The Minnesota Timberwolves will interview their third head coach candidate Saturday with Pres. of Operations David Kahn & Owner Glen Taylor.  Another elderly coaching candidate: Rick Adelman will get an interview.

Most are considering Rick Adelman a ‘dream hire’ for the Timberwolves that could very well be the answer to all their problems.

Rick Adelman, 65, began in the NBA as a player when he was selected in the 7th round of the 1968 NBA Draft—79th overall.  He spent just six season in the League before retiring in 1975, but that was only the beginning for Adelman.  In 1988 he returned to the NBA as a head coach for the Portland Trailblazers he was there from 88-93, from 1995-97 he coached the Golden State Warriors, from 1999-2006 he was the head coach of the Sacramento Kings and most recently from 2007-2011 he was the head coach of the Houston Rockets, before being ‘let go’ earlier this summer—and replaced by former Wolves GM & Head Coach—Kevin McHale.

In his 20 year coaching career, Adelman has amassed a 945-616 record (.605 winning percentage).

In my opinion this would definitely be the ideal hire for the Timberwolves, the other VERY intriguing candidate seems to be Don Nelson.  My only concern with this process is that with the Wolves still owing Rambis over $4M, is owner Glen Taylor willing to shell out some cash to get a great head coach, or are we going to start all over again with  bargain coach that’ll get the Wolves nowhere….?

That’s all for now, remember to check daily for all your TWolves news, information & updates—EVEN THROUGH THE LOCKOUT—though it will likely be just coaching candidate updates :)  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to interview their third NBA head coaching candidate.  

Bernie Bickerstaff follows interviews of Terry Porter & Mike Woodson.

The Portland Trailblazers assistant will interview on Friday with President of Operations David Kahn & Owner Glen Taylor.

Bernie Bickerstaff is the father of former Timberwolves assistant J.B. Bickerstaff—who recently joined the coaching staff in Houston with former Wolves GM & Head Coach Kevin McHale.

Bernie is 67 years old and has ben a head coach with Seattle, Denver, Washington & Charlotte.  He last coached for the Bobcat in 2007 when the team went 33-49.  Bernie’s overall record stands at 415-517 in 13 seasons—with a .445 winning percentage.  Bernie also has experience as a General Manager and a Team President.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to interview Don Nelson as well as a number of other candidates early next week.

That’s all for now, remember to check back daily for all your up-to-date TWolves news, information & updates all year round!  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

The Minnesota Timberwolves interviewed Terry Porter earlier this week (the full story on that can be found in the previous post(s)), but today David Kahn and owner Glen Taylor sat down with Mike Woodson as a potential Wolves head coach candidate.

As Kahn & Taylor sat down with Woodson, eleven of the Minnesota Timberwolves employees (on the business side of things) were laid off according to a report from the Associated Press.  Many of the 11 employees were a part of the sales department and AP also reports that teams such as Charlotte among others, have begun to do the same amidst the NBA lockout.

Back to Mike Woodson, though.  Mike Woodson is the former Atlanta Hawks head coach.  Before all that however, Mike Woodson was an NBA player spending 11 seasons in the Association.  He was selected 12th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks he played with the Knicks from 80-81, with the Nets from 81-82, with the Kings from 82-86, the Clippers 86-88, 88-91 with the Rockets and just 1991 with the Cavaliers.  

He’s only had the one head coaching job—with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010.  His career coaching records stands at 206-286.

Woodson’s defensive mindset is certainly what the Timberwolves need in order to become the outstanding team they’re capable of being, but David Kahn has been adamant that he wants a coach with a real up-tempo style of playing to get Ricky Rubio and all these young athletic guys up and down the court in a hurry.—Most would disagree that this is what the TWolves should be doing—I agree they should play a little more uptempo, but if that’s the case, they need to have an incredibly strong D, ‘run n gun’ only gets you so far!

Woodson was fired (or rather not resigned) before last season (and replaced by then assistant coach Larry Drew) after the Atlanta Hawks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic in an 0-4 sweep.

Woodson is also one of the last two candidates for the Detroit Pistons job—taking over for John Kuester who was fired a month or so ago (Boston assistant and former Nets head coach—Lawrence Frank is the ‘other candidate’).

