NBA Rumors: Updates on Jazz, Timberwolves’ Coaching Search

Check out the biggest rumors of the day in our NBA Rumor Round-Up. For more rumors and news, check out Basketball Insiders’ headlines, which are constantly being updated.

The Timberwolves lost one of the all-time great coaches today in Rick Adelman, who announced his retirement after accumulating 1,024 career wins. Luckily, they do have one of the best coaches in their franchise’s history in Saunders calling the shots. Clearly there is a lot of trust and comfort between Saunders and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who gave him the GM position despite the fact that he didn’t have any experience as a top executive. Having him on the sideline would probably be an easy transition for all parties involved, but Saunders has actually proved to be a quality GM so far. Plus, he may not long to go back to the sidelines, where the amount of criticism you receive on a regular basis is only exceeded by the time requirement the position comes with.

Based on Stein’s tweets, Saunders appears to be most interested in bringing in a college coach with no NBA experience. The job would probably be Hoiberg’s if wanted it; he has a lot of fans in that front office, including Saunders. However, the grass is pretty green where he’s at. The same goes for Izzo and Donovan. As far as Donovan is concerned, we’ve already seen how lukewarm he is on the idea of coaching in the NBA.

If the top candidates on his list prove to be unobtainable, perhaps we see Saunders reconsider his position.

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One thing that is important to keep in mind with Lindsey is that he comes from San Antonio, where information is contained better than anywhere else in the league. While some dots are being connected based on relationships he has, chances are that multiple other candidates are being considered that nobody would be able to guess.

Former longtime Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is also still a part of the organization as a consultant. At 72 years of age his coaching days may be done, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jazz at least gauged his interest in the position.

This is just another example of why Beverley has been compared to the Wolverine by his teammates. Like the famous comic book hero, Beverley heals at an advanced pace and is incredibly durable. The Rockets couldn’t afford to lose him either as they are matched up against one of the best point guards in the league in the Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard. While Lillard went for 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists compared to Beverley’s nine points, six rebounds and two assists, Beverley is the Rockets’ best option against him defensively and without him their chances to advance would be significantly lower. They are currently down 0-1.