Dunking With Wolves
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Minnesota Timberwolves hire former agent as assistant GM

By Andrew Ites

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 21: President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas of the Minnesota Timberwolves introduces Ryan Saunders as the new head coach during a press conference on May 21, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 21: President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas of the Minnesota Timberwolves introduces Ryan Saunders as the new head coach during a press conference on May 21, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves continue their overhaul of the front office by adding a former high-profile agent as their assistant general manager.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have almost completely moved on from the Tom Thibodeau era this offseason by ushering in a new president of basketball operations in Gersson Rosas to pair with new head coach Ryan Saunders.

This revamped front office and coaching combination is expected to embrace analytics more than their predecessors who seemed to be stuck in the stone age of basketball.

The Wolves are also following the new trend of hiring former agents to their staff by bringing in former Roc Nation representative Joe Branch as their assistant general manager.

Branch will serve under general manager Scott Layden, who is the one holdover from Thibodeau’s reign in Minnesota.

While Layden will retain the GM title, Darren Wolfson reports that Layden will be “more of a non-factor” in the organization saying that Glen Taylor told him Layden “will scout, really be based out of NYC and not here.”

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According to Adrian Wojnarowski who broke the news on Tuesday morning, Branch’s list of clients at Roc Nation included Caris LeVert, Justise Winslow, and Josh Hart. He’s also held positions at Nike, the NBA league office, and Northwestern basketball.

Former agents have begun to take more prominent roles in NBA front offices over the last decade or so with the most high-profile hire being Rob Pelinka of the Lakers.

While Pelinka might not be the most encouraging example of this strategy working out, although he’s been able to acquire LeBron James and Anthony Davis during his tenure, a more successful agent-turned-GM to look towards would be Utah’s Dennis Lindsey who has transformed the Jazz into one of the deepest teams in the league after making the transition from agent to front office executive.

Hiring Joe Branch as the assistant general manager acts as the final move in Minnesota’s front office transformation as they prepare for the beginning of the regular season in a month or so.

It’s exciting to see the Wolves embracing the new trends of embracing analytics and hiring former agents in their management structure after feeling like the organization was being held back by Thibodeau and company’s old school thinking.

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As long as owner Glen Taylor avoids his tendency to meddle in the front office and allows his basketball operations staff to do their job, the new management team in Minnesota has a strong chance to succeed.

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