The search for a new coach results in Ryan Saunders (pg 11)

[Klomp]

The important thing to take away here is that Klomp was right.

No coincidence that today's news is coming out with everyone in Chicago this week.

No decision SHOULD be made until Rosas has interviewed other qualified candidates IMO.

I wouldn't be surprised if he conducts interviews or at least talks to other sources in Chicago next week at the lottery and draft combine.

[Klomp]

Minnesota native Dave Joerger, who was fired by Sacramento earlier this offseason and nearly joined the Timberwolves in 2015, has not been contacted about the opening, league sources said.

Of the five known candidates for the Wolves job, Saunders is the only one with head coaching experience in the NBA. Saunders inherited Thibodeau’s staff in January after the head coach and lead assistant Andy Greer were dismissed. Saunders added Jerry Sichting, a longtime confidant of his father, to the staff and brought in Randy Wittman as a consultant. But should Saunders be named the full-time coach, it would be expected that he would return to the job with a new-look staff by his side.

Rosas comes from the Houston school of having assistants with defined roles, none more well-defined than longtime assistant Jeff Bzdelik’s role as the team’s defensive coordinator under Mike D’Antoni. A similar blueprint would be expected for Saunders or any other head coach for the Timberwolves, who pledged to place improving defensively and beefing up their player development staff high on their list of priorities under Rosas.

https://theathletic.com/977446/2019/05/14/what-the-wolves-coach-search-reveals-about-gersson-rosas-and-what-it-means-for-ryan-saunders/

[Klomp]

My personal power rankings:

1. Chris Finch
2. Ryan Saunders
----------------------
3. David Vanterpool
4. Darvin Ham
5. Juwan Howard

[Klomp]

Who remembers the Juwan Howard era in Minnesota?

Howard was initially ecstatic when the Rockets traded him to Minnesota for guard Mike James in June. He had wanted to play with Kevin Garnett for some time and spoke about regretting choosing Orlando over Minnesota the last time he was a free agent.

But when the Wolves shipped Garnett to Boston at the end of July, Howard made it clear he was not interested in being part of a youth movement in Minnesota. He requested a trade, but the Wolves found no takers for a 13-year veteran who was owed $6.88 million this year and $7.38 million next year

http://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3086024

[Worm Guts]

My personal power rankings:

1. Chris Finch
2. Ryan Saunders
----------------------
3. David Vanterpool
4. Darvin Ham
5. Juwan Howard

If we ever need our coach to shatter a backboard, Darvin Ham moves way up the list.

[KGdaBom]

I know Krawczynski thinks Saunders is still the favorite, but worth mentioning he thought Booth/Billups were the favorites going into the POBO interviews and Rosas blew the team away. Now this hiring process will be done more by Rosas and not that committee, but I think the best candidate will get the job. One thing Saunders has in his favor is that none of the other candidates have NBA head coaching experience either, so everybody seems to be on a more level playing field going into it.

Compare the pre head coaching credentials and these guys bury Saunders. So Saunders has some interim HC experience where the team played very poorly which was contributed to by a rash of injuries.

[Calinks]

Does anyone know what the negativity surrounding Jorger is? I heard the rotations thing but what else?

[KGdaBom]

My personal power rankings:

1. Chris Finch
2. Ryan Saunders
----------------------
3. David Vanterpool
4. Darvin Ham
5. Juwan Howard

If we ever need our coach to shatter a backboard, Darvin Ham moves way up the list.

Without a doubt.

[KGdaBom]

Does anyone know what the negativity surrounding Jorger is? I heard the rotations thing but what else?

He may be an abrasive personality that clashes with the front office.

[CP1981]

I said a few weeks back that as a Hawks fan I thought you guys should go after someone from Bud's staff. He had two former assistants make the playoffs this year. I know Ham has learned a lot from Bud. And he helped a lot as far as player development.

I know some Wolves fans like Saunders but I think guys from the interview pool will be better

[King Malta]

The important thing to take away here is that Klomp was right.

