The Timberwolves will need to make a tough decision this summer regarding whether or not interim coach Sam Mitchell will remain in the position going forward. Mitchell had the difficult task of taking over the reigns after the tragic passing of Flip Saunders, and the team has gone 25-49 under his command this season. Team owner Glen Taylor will be the one to make the call on whether or not Mitchell leads the team in 2016/17, and he has indicated that he’ll evaluate both Mitchell and GM Milt Newton to determine the employment status of each. When asked directly if both Mitchell and Newton would be retained, Taylor was non-committal, saying, “I like my coach, I like my general manager, they’re really nice people,” Taylor said. “We’re working together. What I told them is in this business of basketball, we’re going to do the whole season first and then at the end of the season we’ll do the evaluation.” While that may not have been the strongest endorsement, Taylor’s comments certainly allow for the possibility that Mitchell could stick around in Minnesota. More recent comments from Taylor have lent credence to the idea that Newton will remain in his job through the summer, at least.
This brings me to the topic for today: Should the Wolves retain Sam Mitchell as head coach for next season?
Minnesota, while not expected to be a playoff contender heading into the 2015/16 campaign, hasn’t taken as much of a step forward as many would have liked this year. The team has already eclipsed its woeful 16 wins of a season ago, but given the amount of young talent the franchise has, struggling to get to 30 victories cannot be considered a successful run in my book. To be fair, Mitchell took on the daunting task of keeping the team together and focused after Saunders’ death and certainly deserves praise for how well he has managed that difficult dynamic. But questions have emerged about his rotation patterns and how well he has developed some of his younger players, which should be the primary consideration when the team chooses its next coach.
So now I turn the discussion over to all of you. Is Mitchell the right man to entrust with the future of the team and budding star Karl-Anthony Towns? What do you think about the job the coach has done this season? If you don’t think Mitchell should be retained, share with us whom you think the Timberwolves should pursue this offseason in his stead. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Thibs
See if KG would be the head coach instead of playing. He would be the right man for the job
Once Mitchell figured out Wiggins belongs at sf and LaVine at sg things have jelled with the starting unit and they have looked really good. This team really has no bench. Jones, Bjelica, Payne, Smith have shown nothing, not even flashes of talent. Jones doesn’t take charge, but passes off to others to run the offense, Bjelica stands around not doing anything and doesn’t shoot well or have any court presence. Prince is done this year I’m sure. Muhammed puts up an amazing amount of ill-considered, hopeless shots, Pekovic and Garnett are out. If they can put together a second unit for next year this team could really make some significant progress and likely the playoffs. The young starters have really made significant progress this year.
Scott Brooks should be a priority.
I honestly think Sam might be the guy for the job. I didn’t think so until a few days ago, but he has made progress. He was around with Flip for the whole process and he believes in these guys. A whole new coach who doesn’t know these guys and may want say in personnel could ruin everything Flip built. I would say sign Barnes in free agency, make him the starter at power forward, and sign a defensive wing. Gorguicoukd even spot start if we needed to go big. The versatility would be great. We would just have a hard time getting boards.
If there’s any job that Luke Walton should accept, it’s this one.
I think Sam is a fine assistant coach, but the managing the game part is above him. It sounds like Milt might be the scapegoat and if that’s the case I’d go get Caliper to do both, run the team and coach the team. I’d also hire a top-notch Salary Cap expert to help him, if we think we don’t have one.