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Eric WoodyardESPN
The international experience and world perspective of Minnesota Timberwolves newly appointed coach Chris Finch was the president of basketball operations, Gersson Rosas.
During Monday’s introductory news conference, Rosas welcomed the former Toronto Raptors assistant to try to turn things around after firing Ryan Saunders after Sunday’s loss to the Knicks in New York.
“The things he has led around the world on different levels, I think, are very relevant to our current game,” Rosas said. “We play a very international game in the NBA, and the experience that Chris has, the perspective he has, the time he was a head coach outside the NBA, also an assistant in the NBA, I think the prospects, this expertise is really important for our organization on both sides of the floor. ‘
In addition to Finch’s stops in Houston, Denver, New Orleans and Toronto as an assistant, he was also a head coach of the Rockets’ G League branch, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, which won the 2010 championship.
Internationally he has coached in England, Germany and Belgium.
“I want to be judged by wins and losses. That’s what it’s about,” Finch said. “It’s about winning, and hopefully we can pile up some victories on each other. Furthermore, we want to see the growth of our young players, and we want to develop an identity. I think if we can achieve all three, if we get two out of three, I think it’s a good step forward. ‘
Although the timing of the lease is not desirable, Minnesota Finch is trying to make the best of the situation, while Minnesota is in last place in the league position at 7-24 amid a loss of four games.
“It’s a less than ideal situation for a coach, and we don’t have a summer but no preseason,” Finch said. ‘We have a back-to-back, but that’s life in some of the leagues I’d coached, and those challenges really sharpened my decision and my ability to be prepared. a big challenge at the moment and we will notice as we move forward. We will slowly figure out the adjustments we need to make. ‘
All that has been said, Finch is unabashed about the task ahead.
“I think we can rekindle confidence in the roster and these guys can find joy,” he said. “It’s hard when you lose. It’s a tough league to win. It’s very close, but we are not a million kilometers away.”
Rosas described Sunday as a “crazy day for everyone involved.” He called the choice to fire Saunders ‘difficult’, but said the decision to make a change was taken over the weekend.
The Timberwolves’ front office went through the process over who would be available mid-season, but was still uncertain until Toronto gave permission to allow Finch an interview for the new role, which took place late Sunday afternoon. The decision to relieve Saunders came after the Knicks loss.
The deal was finalized Monday morning.
“The decision to fire Ryan was only made on Sunday, and at that point we were already preparing for the match, and to be honest with Ryan, these decisions take time,” Rosas said. “We talked about ownership, and as we met with our leadership group, it was a process and a decision that was not easy. You have a team going through the season in a pandemic where there is no break button.
“There’s no stop button, there are shooterounds and games we have to prepare for. And we did the best we could under the time we were given.”
Rosas said they are looking at internal options like David Vanterpool and Pablo Prigioni in the staff, but that they are realistic in terms of their league. Rosas did not feel that they could get the right change they needed without being ‘courageous and straightforward with this opportunity’.
“With Chris we have a guy here who shares a vision, we share a philosophy and feel very confident about his ability to have an impact on this team,” Rosas said. “And unfortunately, with our struggle here for the past year and a half, the ability to change that narrative from an internal perspective would be difficult.”
“I did not listen to too many of the comments from outside, just because it has been a real whirlwind for me for 24 hours,” Finch added. “I can say that I am very excited and that I enjoy every day in the NBA. I live the dream.”
The Timberwolves tackle the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night.