Timberwolves fire Ryan Saunders as head coach, hiring Raptors assistant Chris Finch?

The Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday announced a big head coach change.

The Timberwolves fired Ryan Saunders as head coach and plan to replace him with Chris Finch.

“We would like to thank Ryan for his time and commitment to the Timberwolves organization and wish him the best in the future,” Timberwolves president Gersson Rosas said in a statement. “These are difficult decisions to make, however this change is in the best interest of the organization’s short and long-term goals.”

The team said in its news release that it would have more news on the head coach situation.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says Finch and the Timberwolves are expected to have a multiyear deal finalized on Monday. Finch is in his first season as an assistant on the Toronto Raptors’ staff. Finch and Rosas worked together in Houston.

The Timberwolves lost 103-99 to the Knicks on Sunday night, dropping them to a league-worst 7-24. Saunders took over for Tom Thibodeau in 2019, but Minnesota's record had steadily gotten worse since then. Now the Timberwolves are making a change.