Ryan Saunders Has Been Fired - Chris Finch Hired!!!

[Merc_Porto]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

[winforlose]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

[Jedzz]

With no fans at Target Center, I wonder what avenue he heard the criticism most. Maybe RealGM?

I do think the change would have been done earlier if fans were allowed back. Bags, signs and the like would have sank Saunders sooner.

Maybe so. But I have noticed most of the midseason coaching changes in franchise history have been made either at the quarter pole or halfway point of the season. Right around the 20 game or 40 game mark.

Add to that the point about resisting to do it while Towns was out with COVID. Towns was out between games 12 and 24, putting the quarter pole right in the middle of that stretch.

Wasn't Towns out basically from game 3 to 24? Don't remember if he played one or more in between. Not that it conflicts with your point at all. Dumping coaches midseason doesn't appear to scare this owner, probably because the seasons are trashed anyway. Always seems like we hear the words that they have to give them a chance with this new set of players or whatever the story is. Nobody is ever able to just make a decision. They have to help it spiral out of control so the decision is made for them in the public's eye first.

[Jedzz]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

And this is supposed to be acceptable? Anyone wondering why the team is losing? Behind the back of the coach leading it is the PoBo/GM undercutting his future finding a replacement, and at the same time telling the coach what he wants to see done. This isn't really any different than the behind the scenes undercutting of Thibs ability to win and get things done here until he was replaced. This kind of management uses the team losing to make the changes for them so they don't look like the guy who did it. So they set the stage for losing as much as anyone, it's their goal. The instant Finch hire tells you all you need to know.

[winforlose]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

And this is supposed to be acceptable? Anyone wondering why the team is losing? Behind the back of the coach leading it is the PoBo/GM undercutting his future finding a replacement, and at the same time telling the coach what he wants to see done. This isn't really any different than the behind the scenes undercutting of Thibs ability to win and get things done here until he was replaced. This kind of management uses the team losing to make the changes for them so they don't look like the guy who did it. So they set the stage for losing as much as anyone, it's their goal. The instant Finch hire tells you all you need to know.

I will accept your premise for the purpose of the conversation. Glen Taylor picked Ryan, not Rosas. Glen Taylor seems to have forced Ryan on Rosas after Rosas took over. Rosas entire future is on the line just as Ryan’s was. Assuming everything you said is true, Glen put Ryan in a bad spot and Ryan chose to be their because he knew he wouldn’t get an opportunity elsewhere. This begs the question, why couldn’t Ryan get an opportunity elsewhere? The answer is he is not qualified nor talented enough. A POBO or GM (whoever is running things,) should be in charge of who is doing the coaching.

Looking beyond the process, Ryan did not optimize his rotations or his schemes. You can argue Rosas gave Ryan bad cards, but that doesn’t mean Ryan must misplay his hand. Ryan was one of the least winning coaches in NBA history. His winning percentage is 31.4 percent.

[Jedzz]

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

And this is supposed to be acceptable? Anyone wondering why the team is losing? Behind the back of the coach leading it is the PoBo/GM undercutting his future finding a replacement, and at the same time telling the coach what he wants to see done. This isn't really any different than the behind the scenes undercutting of Thibs ability to win and get things done here until he was replaced. This kind of management uses the team losing to make the changes for them so they don't look like the guy who did it. So they set the stage for losing as much as anyone, it's their goal. The instant Finch hire tells you all you need to know.

I will accept your premise for the purpose of the conversation. Glen Taylor picked Ryan, not Rosas. Glen Taylor seems to have forced Ryan on Rosas after Rosas took over. Rosas entire future is on the line just as Ryan’s was. Assuming everything you said is true, Glen put Ryan in a bad spot and Ryan chose to be their because he knew he wouldn’t get an opportunity elsewhere. This begs the question, why couldn’t Ryan get an opportunity elsewhere? The answer is he is not qualified nor talented enough. A POBO or GM (whoever is running things,) should be in charge of who is doing the coaching.

Looking beyond the process, Ryan did not optimize his rotations or his schemes. You can argue Rosas gave Ryan bad cards, but that doesn’t mean Ryan must misplay his hand. Ryan was one of the least winning coaches in NBA history. His winning percentage is 31.4 percent.

The mistake was not allowing Rosas to truly choose someone new to start with. But let's not act like they didn't interview a bunch of scrubs over a period of time and Rosas selected him. It happened under his control.

But to waste two years working and meanwhile be searching for his replacement? This season was trash in November because of Rosas, not Ryan. But yes, Ryan didn't optimize his rotations or his schemes, timeout usage, and many game specific moments we repeatedly saw playout. But on rotations and roster usage, you tell me if you think Rosas didn't have a hand in deciding who he wanted getting playing time for his trade bolstering plans. I've posted at length here since preseason on how they were choosing to use these players in a way that would cause losing and have no point other than to attempt to foolishly raise trade values for individuals. That is setting your team up for losing.