No coincidence that today's news is coming out with everyone in Chicago this week.

No decision SHOULD be made until Rosas has interviewed other qualified candidates IMO.

I wouldn't be surprised if he conducts interviews or at least talks to other sources in Chicago next week at the lottery and draft combine.

Also important to note that Malta was right

It will be interesting to see who interviews, listening to his chat with Barreiro it seems pretty clear that Rosas has a solid vision on how he wants this team to play (modern offense, pace and space, efficient shots etc) and I would expect this will greatly influence the candidates he interviews; coaches with established systems who don't fit into this vision won't get a look in IMO.

I expect some lesser known, younger guys to be prominent candidates. I feel like he probably sticks with Ryan, the process will be interesting though.

[KGdaBom]

I said a few weeks back that as a Hawks fan I thought you guys should go after someone from Bud's staff. He had two former assistants make the playoffs this year. I know Ham has learned a lot from Bud. And he helped a lot as far as player development.

I know some Wolves fans like Saunders but I think guys from the interview pool will be better

The guys from the pool are so much more qualified than Saunders.

[Klomp]

The guys from the pool are so much more qualified than Saunders.

How many of them in the pool have been NBA assistants since 2009?

[KGdaBom]

The guys from the pool are so much more qualified than Saunders.

How many of them in the pool have been NBA assistants since 2009?

4th assistant or 5th. Saunders was never even a lead assistant. He's completely unqualified. If he's retained as HC after the hope I got today I will go fetal.

[karch34]

Not saying Saunders is the best choice, but he was an interim that took over the 2nd most dysfunctional situation (if it was first we would've got the #1 pick) in the league and guys played hard and they were in it until too many injuries. I think that's something that's not necessarily dwarfed by being a top assistant. The assistants have their intrigue, but unless the assistant is Becky Hammon, I'm not leaning heavily either way.

[Klomp]

Should Saunders emerge as the winner, it would only help to validate his standing in the organization. He and Rosas have been meeting extensively since Rosas took over to discuss basketball philosophy, organizational approach and what needs to be done to take the Timberwolves from the lottery back to the playoffs. Not just for one season, but for the foreseeable future.

Saunders earned widespread support in the Wolves locker room during his tenure as interim coach, most notably from Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the two most important cogs for this franchise going forward. But he also resonated with Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, the TimberBulls who were brought to Minnesota by Thibodeau and remain loyal to the hard-driving guy who coached them in their early days in Chicago.

The hardened veterans watched the young coach navigate a rash of injuries to key players, humbly handle being inundated with the attention that comes from taking the job his father once held and maintain a positive outlook even as the defense faded and the wins didn’t come. That unflappable nature led to almost universal support for Saunders as the season drew to a close.

On top of it all, Saunders’ willingness to work with all members of the organization to build some bridges that were previously burned engendered broader support for his candidacy.

https://theathletic.com/977446/2019/05/14/what-the-wolves-coach-search-reveals-about-gersson-rosas-and-what-it-means-for-ryan-saunders/

[theGreatRC]

I'm rooting for Ryan..

I don't know why, but I am

[No-Man]

The best option is either David Vanterpool or Chris Finch, both experienced at several levels (Europe, G-League) both modern offensive minds, have worked for really good head coaches, both in a solid-good age range

If they bring back Saunders as the HC it's a miss opportunity

[Klomp]

The best option is either David Vanterpool or Chris Finch, both experienced at several levels (Europe, G-League) both modern offensive minds, have worked for really good head coaches, both in a solid-good age range

If they bring back Saunders as the HC it's a miss opportunity

So if after all of the interviews and checking with other sources they determine Saunders can do better than those two guys, they should go against what they believe? Gotcha, here I thought the object is to hire the best guy and not just go with what your preconceived notions of the candidates are.

[minimus]

I hope Rosas has some ideas about defensive coordinator/assistant coach.