That’s all for now, stay tuned for all your TWolves news, information & updates even through the lockout!  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

The Minnesota Timberwolves finally fired Kurt Rambis and as such, they’ve begun the search for a new head coach—preferably someone with a ‘fast break gameplan’.

The search is underway and the Wolves have interview their first candidate: Terry Porter.

Terry Porter—a former player, played 17 seasons in the NBA—the former 24th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, he went to the Portland Trailblazers till 1995.  From 1995-98 he played for none other than the Minnesota Timberwolves, 1998-99 for the Miami Heat and his final years from 1999-2002 with the San Antonio Spurs.

Also on Porter’s resume—a 2-time NBA all-star in 1991 & 1993 as well as the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1993.  His career statistics in his 17-year career include: 15,586 points, 3,872 rebounds and 7,160 assists.

Porter is also experienced on the pine as well.  His coaching career includes stops as a head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks from 2003-05 and with the Phoenix Suns from 2008-09.  His overall record in those three years is 99-116 (.460).

Porter’s skills and experience as a point guard make Porter an ideal fit for the Timberwolves who just added point guard Ricky Rubio as the Wolves.  According to President of Operations: David Kahn, will look to ‘run’ this season, which would obviously contradict Porter’s hard nosed-defensive mindset (which is something that many (including myself) believe the Wolves REALLY NEED).

Other candidates for the head coaching job includes: Don Nelson, Rick Adelman & Bernie Bickerstaff as well as Memphis assistant: Dave Joerger.  None of which have gotten interviews—though according to the Star Tribune Don Nelson talked with David Kahn on the phone for over 40 minutes and they’ll talk again.

That’s all for now, as the lockout goes on and the coaching search moves forward stay tuned all year round for the up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates—lockout or not!  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

Yesterday the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to let go there coach of two years: Kurt Rambis after a tumultuous two seasons that resulted in a 32-132 record. 

As such, the Timberwolves are again on the coaching hunt and names have begun to surface recently.

The first of course being Bernie Bickerstaff.  We’ve had a few different stories on Bernie, but that idea can basically be scrapped.  The idea was that the Wolves would hire Bernie and keep his son J.B. (already an assistant in Minnesota), in hopes that after a few years Bernie would throw the reins to his son, however news broke today that J.B. Bickerstaff had accepted an assistant coaching job with the Houston Rockets under Kevin McHale.

Now, yet another name has surfaced.  Don Nelson-formerly of the Golden State Warriors (before he was basically forced out, then they hired Keith Smart—fired him this summer and now analyst Mark Jackson is the new Warriors head coach).  Don Nelson is reportedly showing interest in this Timberwolves roster that is loaded with young talent.  There are a few big questions on Don Nelson.  1.) Is he the right fit?  Anyone who has won the most games as a coach in NBA history should be the right fit for any team…right?  Well, the bigger question is—at 71 years of age, is Nelson the right coach for such a young inexperienced team?  2.) How much money is Nelson going to demand?  Glen Taylor is already having to shell out the remaining salary on the remaining 2 years of Rambis’ contract, so the thought is—they’ll likely look for a cheaper option…unfortunately!

Nelson became the most winningest coach in NBA history late in the 09-10 season and has an overall record of 1,335-1,063 (.557) as he’s coached in Milwaukee, New York, Dallas and of course Golden State—which links him to two current Minnesota players—Anthony Tolliver & Anthony Randolph who both spent a year with Nelson before he was let go.

Of course Don Nelson isn’t the only veteran coach the Timberwolves could/should look into—Rick Adelman (formerly of the Rockets), Larry Brown (formerly of the Charlotte Bobcats—was fired earlier in the 2010-11 season) and Jerry Sloan (formerly of the Utah Jazz and currently retired in the midst of the 2010-11 season). 

The sad truth is that David Kahn will make a move that he’ll love as he leaves the entire organization and fan base left, scratching our heads.  Beaming with pride he’ll introduce him and puzzled we’ll continue to question why Glen Taylor lets him call the shots…

That’s all for now, the coaching list is likely to grow in the coming weeks and we’ll be here to bring you all the updates as it’s likely there won’t be much else TWolves news to discuss.  Thanks for reading and check back daily for all TWolves news and updates.  GO WOLVES!

