The Minnesota Timberwolves made a big head-coaching move on Sunday night, and Damian Lillard is disappointed with it.
The Timberwolves announced the firing of Ryan Saunders amid a 7-24 campaign, which is the worst record in the league. But then reports said they planned to hire Raptors assistant Chris Finch in his place.
The move is odd, as most of the time when a coach is fired, they are replaced by an interim coach already on the staff. In this case, Minnesota talked with someone outside the organization, who will be taking over midseason. It’s a highly unusual situation.
Lillard was upset that David Vanterpool wasn’t hired instead, considering he’s an assistant already on the staff.
Vanterpool, 47, was an assistant with Lillard’s Blazers from 2012-2017, which explains why Dame is stumping for him.
Vanterpool has been an assistant with Minnesota since 2019. He has interviewed for a few head-coaching jobs but has not received one.
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