Timberwolves fire three staffers, including Towns favorite

Despite earning a playoff berth for the first time in 14 years, the Minnesota Timberwolves have made a fairly sizable shake-up to their coaching staff.

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported on Monday that Wolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau has cut ties with three of his staffers: shooting coach Peter Patton, assistant video coordinator Wes Bohn, and player development coach Vince Legarza.

Legarza, in particular, worked closely with Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. He arrived in Minnesota before the All-Star center’s rookie season in 2015-16 and formed a bond with Towns, often working with him on his low-post game. Krawczynski adds that Towns was unware of the decision to let Legarza go.

The 22-year-old Towns is coming off a 2017-18 season where he averaged 21.3 points and 12.3 points per game but was criticized for a lack of aggressiveness in his first career postseason. He will have until Oct. 31 to sign an extension with the Wolves (or else become a restricted free agent in 2019), and it’s hard to imagine that this decision will make him more eager to commit long-term.