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Timberwolves fire Saunders, hire Raptors Chris Finch as head coach

ByDylan Jackson|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 21: Head coach Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2021 in New York City. The Knicks won 103-99. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 21: Head coach Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2021 in New York City. The Knicks won 103-99. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly made the decision as a franchise to fire coach Ryan Saunders following a tough loss to the New York Knicks and are making advancements towards hiring Toronto Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch.

The Minnesota Timberwolves firing Ryan Saunders is not surprising – this season he has led the team to a 7-24 record through 31 games, which makes the team the worst in the NBA by more than one game.

The Timberwolves immediately hiring a coach off of another staff during the season is another story, however. Chris Finch worked with Minnesota general manager Gersson Rosas back when both were under the Daryl Morey administration in Houston,

Finch has worked with the Raptors throughout this season but was with the Pelicans for the three years prior as an associate head coach.

Ryan Saunders never had a consistently healthy, fully loaded roster at his disposal. But his lack of ability to create even respectable rotations with a roster that clearly has talent was disappointing – and he failed to make the mid-game adjustments necessary from an NBA coach.

Chris Finch was hired on a multi-year contract as the new head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. For clarity, he is not just an interim coach. The Timberwolves are hiring him with the vision of Finch as the long-term head coach.

Frankly, it is somewhat surprising that this decision has not come sooner. With pressure from fans for this action to have been made as early as a month ago, Saunders has won seven games roughly halfway through a season which the Timberwolves had the first overall pick and had one of the best value signings of this offseason in Malik Beasley.

Even with Towns back, the problems that persisted under Saunders never went away. Chris Finch is inheriting a talented roster that will be missing its franchise point guard in the short term. He will have an incredible task on his hands, likely without a first-round pick this coming offseason.

As he gets used to the roster, it will be interesting to see what types of improvements he attempts to make.

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