Minnesota Timberwolves president Filp Saunders ended last summer's search for a head coach by hiring himself. As a basketball czar, he has had mixed results so far, but most observers would agree that he's been better as an executive than as a coach. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said on Tuesday that he anticipates Saunders staying in the latter role for one more season, via ProBasketballTalk's Brett Pollakoff:
“It's not definite,” Taylor said, after pausing for a few seconds when asked specifically about Saunders returning as head coach. “But in my mind, with the effort that he put in this year to bring this team along, it's probably 90 percent. If he sees somebody and he changes his mind, he certainly could convince me. I think eventually I want a different coach, and I want him to be the GM. My guess is that he'll go another year.”
Taylor added that winning the draft lottery doesn't change anything -- the Wolves are taking it a year at a time, and Saunders will hire his replacement when "he sees somebody in the coaching ranks that he really respects."
Saunders loves coaching, so it would be surprising if he didn't want to stick around this season and work with the last three No. 1 picks. There will be Minnesota fans, though, who aren't thrilled with this news. With several suitable candidates available this summer -- Alvin Gentry and perhaps Tom Thibodeau, to name a couple -- and the owner saying Saunders won't be the coach long-term, why wait to make a change?
The bottom line is that, as long as Taylor supports Saunders, there's nothing stopping him from remaining head coach. What will be interesting is whether or not the owner says the same thing this time next year, if Saunders still doesn't want to step away.
