Minnesota Timberwolves: Flip Saunders will not return to Wolves this season

The news surrounding Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders is not getting any better. Wolves Owner Glen Taylor told the Star Tribune that Saunders will not return to coach the Wolves this season.

Here is the exact quote from Taylor to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune when asked if expected Saunders to return to his gigs with the team:

"“Not this year. I just think his illness, I mean, it’s serious. At this point, if he came back I still think he’d have a hard time to recover all his energy and all that because he has been in the hospital for a long time.”"

The Timberwolves have known about Flip’s health situation for a while and told the public in mid-August, but then it was expected that Flip could keep working while receiving chemotherapy and be back within weeks. By all reports, Saunders’ fight has turned from a multiple weeks to a multiple month issue. Saunders has been hospitalized since early September.

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Taylor assured in his interview with Zgoda that nothing is being held back with the Wolves with the absence of Saunders. Sam Mitchell was quickly named the interim head coach of the team and General Manager Milt Newton has had his role expand and the two have taken on the load that Saunders was taking himself.

Zgoda reports that Taylor told team employees to stay away from Saunders in the hospital so that he could heal and recover in mid-September. Zgoda asked how much Taylor has visited or seen Saunders in this past week and Taylor said, “Well, I’m aware of daily what’s going on, that’s the best way to tell you.”

This news comes just days before the Wolves open up the regular season. The first game of the season is Wednesday in California against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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