The Minnesota Timberwolves have hired Toronto assistant Chris Finch as their new head coach hours after firing Ryan Saunders in a shake-up for the team with the NBA’s worst record.
President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas made the change to Finch, who was in his first season with the Raptors.
“He is one of the most creative basketball minds in the NBA, has success maximising players, and I am excited to see him bring our team to the next level and beyond,” Rosas said in a Timberwolves statement.
Rosas and Finch previously worked together in Houston, where Finch was an assistant and Rosas was a basketball operations executive.
Finch has 24 years of coaching experience, roughly half of that in Europe.
The mid-season move from one team’s staff to another is rare in the NBA.
What’s not uncommon, however, is the Timberwolves switching head coaches amid persistent struggles.
Saunders, 34, had a win-loss record of 43-94 after taking over on an interim basis in January 2019, when Tom Thibodeau was sacked.