President of Basketball Operations for the Timberwolves: David Kahn talks with the media about his decision to relieve head coach Kurt Rambis of his “duties”—Part 2 of 2

President of Basketball Operations for the Timberwolves: David Kahn talks with the media about his decision to relieve head coach Kurt Rambis of his “duties”—Part 1 of 2

David Kahn finally manned up after stringing along Kurt Rambis for the past 3-4 months since the TWolves season ended and fired the 32-132 coach (in two NBA seasons).

“I want to thank Kurt for his contributions to our franchise and wish him the best in his future endeavors.  His arrival signaled we were serious about building a championship-contending ballclub over the course of time,” Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn said in a statement issued by the team.  ”We have accumulated a solid nucleus of young talent with a bright future during the last two years.  I am hopeful Kurt receives his share of the credit for helping develop that talent and his contributions are not forgotten as we become a better basketball team.

“Im grateful for the opportunity that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has given me.  During my years working with coaches Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Cotton Fitzsimmons, I learned about the ups and down of this sport and today is one of the down days,” said Rambis in a statement given to the Associated Press.  ”But I’m confident that my work—and the work of my staff—with our many young players over the last two years will begin to pay off for Mr. Taylor and Timberwolves fans.  Now, as important new players are added to the mix, the future of this franchise should be a bright one and I am thankful for the chance I had, to play a part in shaping that future.”

Owner Glen Taylor will not only have to pay the remaining two years of Rambis’ contract, but he’ll also shell out more money for the new head coach (a good chance that the new coach will be signed cheap).

With Kurt Rambis, now, officially out of the picture, the Timberwolves will take some time during the lockout to search for a potential replacement and go from there.  The one name that’s been thrown out multiple times—Bernie Bickerstaff (a current Portland Trailblazers assistant)—(see the previous post on this site for more information on Bernie).  Thanks for reading and remember to check back daily for all the TWolves news, information and updates all year round.  GO WOLVES!

The Minnesota Timberwolves still have head coach Kurt Rambis on the payroll, but that hasn’t stopped David Kahn from asking the Portland Trailblazers permission to interview current assistant coach to Nate McMillan-Bernie Bickerstaff (J.B. Bickerstaff’s father).

The Timberwolves requested permission earlier this week and the Trailblazers honored the request and allowed Bernie to be interviewed for the Wolves head coach position.

Blazers head coach Nate McMillan had this to say: “Bernie’s been (a head coach) before, so we’ll see what happens.  I don’t want to speak for Bernie, but I know he’s extremely happy with Portland and being here working with me.  He’s said time and time again he likes where we are and what we’re doing.  It’s going to have to be something really attractive to go,” McMillan told the Oregonian.

Bernie has a career record of 415-517 in 14 NBA seasons as a head coach.  His most recent stint was with the Charlotte Bobcats from 2005-07.  Bickerstaff began as an assistant with Portland, last season.

“Bernie’s been around for a long, long time, he’s seen so many different systems and worked with so many different coaches.  He’s been a GM; a president.  He’s done just about everything you can do in the NBA except own a team.  So he has a great deal of experience and knowledge for the game and he can help in so many different ways,” McMillian told the Oregonian.

Stay tuned for more updates on this and all Timberwolves news & information.  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

The latest on Kurt Rambis and the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Word came today, that Pres. David Kahn wants to reassign current head coach Kurt Rambis (who has yet to get the “axe”).  

The initial story was that just days before the 2011 NBA Draft, news broke that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be firing Kurt Rambis and had already begun the search for potential replacements.

However, earlier this evening, the TWolves are now proposing that they want to reassign Rambis to the front office for the remaining 2-years $4M.  

However, sources say that Kurt Rambis has no desire whatsoever in teaming with Kahn in the front office—something that reportedly holds little to no appeal for Kurt.  

Honestly, can you blame Kurt Rambis?  He’s been strung along since mid-April when the Timberwolves season mercifully came to an end riding a 15-game losing streak and now, the beginning of July and there’s been no official announcement firing him or intentions to keep him around.  

Yahoo Sports have said that this is being seen as more of a concept than a formal offer by David Kahn to Kurt, as there’s been little to no communication between Rambis and the Wolves front office in quite a few days.

