We’ve lost a Minnesota sports legend; it’s as simple as that.
With the passing of Flip Saunders on Sunday, an entire legion of NBA executives, coaches, players, and fans mourn the loss of one of their own.
Before the regular season begins, we first have to pay tribute to what Flip meant to this franchise, and this game as a whole. In my personal opinion, there isn’t a figure in Timberwolves history that was more influential and more important than Flip Saunders.
As Flip came to the Timberwolves as general manager in May of 1995, the team was still in its infancy, being only six years old. Up until that point the Timberwolves had never been a competitor, unable to break the 30 win barrier until Flip came.
In June, one of the first things Saunders did as GM of the Timberwolves was draft Kevin Garnett with the fifth-overall pick. Garnett, of course, has since become the most immortalized and beloved basketball player in Minnesota sports history. Flip was then called upon to coach the Timberwolves in December of 1995, the Wolves went 20-42 with Saunders as the interim coach in 1995-96.
However, there was an emergence by the Wolves once Saunders came to the bench. The following season, the Timberwolves were able to post a 40-42 record, the best in franchise history to that point. The team also made their first playoff appearance that season, eventually losing to the Houston Rockets in the first round.
The Timberwolves continued their success under Saunders over the next few years with their first winning season in franchise history in 1997-98. Saunders then led the Wolves to the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons from 1997-2004.
As the Wolves were getting better and better over the course of Saunders’ tenure, Saunders and then VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale decided it was time to make a run at a title in 2003. They traded for Latrell Sprewell, and Sam Cassell and so began the greatest Timberwolves season ever, with Saunders at the helm. With the newly christened “Big Three” of Garnett, Cassell, and Sprewell, along with role players Wally Szczerbiak, Fred Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell, and Ervin Johnson the Wolves went 58-24 — a record that still stands as the best in franchise history.
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The Wolves also made their only Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history, losing to the Lakers in that series. Now, yes, this is the best Wolves team the franchise has ever seen, but when you look at the roster, besides Garnett, Cassell, and Sprewell, that team is below average.
We have to acknowledge the fact that Flip Saunders is the one that made that team what it was. He was able to successfully start Hassell and Johnson for most of the season and still win 58 games. That requires a whole heck of a lot of, for lack of a better word, balls, as a coach. He brought a team that lacked true depth and, honestly, talent, besides a few players, to the brink of an NBA championship.
After Saunders was let go in the middle of the 2004-05 season, he went on the coach in Detroit and Washington. In Detroit, he led the Pistons to a franchise record 64 wins in 2005-06, but it was all for naught as he was eventually let go before meeting the same fate in Washington in 2011.
Saunders was then out of the league for two years before returning “home” in spring of 2013. In June of 2014, he replaced the departed Rick Adelman with himself as head coach. Later that month, he drafted Zach LaVine with the 13th-overall pick, and then traded for that year’s number-one overall pick, Andrew Wiggins. As we are well aware, Wiggins and LaVine are two core pieces to the future of this team.
Mar 2, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward
Kevin Garnett(21) gets ready to return to the game as he stands next to head coach Flip Saunders in the game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center. The Los Angeles Clippers win 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
As the Wolves struggled on the floor in 2014-15, there were some positives that came from it. Saunders brought Kevin Garnett back and rekindled Wolves fans’ love for Minnesota basketball. Also, in this past year’s draft, Saunders selected Karl Anthony-Towns first-overall, another building block in this team’s future.
When we truly take a step back and examine what Flip Saunders did for the Minnesota Timberwolves as a franchise, it trumpsany other figure. We have to look at Flip as one of the most influential people in Minnesota sports history.
Without Flip there is likely no KG, Cassell, Sprewell, Wiggins, LaVine, Towns, Wally, and any other player you can think of.
Most importantly, without Flip, there is no Western Conference Finals appearance. I don’t think we can even begin to imagine where the Minnesota Timberwolves would be without this man. The importance Flip had in Minnesota cannot be matched, and it cannot be overstated and enough.
Whether it was directly or indirectly, Flip Saunders had an impact on everyone who has played or been a fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and that goes for every fan and player of the NBA as well.
My thoughts and, most importantly, my prayers go out to the Saunders family. Not only have we lost a Minnesota legend, but we have lost a tremendous human being.
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