seattle and his lead assistant last season.
“Bernie’s been around for a long, long time,” McMillan said. “He’s seen so many different systems and worked with so many different coaches. He’s been a GM; a president. He’s done just about everything you can do in the NBA except own a team. So he has a great deal of experience and knowledge for the game and he can help in so many different ways.”
But will he take that help to Minnesota?
The Timberwolves have not officially fired current coach Kurt Rambis, but multiple news outlets have reported that it’s just a matter of time. Last month, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that one of the Timberwolves’ options was to pursue Bickerstaff and create a coach-in-waiting plan with Bickerstaff’s son, J.B.
Presumably, Bernie would coach for a season or two and groom J.B. until he was prepared for the top job.
J.B., Bernie’s youngest son, has been an assistant coach with the Timberwolves for the last three seasons. Father and son also worked together in Charlotte.
“We definitely would love to have Bernie back,” Miller said. “But if he’s got an opportunity to move into a head coaching job that he thinks is good for him, we definitely wouldn’t stand in the way.”
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