It was the “diverse experience” of newly appointed Minnesota coach Timber Wolves that Chris Finch sparked the interest of the team’s sporting chief, Gerson Rosas, in making the decision.
At the press conference introducing the new strategist, Rosas welcomed the former Toronto Raptors aide in trying to turn 180 degrees after Ryan Saunders was sent off after Sunday’s loss in New York.
“The things (Chris) did as a coach around the world at different levels, those experiences, are very relevant to the current world of basketball,” Rosas said. “We play a very international sport in the NBA and the experience that Chris has, his perspective, the time he was a coach outside the NBA, and also as an assistant in the NBA, and these views, this experience is really important for us to organize on and off the court.”
In addition to Finch stopping in Houston, Denver, New Orleans and Toronto as an assistant, he has also worked as a coach for Rockets’ G League squad, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, which won the championship in 2010.
Internationally, Finch has trained in England, Germany, and Belgium.
“I would like him to be judged by gains and losses. This is what it is about. This is about winning and we hope to get some wins.” Beyond that, we want to see the growth of our young players and we want to develop the identity. If we achieve these three aspects, it would be a replica, and if we had two of the three, it would be a big step forward. “
Although employment timing is not the best, with Minnesota in the middle of a four-game losing streak and worst league record (7–24), Finch is trying to get the most out of the position.
“This is a less than ideal situation for a coach and we do not have a summer, we do not have before the season, but this is life in some of the tournaments that I have trained in, and these challenges have really formed determination and ability to prepare and take all this as a great challenge and we will organize ourselves as we go forward.” : “We’ll see the changes to make as we go.”
Rosas described Sunday as a “crazy day for everyone involved” and described the decision to expel Saunders as “complicated” but indicated that it was taken at the end of the week.
Timberwolves’ board of directors began the process of finding the replacement from mid-season, but wasn’t sure until Toronto gave permission to meet Finch for the new role, which happened until Sunday afternoon and caused the decision to sack Saunders after losing to the Knicks.
The deal with Finch was completed on Monday morning.
Rosas said the Timberwolves team looked at in-house solutions like David Vanterpool and Pablo Prigioni on staff, but were realistic in terms of the team’s brand and Rosas didn’t feel they wouldn’t get the real change they needed without being “bold and straightforward the opportunity.”