Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Vanterpool, possible September OTAs

Teams are interested in Minnesota Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool. Plus, more info on possible September OTAs.

The Minnesota Timberwolves seemingly pulled off something of a coup last summer when they hired their first choice as head coach and the runner-up as his right-hand man.

Alas, it didn’t take long for that runner-up’s name to be reentered into the head coaching rumor mill.

Also, there’s a bit more news on the possibility of fall organized team activities, or OTAs, for the eight teams who were not included in the NBA’s Orlando restart.

Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Vanterpool, possible September OTAs

Wolves associate head coach David Vanterpool was on the Portland Trail Blazers head coach for seven years and spent time as their defensive coordinator before he came to Minnesota prior to last season.

The Wolves’ vacant head coaching job wasn’t the only position that Vanterpoool interviewed for last summer, either. Interestingly, he still chose to leave Portland for the Timberwolves despite the fact that the Blazers were coming off of an appearance in the Western Conference FInals.

Of the coaching vacancies around the league this offseason, the New York Knicks already filled theirs by hiring Tom Thibodeau. The New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls each fired their head coaches this week, joining the Brooklyn Nets, who currently have Jacque Vaughn filling in on an interim basis.

The Houston Rockets also may have an opening following the expiration of Mike D’Antoni’s contract, and one could certainly see them having an interest in Vanterpool, although there have yet to be any official rumors to that extent.

So far, the only team with reported interest in Vanterpool is the Bulls, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNBA/status/1294314371271843840

Vanterpool’s track record on Terry Stotts’ staff in Portland and more specifically related to the work he did with the backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum has made him a hot name on the head coaching candidate circuit. Even if it isn’t this cycle, don’t be surprised to see his name in rumors quite a bit over the next couple of years.

In other news reported by Charania, the NBA is again looking seriously at fall OTAs for the non-bubble teams.

This, of course, would not force the league to create a secondary bubble or even add new teams to the existing bubble but would put the onus on each individual team to adhere to the regulations and guidelines implemented by the league.

Of course, team facilities are already open, so this would essentially add the ability for teams to hold official, organized practices with all players and coaches present instead of what are essentially concurrent individual workouts that are ongoing right now.

It’s become clear that for the Wolves and the other seven teams who were left out of Orlando, not playing for something like eight full months would be prohibitive when it comes to keeping pace with the 22 teams who have been active this summer.

Look for the league to announce something officially in relatively short order. The playoffs get underway Monday and the draft lottery is this Thursday, so the NBA will probably find a way to release this news sometime in the next week or two.