On June 22nd, the informal news broke that Rambis wouldn’t return as Wolves head coach, but again, no official announcement has been made.  The idea being that the Wolves will pay Rambis through the NBA lockout as it is cheaper, right now, than firing him and having to negotiate an expensive buyout—AS WELL AS hiring a replacement.

Kahn has reportedly been searching for replacements the past few weeks and among the names include Portland Trailblazers assistant Bernie Bickerstaff.  Bernie of course is the son of current Wolves assistant coach—J.B. Bickerstaff.  The obvious idea being that the Bickerstaffs would come in and work together with Bernie as the head coach and after a few years would turn the team over to his son—J.B.  Other candidates that Kahn has shown interest in include: U of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, Rick Adelman and Sam Mitchell (though Rick and Sam aren’t being looked at as closely as Bernie and Lorenzo).  

The Timberwolves—with newly signed Ricky Rubio have stated that they want to ‘run’ next year—utilizing a fast break offense to coincide with the talents of Ricky, Wes, Beasley, Love, Williams, Randolph etc.

The chance of Rambis accepting this is extremely low, but for now, it’s a wait and see situation.

Thanks for reading and remember to check back daily for all the up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates all year round (lockout or not!).  GO WOLVES!

A traffic stop at 3am on June 26th on Hwy. 12 near Carlson Parkway.  

Wolves forward Michael Beasley was driving 84mph in a 65mph zone when he was pulled over in Minnetonka, police said Wednesday.

The officers who stopped Beasley (22), smelled marijuana in the car and found slightly more than a half-ounce in the vehicle.  According to Beasley, it wasn’t his and was actually is friends who he had just dropped off.    

Michael however, was deemed—not under the influence, was cited and released.  

Beasley lives just west in Orono where he was stopped.

This isn’t the first run-in with the law—in February Beasley was cited in Hennepin County for driving 70mph in a 55mph zone.  He payed a $117 fine in that case.

Beasley of course had these ‘types’ of problems while he was playing in Miami.  When Beasley was traded to Minnesota last summer, TWolves president David Kahn stated in a radio interview that one of his new player’s problems in Florida was that he smoked too much marijuana.  The NBA of course fined Kahn and the team $50,000 each, for comments that the League deemed inappropriate.

David Kahn also stated in that interview that Beasley would be a changed man once he arrived in Minnesota.  ”He’s a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana and has told me that he’s not smoking anymore and I told him that I would trust him as long as that was the case,” Kahn said back then.

The fine for his current speeding and marijuana possession is a petty misdemeanor, which carries a fine of $128.  The Timberwolves cannot comment during the lockout, so it’ll be a while before we hear much more on this.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading and remember—even during the lockout—to check back daily for all your Timberwolves news, information and updates all year round.  GO WOLVES!

On April 12th 2011, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune made Wolves President of Operations David Kahn—a checklist of what he (Zgoda) feels need to be done this offseason for the Wolves to be successful in the future.  Below you can find the original link to the article, but today we’re going to look at Zgoda’s five checkpoints and see how David Kahn has done/is doing.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/119742374.html

