Minnesota Timberwolves teammates Derrick Rose and Karl-Anthony Towns were stunned by the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau, one that came in the wake of two consecutive wins. The latter was a rousing 22-point victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, closing the gap between the 11th-place Wolves and the purple and gold, who hold the last playoff spot only two games above.
“It hurts, he jump-started my career again,” said Rose, who also said he was “shocked” upon the firing of his longtime coach, according to Wolves radio voice Alan Horton. “He took a chance on me.”
Rose is having a comeback season, one that's award worthy after scoring the most since his 2011-12 season and raising his 3-point percentage to career-high levels, connecting on 46.2 percent from deep.
The 30-year-old point guard says he has yet to muster the courage to call his longtime coach and express his regret for the situation, but noted his desire to return to The Twin Cities and re-sign with the team in the offseason.
Towns was shocked as well, after he was given the full reins to run the team in the wake of the Jimmy Butler trade, making him the centerpiece of the franchise.
“We were stunned… hit us all with a curveball,” said Towns.
The Timberwolves will have a young and spry leader in the 32-year-old Ryan Saunders, who will take over on an interim basis for the remaining 42 games of the season, hoping to propel this team to a second straight playoff appearance.
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