Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor was non-committal regarding whether or not Flip Saunders would coach the team next season, Brett Pollakoff of NBCSports.com relays. “It’s not definite,” Taylor said. “But in my mind, with the effort that he put in this year to bring this team along, it’s probably 90%. If he sees somebody and he changes his mind, he certainly could convince me. I think eventually I want a different coach, and I want him to be the GM. My guess is that he’ll go another year.” Taylor also indicated that the franchise landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft won’t change matters, Pollakoff adds. “I think that Flip will change [his mind] if he sees somebody in the coaching ranks that he really respects, and thinks in the long run that they will be the right guy for this team, then I think he’ll make that decision,” Taylor said.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Tim Salier, the Spurs‘ Sports and Entertainment Vice President of Franchise Business Operations, was named the 2015 NBA D-League Team Executive of the Year today, the team announced. “We are very pleased to honor Tim with the Team Executive of the Year Award in recognition of his tremendous contributions to the NBA D-League, the NBA and the Austin community,” said D-League president Malcolm Turner. “Under Tim’s leadership, the Austin Spurs have become a prime example of a how an NBA D-League team should be run to both benefit its NBA parent club and be independently successful.”
- David Harrison, a former Pacers first-rounder, is looking to make a comeback to the NBA, and he has hired Zachary Charles of 3pt Sports Management for representation, Cameron Chung of The Sports Agent Blog reports. Charles made it clear that Harrison’s return is not about money, saying, “[Harrison] would play for free. He’s back in love with he game and just wants an opportunity to play. At the end of the day, he’s a 7′ center with a nice jump shot and dominating post moves. He’s a great guy who deserves a shot and his first shot unfairly taken from him. He’s looking at the NBA Summer League, D-League, and overseas.“
- Kiki Vandeweghe, the league’s senior vice-president of basketball operations, said that the NBA is unlikely to pass any sort of draft lottery reform to prevent tanking this offseason, Zach Lowe of Grantland writes. “I don’t see anything happening in the immediate future,” Vandeweghe said. “We will continue to study it.”