Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders was diagnosed with a treatable form of Hodgkin's Lymphoma earlier this summer. At first, Saunders said that the cancer would not prevent him from fulfilling his duties as the Timberwolves head coach, but now it appears that he will take some time off to focus on getting treatment. With Saunders being out, the Timberwolves were expected to name Sam Mitchell as the interim head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, which has since been confirmed by the Timberwolves.
Saunders is hopeful that he could return to the sidelines at some point during the upcoming NBA season, but that is up in the air. The expectation is that Saunders will miss at least half of the season, and it is being reported that he will miss several months as opposed to several weeks.
Last season was Saunders' first as head coach in Minnesota, and they finished with the worst record in the NBA. This season, the Timberwolves are expected to be much improved as they have everyone healthy and a good mix of young talent and veteran leaders. Mitchell hopes to be able to build on what Saunders has started in Minnesota.
"My thoughts right now are with Flip and the Saunders family. In the interim, I am confident that I can continue to build the foundation that Flip has established. We have a team blended with talented young guys and experienced veterans. We're excited to see how this team comes together in training camp," said Mitchell.
Mitchell has been a coach in the NBA since 2002 mostly as an assistant. Mitchell does have head coaching experience, though, as he was at the helm for the Toronto Raptors from 2004-2008. In his four-plus seasons with Toronto, Mitchell finished with a record of 156-189, but he was named NBA Coach of the Year after the Raptors won in the division in the 2006-07 season.
The Timberwolves hope that Saunders gets better and makes his way back to the sidelines sooner rather than later, but in the meantime they are confident in Mitchell's ability to lead the team. Both Glen Taylor, the majority owner, and Milt Newton, the general manager, expressed confidence in Mitchell's ability to lead the team.