1. DETERMINE COACH KURT RAMBIS’ FUTURE—Well, let’s see, this article was written almost 4 months ago and we still do have affirmation on the future of Rambis.  However—the situation with Rambis is, the Wolves are keeping him through the lockout, simply because it’ll be much cheaper than firing Kurt—negotiating a buyout—and hiring a new coach.  David Kahn, however, should’ve had this situation resolved in the month of April OR May!  It’s dragged on, and it’ll keep dragging on! (0/1)
2. SIGN RICKY RUBIO—David Kahn finally got his man.  After two years of visits, persuasion and coaxing, Ricky Rubio is finally going to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves and he’s certainly created a lot of hype and buzz—but can he live up to those expectations?  It may take a while to find out as the NBA Lockout could wipe out part of OR the entire NBA season!  (1/2)
3. PURSUE VETERAN LEADERSHIP—Zgoda mentions the Wolves trying to acquire Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns.  I think we know the Suns aren’t going to trade their former MVP for anyone on the Wolves roster and he’s extremely ‘tight’ in that organization, if he wants out—the Suns are going to ask him where he’d be willing to go—guaranteed Minnesota wouldn’t be on that short list.  However, with the Lockout, free agency hasn’t been able to begin and as such it makes it quite difficult for the Wolves to pursue veterans for their squad with that going on.  However, the Wolves have acquired one new piece.  Big man Brad Miller was sent to Minnesota in a draft night deal that sent Jonny Flynn to Houston.  Kahn did acquire on veteran, however, this isn’t the all-star center he was back in his Sac-Town days and he’s nearing the end of his career, with some injuries the past few, I’ll go out on a limb here and say he won’t contribute much. (1.25/3)
4. WAIT—Zgoda is pleading for Kahn to wait to sign Kevin Love to an extension until after a new labor agreement is reached.  Well, good news, the labor agreement is being negotiated right now and it’d be impossible for the Wolves to offer Love an extension—so Kahn wins this one, however it’ll be a matter of how much he pays Love—what he’s offered, when it comes time.  Zgoda also says WAIT on offering Anthony Randolph and Michael Beasley extensions, until they get another year to ‘prove their worth’.  (2.25/4)
5. SAY GOODBYE—to PG Jonny Flynn.  Zgoda—AND EVERYONE ELSE—knew that Jonny Flynn wouldn’t be back with Minnesota as they’ve been looking to trade him ever since the weeks leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline, earlier this year.  Jonny Flynn has been traded to the Houston Rockets and there’s a chance he may be traded again (once the new labor agreement is negotiated).  (3.25/5)

Not to bad Mr. Kahn 3.25/5 and we still have plenty of offseason left.  However, the way you’ve handled this coaching decision and the way you’ve treated Kurt Rambis (no matter how many games we lost with him the last two seasons) is simply inexcusable!  Many people would say—too bad Kahn won’t fire himself, another couple slipups like this and hopefully Glen Taylor will show him the door.  Until then, we’re stuck with him (really though, the ONLY reason I don’t like him is because of the way he’s dealt with Kurt Rambis—I can’t imagine having a guy like that (someone who loves to have his “hand on the button”) be my boss).

Thanks for reading and remember to stay tuned all year round for your up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates.  GO WOLVES!

Two premier big men: Tyson Chandler and Nene Hilario have decided to test the FA waters this offseason as both will hit the market.

The deadline to reach a new deal is midnight tonight (6/30) in order to be under the current CBA rules—however they would only be able to sign with their teams from last season (Dallas & Denver).

Tyson Chandler has said that there has been minimal conversation between him and the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, making an extension by tonight—highly unlikely.

As for Nene, he has already notified the Denver Nuggets that he will opt out of the final  year of his contract and hit the market this summer.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in dire need of a quality center to place alongside Kevin Love.  

David Kahn has said he’s been looking for athletic veteran big men to run the floor with their new point guard—Ricky Rubio, something that Chandler could very well do.  However, the question is, does he want to go from contender to rebuilding…again?-NOT A CHANCE!

Nene is another option.  There’s no doubt he’s an incredible center and one of the very best in the League.  However with the gameplan seemingly being fast-break/run-and-gun offense next year (if there is a next year/season), Nene wouldn’t be the right option.

These two big men definitely have to be options for the young Wolves looking for an upgrade at the 5—over Dako Milicic.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned all year round for your up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates.  GO WOLVES!

David Kahn has yet to fire Kurt Rambis and he may not have too.  The Minnesota Timberwolves may retain Rambis for this season…if there isn’t a season!

It’s much cheaper to keep Rambis and pay him a portion of his salary if there’s no season then to fire him, negotiate an expensive buyout and then have to hire a replacement.

Hence the reason Mr. Rambis is still the head coach—because everyone expects a lockout.

The biggest question of this ‘fiasco’ is when the TWolves will exactly fire Rambis and when they’ll hire a replacement before the end of the lockout—giving him enough time to prepare for the season with his new team.

The deadline is fast approaching—July 1st for the players and the owners to come to an agreement—they’re slated to meet on Thursday, just hours before the current CBA retires.

More on this as we go, thanks for reading and stay tuned all year round for TWolves news, information and updates.  GO WOLVES!