Minnesota is looking to fill Tom Thibodeau’s other chair as the head of basketball operations, and owner Glen Taylor looking hard at a couple of the top “next in line” guys around the NBA.
Minnesota has gotten permission to talk to Clippers GM Michael Winger and Rockets’ No. 2 Gersson Rosas, according to multiple reports.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had the news about Winger, who was Sam Presti’s right-hand man in Oklahoma City for seven seasons before coming to the Clippers. Winger was in the middle of both building up the Thunder over the years, then for the past two seasons being part of the Clippers’ impressive transformation. He has been one of the guys at the front of the line for a top basketball operations job for a while, he just needs to get a shot.
Rosas in Houston is another highly respected person around the league who deserves a shot, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported he is in the mix.
Timberwolves have also asked for and received permission to interview Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas, per source. Rosas has been a candidate for several positions the past few seasons, but this could be an ideal fit. https://t.co/wX8tIje09Q
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 16, 2019
Either of these choices would be good calls, both deserve a shot. One of the deciding factors could be who fits best with Ryan Saunders, who is poised to remain coach in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves job is not an easy one, even with an All-NBA level player in Karl-Anthony Towns at the heart of the roster. Andrew Wiggins just finished the first season of his five-year max extension, will make $27.5 million next season (with raises every season to follow) and he is an anchor on rebuilding, but the contract is nearly unmovable. Jeff Teague can opt into a $19 million deal for next season. Gorgui Dieng will make $16.2 million. The list goes on, but there are a lot of big contracts for guys who do not produce at those levels. There is a lot of work to be done to reshape and remold this roster into something that can be a playoff team, and not be flirting with the tax to miss out on it (like this season).
