Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders suffered a setback in his fight against cancer after he was hospitalized for complications from chemotherapy treatment. The 60 year old Saunders had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma this past summer.
After the announcement the Timberwolves handed the torch to Sam Mitchell who will serve as an interim head coach along with taking on some of Saunders duties as president of basketball operations.
Furthermore, Timberwolves chief executive Rob Moor spoke about Saunders and his battle.
“Our first priority is making sure Flip regains his strength and is back to 100 percent before he is back to work, and while there is no timetable for Flip’s return, we believe it will be measured in months, and not weeks. To attempt to place a timeline on things at this time would be unfair to the due process of recovery.”
Saunders was diagnosed with the cancer of the immune system in June. Then, in August, Saunders said his doctors called his prognosis “very treatable and curable.” Saunders is also part owner of the franchise and had hoped that by training he would be able to resume full responsibilities.
But this doesn’t mean that the T-Wolves won’t be in good hands without Saunders, despite finishing 16-66 last season. Sam Mitchell coached the Raptors from 2004-08, leading them to the playoffs twice and received the NBA Coach of the Year award during the 2006-07. However, Mitchell was fired during the first 17 games of the 2008-09 season.
And as of right now, the Timberwolves look to be in okay shape with a hoist of young talent including Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and Shabazz Muhammad.
Finally, the presence of Kevin Garnett should help ease the transition as the Timberwolves embark on their journey without their leader.
