To no one's surprise, Ryan Saunders became the first head coach to get the ax this 2020-21. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN confirmed the development on Sunday, noting that the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with the 34-year-old shortly after the team's 103-99 defeat to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have dismissed coach Ryan Saunders, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2021
The Timberwolves brass initially did not name a replacement for the ousted Saunders, but it appears that they already got another man lined up for the job.
The Timberwolves won’t immediately name an interim coach tonight, sources said. Minnesota has dropped 24 of 31 games to start the season, leaving them with the worst record in the NBA. https://t.co/WDcZRSkl9b
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2021
A follow-up tweet from Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed that Minny will be giving Toronto Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch the keys to the team.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hiring Toronto Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch as the new head coach on multiyear contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2021
If your an Assistant Coach in the NBA who’s trying get a Head coaching gig you might want to go work under Nick Nurse because he’s putting all of his people on. Real Talk.
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 22, 2021
Ryan Saunders inherited a disenchanted Timberwolves team engulfed by a culture of losing over the years. He was named interim head coach by the squad in the 2018-19 season before assuming the position full-time a few months later. Ryan, the son of legendary franchise figure Flip Saunders, worked his way up as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards and Minnesota before getting a shot of becoming a full-pledged bench boss.
He was the youngest head coach in the league this season, as even Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is two years older than him.
While Saunders was heralded for being a terrific players' coach who related to his squad on a personal level, his inexperience in handling an NBA team clearly showed. The Timberwolves lost 24 of its first 31 games of the season under his watch and accumulated an overall coaching record of 43-93. More importantly, they never made it back to the postseason with him at the helm.
It's also quite ironic that Saunders' final game as a coach came on the heels of a loss over his predecessor Tom Thibodea and the Knicks.