[shrink]

I post because I'm passionate, but I also believe I'm rational enough to try to understand all sides of a situation.

What? There is no room for that kind of behavior here!

You pick your scapegoat, you pick your hero. If anyone says anything positive about your scapegoat, you accuse him of being a homer, and if they say anything negative about your star, you call them a hater.

Get with the program. You’ll never last on these boards.

[winforlose]

And this is supposed to be acceptable? Anyone wondering why the team is losing? Behind the back of the coach leading it is the PoBo/GM undercutting his future finding a replacement, and at the same time telling the coach what he wants to see done. This isn't really any different than the behind the scenes undercutting of Thibs ability to win and get things done here until he was replaced. This kind of management uses the team losing to make the changes for them so they don't look like the guy who did it. So they set the stage for losing as much as anyone, it's their goal. The instant Finch hire tells you all you need to know.

I will accept your premise for the purpose of the conversation. Glen Taylor picked Ryan, not Rosas. Glen Taylor seems to have forced Ryan on Rosas after Rosas took over. Rosas entire future is on the line just as Ryan’s was. Assuming everything you said is true, Glen put Ryan in a bad spot and Ryan chose to be their because he knew he wouldn’t get an opportunity elsewhere. This begs the question, why couldn’t Ryan get an opportunity elsewhere? The answer is he is not qualified nor talented enough. A POBO or GM (whoever is running things,) should be in charge of who is doing the coaching.

Looking beyond the process, Ryan did not optimize his rotations or his schemes. You can argue Rosas gave Ryan bad cards, but that doesn’t mean Ryan must misplay his hand. Ryan was one of the least winning coaches in NBA history. His winning percentage is 31.4 percent.

The mistake was not allowing Rosas to truly choose someone new to start with. But let's not act like they didn't interview a bunch of scrubs over a period of time and Rosas selected him. It happened under his control.

But to waste two years working and meanwhile be searching for his replacement? This season was trash in November because of Rosas, not Ryan. But yes, Ryan didn't optimize his rotations or his schemes, timeout usage, and many game specific moments we repeatedly saw playout. But on rotations and roster usage, you tell me if you think Rosas didn't have a hand in deciding who he wanted getting playing time for his trade bolstering plans.

Let me ask it this way. If Ryan is being given marching orders that he knew would lead the team off a cliff, why follow them? Play it out in the press. Force Rosas to fight with Glen over firing Ryan and make it clear that Ryan is not being allowed to coach the team. Ryan’s job is to win games, he didn’t do it. You could argue that he was told to play X or Y but at the end of the day Ryan’s job is to push back and if he cannot do it his way it is his job to bow out. The owner installed a coach who wasn’t qualified. The conversation begins and ends their. If Rosas ran over Ryan then it is a direct consequence of Ryan not having the standing to fight back.

Also, how much of your assertion is fact and how much is speculation. We don’t know how many players Rosas ordered Ryan to play. We don’t know how much influence Rosas exerted over Ryan. We do know that Ryan is the final authority on rotations and that is why he is getting the blame.

[Chello1]

I appreciated Scoot’s post so much, I wanted to bring it over.

Anyone surprised they did not promote Vanterpool?

Lots of people.

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Because he is in charge of the defense on this team and it is embarrassingly bad! How could you promote him? He can't do the job as assistant that they hired him to do. You can't elevate that guy to head coach.

[UnFadeable21]

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?s=21

[Jedzz]

I will accept your premise for the purpose of the conversation. Glen Taylor picked Ryan, not Rosas. Glen Taylor seems to have forced Ryan on Rosas after Rosas took over. Rosas entire future is on the line just as Ryan’s was. Assuming everything you said is true, Glen put Ryan in a bad spot and Ryan chose to be their because he knew he wouldn’t get an opportunity elsewhere. This begs the question, why couldn’t Ryan get an opportunity elsewhere? The answer is he is not qualified nor talented enough. A POBO or GM (whoever is running things,) should be in charge of who is doing the coaching.

Looking beyond the process, Ryan did not optimize his rotations or his schemes. You can argue Rosas gave Ryan bad cards, but that doesn’t mean Ryan must misplay his hand. Ryan was one of the least winning coaches in NBA history. His winning percentage is 31.4 percent.

The mistake was not allowing Rosas to truly choose someone new to start with. But let's not act like they didn't interview a bunch of scrubs over a period of time and Rosas selected him. It happened under his control.

But to waste two years working and meanwhile be searching for his replacement? This season was trash in November because of Rosas, not Ryan. But yes, Ryan didn't optimize his rotations or his schemes, timeout usage, and many game specific moments we repeatedly saw playout. But on rotations and roster usage, you tell me if you think Rosas didn't have a hand in deciding who he wanted getting playing time for his trade bolstering plans.

