Timberwolves head coach and general manager Flip Saunders has officially taken a leave of absence from the team to focus on his health in the wake of complications from his treatment for Hodgkin’s Lyphoma.
Saunders was diagnosed with the disease a month ago, but was originally expected to continue with his duties uninterrupted. On Friday, the Timberwolves announced that would not be the case as Saunders experienced complications with his completed treatments and had to be hospitalized, necessitating the leave of absence.
Saunders’ family released the following statement:
Statement from Saunders family: pic.twitter.com/63gl4Fe9Dx
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) September 11, 2015
The team also announced assistant Sam Mitchell as interim head coach in Saunders’ absence, confirming reports on Thursday by NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Wolves announce Sam Mitchell as interim head coach; Flip Saunders to take leave of absence from Timberwolves duties. pic.twitter.com/L3F1yidfJA
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) September 11, 2015
Mitchell was NBA Coach of the Year with Toronto in 2006-07 and was known for his up-tempo offensive schemes with an emphasis on ball movement. But his career head coaching record is a subpar 156-189, and he was fired 17 games into his fifth season with the Raptors. His track record with player development (which will be important with Minnesota’s young core heading into the future) is a bit substandard as well, with ex-Raptors like Charlie Villanueva and Andrea Bargnani seeing their growth stunted under Mitchell’s guidance.
But the most important thing is that Mitchell will allow Saunders to be able to fully prioritize getting back to health, and that’s what we should all be focusing on. The Wojnarowski report mentioned that there is hope the 60-year-old Saunders will return to the bench at some point in the 2015-16 season, but also states that Mitchell is expected to be interim coach for no less than half the season. Saunders should definitely take as much time as he needs to recuperate so as to ensure that he is 100 percent healthy.
Our best wishes to Saunders and his family for his speedy recovery. Here’s hoping to see you back on the sidelines soon, Flip!
H/T ESPN
