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Minnesota Timberwolves made right decision by hiring Chris Finch

ByDylan Jackson|
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. 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 Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. 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 Will Newton/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Timberwolves made seemingly made the correct decision when the team decided to make then-Raptors assistant Chris Finch their new head coach.

At the time of the hiring, the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed rushed, as they had fired Ryan Saunders the same night. Additionally, David Vanterpool is an experienced assistant – and would have been the seemingly obvious choice as the interim coach. But again, the Timberwolves made the decision to hire Finch quickly – and it made a lot of people outside of the organization question the process.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Hiring Chris Finch was the correct decision

Now, about a fourth of the league had head coaching vacancies entering this offseason – the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, and Portland Trail Blazers.

Essentially all of those teams (outside of maybe Washington) are more attractive openings than Minnesota – a team that finished in the lottery but without a draft pick. That makes the timing of the Chris Finch hire THAT more important – there is no guarantee that the Timberwolves would have been able to hire him if they had waited until after the season. They were the first to choose from the pool of promising coaches.

And Chris Finch seems to have been the correct decision and coach for the current Timberwolves roster construction. As coach, he has created a system that utilizes the best skills that each individual player has to offer. For example, Anthony Edwards saw drastic improvement following Finch becoming coach.

Additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns really excelled with more emphasis on perimeter play and elbow touches. Under Saunders, neither of those things were as effective as you would hope from a team that had the perimeter talent that the Timberwolves did.

Yeah, Minnesota only had a 16-25 record with Finch as head coach, but again – the improvement displayed was well worth bringing Finch in early – and the Timberwolves did deal with a plethora of injuries over the course of those games.

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