The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly leaning towards keeping Ryan Saunders as the head coach next season, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Saunders replaced Tom Thibodeau on January 6 after the Timberwolves fired Thibodeau. Minnesota has gone 14-19 under Saunders and will miss the playoffs this season after making it in 2017-18.

Saunders has a very close relationship with Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT has been playing like a superstar under Saunders and it looks like Minnesota's owner Glen Taylor wants to see want Saunders can do with a full year and healthy roster next season.

All signs point to Minnesota retaining Ryan Saunders as its coach.

This is despite the Wolves’ 14-19 record and fade from playoff contention since Saunders replaced Tom Thibodeau on Jan. 6.

The growing expectation around the league is that the credit Saunders will get for his impact on and the buy-in from Towns will more than offset ownership’s disappointment about returning to the draft lottery.

Robert Covington, who the Timberwolves acquired in the Jimmy Butler trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, didn't play one single game under Ryan Saunders. Covington wasn't able to recover from a knee injury.

Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague also missed a bunch of games due to injuries under Saunders.