The eighth overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, Olden Polynice played 15 seasons in the NBA. Recently, the 7-foot center sat down with Byron Scott on his podcast, Byron Scott’s Fast Break, to discuss a variety of topics. including Kevin Durant to the Rockets, DeAndre Ayton to the Lakers, and the Thunder’s chances of repeating. In the conversation, it also became clear that the 60-year-old Polynice is not a big fan of Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
Olden Polynice is not a fan of Chris Finch
At the end of the podcast featuring Polynice, Scott and Polynice gave more rapid-fire answers for their feelings on other teams. When they spoke on the Timberwolves, Polynice spoke negatively about Finch.
"As long as Finch is the head coach, nope. I go with the universe, man, Polynice said. There’s certain people, certain looks, certain different combinations of things that tell you if you’re going to make it and win. Finch does not look like a head coach. Just like Thibodeau…can you imagine him winning a championship? No, it ain’t happening. Finch is not a championship coach. He makes all the wrong moves at all the right times."
It’s interesting that Polynice mentioned Thibodeau along with Finch because the two do have commonalities, at least in the eyes of basketball fans and pundits. It was seen in the postseason. where both head coaches (Thibodeau with the Knicks) mostly used an eight-man rotation in the playoffs. It wasn’t until the conference finals that both coaches expanded the rotation (Finch did so by playing Terrence Shannon Jr.), but many said it was done too late. Finch didn't go deep into his bench like the Pacers and Thunder did en route to the NBA finals.
They also both have the stigma of not always playing and developing some of their young pieces. That will likely have to change for Minnesota, as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, one player that Finch had the utmost trust in, has moved on to the Hawks. Shannon Jr., along with Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark, should see expanded roles this season.
Still, both head coaches helped their teams reach the conference finals last season, and for Finch, the last two years. But while Finch signed an extension in the 2024 offseason, so did Thibodeau. Despite taking the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years, he was still fired. That should serve notice to Finch that job security is never assured.
Byron Scott feels differently
When it came to the Timberwolves, it was Scott who spoke on them first. He went the opposite route as Polynice, and while he didn’t mention Finch, he said that he expects the Timberwolves to eventually break through and win a title sometime soon.
There are things that can be nitpicked when it comes to Finch, but that can be said for pretty much every coach in the league. Polynice just isn’t a fan of the 55-year-old head coach. Back in June, after the Timberwolves were eliminated by the Thunder, Polynice was on Fox Sports Radio saying that Minnesota should replace Finch with Michael Malone.