Sam Mitchell took over the head coaching job of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season when Flip Saunders passed away. Mitchell took over a very difficult situation, and unfortunately for him and the team this season hasn't gone very well despite the team having some nice young talent. Mitchell has been criticized at times for being too stern and old-school, and now it appears about half of the players have expressed concerns about the interim head coach, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
The report states that these players spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity because they didn't want to publicly criticize their coach. Half of the players on the team reportedly expressed concerns, and it is unclear which players it was.
The concerns reportedly centered on three basic things. The first is the fact that Mitchell is running an outdated offensive system. The second is the players feel that he tends to platoon his substitutions instead of mixing and matching the starters and bench players. Lastly they feel as though Mitchell doesn't take any accountability for the team's failures this season.
Mitchell previously has had his issues with Zach LaVine, as the young guard was a recipient of Mitchell's tough love. LaVine thought Mitchell was being too tough on him and even called the treatment unfair but he also said that Mitchell is the coach and all he can do is play well on the court. There are many around the Timberwolves organization that believe Mitchell is not the long-term answer as the head coach, and these reports of unhappy players certainly won't help his case.
The Timberwolves are 16-37 with Mitchell at the helm this year, which is the fifth worst record in the league. With the amount of talent it has, Minnesota was expected to compete for a playoff spot, but that has not been the case. Owner Glen Taylor has acknowlegded how difficult a situation Mitchell was put in this year, but he also said watching all of this losing hasn't been easy. At this point it would be a major surprise if Mitchell is retained beyond this season.