Let me ask it this way. If Ryan is being given marching orders that he knew would lead the team off a cliff, why follow them? Play it out in the press. Force Rosas to fight with Glen over firing Ryan and make it clear that Ryan is not being allowed to coach the team. Ryan’s job is to win games, he didn’t do it.

You can get fired winning games too. You just outlined one good way for that to happen. Yes, there are recent examples of winning coaches getting fired in the NBA.

If the management is horrible there is never going to be a good way to handle it. We can guess all we want, but the player additions this offseason, the featuring of players starting the season, and now this instant hire ready to go all point to poor management from the top. I do think Ryan could have helped the team win some of these games for his own sake and still tried to stay in Rosas favor even if going away from his directives here and there. But he didn't and now he's gone. But had he, he also might have been gone sooner. And sure, he might not have even known what he was doing wrong and he's rightfully gone. But the examples of poor management from above him still remain.

[Baseline81]

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[Baseline81]

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[UnFadeable21]

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?s=21

Doogie having a full blown meltdown this morning lmfao!!

[TheDominator273]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

And this is supposed to be acceptable? Anyone wondering why the team is losing? Behind the back of the coach leading it is the PoBo/GM undercutting his future finding a replacement, and at the same time telling the coach what he wants to see done. This isn't really any different than the behind the scenes undercutting of Thibs ability to win and get things done here until he was replaced. This kind of management uses the team losing to make the changes for them so they don't look like the guy who did it. So they set the stage for losing as much as anyone, it's their goal. The instant Finch hire tells you all you need to know.

It's not too often that I agree with Jedzz, but this is one of those occasions. Between the roster Rosas gave Saunders and his style of play he forced Saunders had an uphill battle, but then add in the KAT injuries/illness and that hill turned into a mountain.

[thinktank]

It’s mind-boggling to me that anyone would think Saunders wasn’t given a fair shake.

He’s just not a complete coach.

Some weaknesses:

-Poor game management
-Inconsistent and poor rotations
-One-dimensional offense
-This is my opinion, but he does not inspire confidence. He looks lost / frantic during games. He appears the same way in post-game pressers.

I would’ve liked to see what Vanterpool could’ve done, but I’m coming around on Finch, as he likely would’ve taken another job over this one had we waited until the off-season.

[Merc_Porto]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

If that was the case just fire Saunders in the end of january or on friday after the horrible loss against Toronto and before he gets on road for the 4 away games. On top of that you fired the guy after losing against the guy he replaced? All of this in less than 12 hours?

Is like this guys dont even think.

We cant even stay classy.

Read on Twitter

[thinktank]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

If that was the case just fire Saunders in the end of january or on friday after the horrible loss against Toronto and before he gets on road for the 4 away games. On top of that you fired the guy after losing against the guy he replaced? All of this in less than 12 hours?

Is like this guys dont even think.

We cant even stay classy.

Read on Twitter

I'm sorry, but classy is what got us into this mess.

Classy is hiring Ryan after Thibs.

Classy is not what matters.

[winforlose]

And btw what a classy move this was. The timing is just great. Lose for the team of your previous POBO that did a terrible job and in less than 12 hours we fire Ryan and find a replacement.

I wonder if we had won the game last night...
I guess this decision was already made and we were waiting for the next loss... It happend last night against the Knicks of Thibs. Never fail to surprise me this leadership.

Clap clap clap.

I would be stunned if this had anything to do with losing last night. I think they pulled the trigger because the deal with Finch was completed sometime before or during the game. They want Finch to have as much time as possible to start teaching good schemes and habits heading into next season. My guess is the decision was made toward the end of January to fire him and the beginning of February was planning the transition. Then all that was left was to interview on the DL and negotiate terms.

If that was the case just fire Saunders in the end of january or on friday after the horrible loss against Toronto and before he gets on road for the 4 away games. On top of that you fired the guy after losing against the guy he replaced? All of this in less than 12 hours?

Is like this guys dont even think.

We cant even stay classy.

Read on Twitter

1. You don’t fire your current head coach before you have your next one lined up. What if negotiations fell through with Finch? Unless you are sure you want to hand the reigns to one of the current assistants you need your outside hire ready to go.

2. You pay him enough to be comfortable firing him on the road. You don’t owe him a home firing, you do what is best for the team.

3. Rosas could care less about Ryan’s history with Thibs. Thibs deserved to be fired but Ryan did not deserve to be promoted. Ryan was likely a Glen mandate over Rosas strenuous objection. Rosas therefore has no obligation to spare Ryan’s feelings. Rosas probably wants to give Finch as many games as possible to get the team ready for next season.

[Merc_Porto]

I'm sorry, but classy is what got us into this mess.

Classy is hiring Ryan after Thibs.

Classy is not what matters.

Classy is what matters when there's nothing else left.
Who got us into this mess in the first place was Glen and then Rosas by being two incompetents that gave this **** roster to Ryan.