Will the next Timberwolves coach be Flip Saunders, Fred Hoiberg or George Karl?
Speculation continues that Saunders, now the team’s president of basketball operations, wants to coach, too. Why both jobs? Because he enjoys coaching, and maybe at age 59 he wants his legacy to be more than being fired in each of his previous NBA head coaching stops.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is on record preferring to have Saunders in the front office with another individual coaching. Taylor told Sports Headliners awhile ago front office executives have long term views and coaches make decisions based on what’s best now. He wants both outlooks for his franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2004.
Saunders, if he wants to coach again, will have a sales job to do with Taylor. He might get it done because Saunders is a persuasive guy, and although the Wolves, Pistons and Wizards all dismissed him, he knows how to coach. It’s believed, too, Saunders could be effective in convincing All-Star forward Kevin Love to re-sign with the Wolves next year.
Hoiberg spent two seasons playing for the Wolves and four more as a front office executive before taking his first head coaching position in 2010 at Iowa State, his alma mater. Hoiberg was well liked as a Wolves executive and the guess is Taylor is fond of him.
A Sports Headliners source believes Hoiberg is interested in the Wolves job. There are several reasons this could be true, including the possibility he doesn’t care much for recruiting. That’s no easy job at Iowa State, a school where Hoiberg has built his program by dodging potential problems with talented transfers who had alleged issues at other schools. Winning in Ames is no gimme and you wonder if he wants the dual role of recruiter and babysitter.
Iowa State loyalists want to believe Hoiberg—who grew up in Ames and is one of the state’s biggest heroes—will never leave his home town. He might not leave for a college job but the NBA could be different. If that’s not true, then why is his contractual buyout to leave for the pros reportedly $500,000 while the buyout for another college position is $2 million? Consider, too, recent Internet reports that had Hoiberg’s name linked to the Warriors job that was filled last week and the opening with the Knicks for head coach.
Hoiberg likes his team to play at a fast pace and that’s more doable in the NBA than in college. He played with a 24 second shot clock in the NBA and wants to see the college shot clock go from 35 seconds to 18 seconds, according to Internet reports last week.
Lifestyle and security might lure the 41-year-old Hoiberg back to Minneapolis, too. In Ames he’s a celebrity wherever he goes but in Minneapolis he and his family would enjoy much more privacy. The Hoibergs might be Iowans but they have Minnesota roots, too, from their years in the state, and they still have a cabin in central Minnesota.
The Wolves could offer a contract that sets Hoiberg up for life. A five-year $25 million deal, along with his NBA pension someday, would provide the personable coach with a lot of financial security. He reportedly earns $2.6 million annually at Iowa State as part of a contract through 2023.
Hoiberg or any new Wolves coach will inherit a roster with multiple weaknesses that is not ready to make a deep playoff run, assuming the team can even qualify for the postseason next year. Still, if Hoiberg got all that he could out of the Wolves during the next several seasons it would be a credit, not a blemish, to his coaching reputation.
As for Karl, he is 63 and is sixth among NBA coaches in all-time wins with 1,131. He is friendly with Saunders and the two likely would work effectively together. Karl is an advocate of up-tempo offense and sharing the basketball. That’s a style, of course, players say makes the game fun but with Karl it won’t be an anything goes environment. He will push players to play hard and nobody is advised to fall into disfavor.
Karl, who will demand plenty of his players defensively too, went through a difficult period a few years ago with head and neck cancer. That illness and his age could make NBA teams with coaching openings perhaps think twice about him.
The search for the next Wolves coach has been quiet for a few weeks. Taylor said by e-mail Saunders will pick the next coach but there’s no doubt the owner will have plenty of say, too.
Worth Noting
Taylor said in the same e-mail that despite other reports, he isn’t trying to sell his controlling interest in the Wolves. He is open to inquiries about minority ownership.
The NBA Draft Lottery from New York is tomorrow night and ESPN will televise starting at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time. Because of their 40-42 regular season record, the Wolves presently are assigned the No. 13 pick for the first round of the June 26 NBA Draft. The Wolves are one of 14 teams in the lottery which determines the top three positions in the draft. Minnesota has a 2.18% chance of obtaining a top-three slot in the draft.
The Wolves will have three second round selections in the June 26 draft—No. 40, 44 and 53.
Twins second baseman Brian Dozier is third in American League home runs with 11, second in stolen bases with 12 and first in runs scored with 40.
Yangervis Solarte, the 26-year-old Yankees rookie second baseman who is among the American League leaders in batting average, is from Venezuela and was in the Twins organization for several years until 2011.
Gophers football coach Jerry Kill again showed his remarkable generosity last week donating $100,000 to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota and $5,000 to the Bolder Options youth mentoring program.
Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater after being asked if he feels overwhelmed by the team playbook: “Not at all. Me just being the guy that I am, everything comes easy to me. But at the same time it’s also a challenge to actually just get better each and everyday because the guys around you are continually getting better also.”
The Minute Men, the volunteer organization supporting Minnesota sports for more than 50 years, will honor the Mr. Lacrosse and Ms. Lacrosse winners at a noon banquet June 15 at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront Hotel. Also on June 15 the organization will honor the Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball winners at a 6 p.m. banquet at Jax Café. More at Minnesotaminutemen.com.
Comments Welcome