Minnesota Timberwolves: More details emerging on Gersson Rosas’s firing

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Timberwolves abruptly dismissed President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.

There weren’t many details available at the time, but more information has now emerged regarding why Rosas was fired by majority owner Glen Taylor.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Gersson Rosas oversaw a ‘toxic culture’

WCCO first reported that the primary reason for Rosas’s dismissal was the “toxic culture” that he oversaw.

There hadn’t been much reported on this previously, outside of some mentions on podcasts from local media such as Darren Wolfson (KSTP, SKOR North) and Dane Moore (Dane Moore NBA Podcast) that things weren’t quite as hunky-dory, so to speak, as Rosas and the Wolves would have had us all believe.

Now that Rosas is out, however, more details have emerged related to the apparent dysfunction within the front office.

The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski ticked off a few specific instances that ruffled the feathers of some in the reorganization (subscription required), dating back to the handling of Ryan Saundres’ firing as head coach in February of this year, as well as the dismissal of longtime European scout Zarko Durisic.

But it apparently went far beyond simple dissatisfaction with the handling of personnel transactions. There are allegations of overworking staff and general mistreatment, as well as Rosas’ making decisions on his own without truly taking input into consideration.

Relationship accelerated Minnesota Timberwolves’ firing of Gersson Rosas

Another allegation first reported by WCCO and backed up with more detail by The Athletic’s Krawczynski is that Rosas was in a “consensual intimate relationship” with a member of the staff.

Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer expanded on this news, reporting that a recent incident over the weekend during which Rosas and the staffer were seen in public at a team function led to swift action from ownership.

At this stage, it’s admittedly difficult to parse what the main impetus behind the move is, but a combination of a difficult work environment and the brazenness of an inappropriate relationship that violated the team’s code of conduct would appear to make this a firing with cause, and not necessarily for “performance reasons”, as team sources suggested in The Athletic’s piece.

No matter what the direct cause, it’s obviously a stunning development coming days before the start of training camp and less than two weeks before the preseason opener.

All indications are that the rest of the staff will stay intact, including head coach Chris Finch. Sachin Gupta is assuming leadership of the basketball operations department and seems to have a legitimate chance at landing the role on a permanent basis. He’s highly regarded around the league and was a finalist for the Sacramento Kings’ top job only months ago (subscription required).

We’ll keep an eye on this story and how it will continue to impact the organization as players and coaches prepare for media day and the start of training camp next week.