Sam Mitchell is joining Flip Saunders on the Timberwolves bench, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Mitchell was rumored as a candidate to replace Rick Adelman as head coach of the Wolves, but Saunders took on the challenge himself.
According to the Pioneer Press, Mitchell recently told Sirius XM Radio that an assistant coaching job with the Wolves would be enticing, although it would be hard for him to quit his current job as an NBA analyst for TNT.
“It’s a difficult choice because I’ve made inroads into this. But if the right opportunity presents itself, as a head coach or an assistant coach, I definitely would listen to it. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to jump at it but I would listen to it because you know the old saying – once a coach, always a coach deep inside.”
1500 ESPN notes that Mitchell played for Saunders and the Timberwolves from 1995-2002.
He was also an original member of the Timberwolves in 1989-90.
The Wolves coaching staff is starting to come together.
Expect Sidney Lowe To join Wolves staff today. Sam Mitchell is also in the works as well, As @WojYahooNBA Reported
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 12, 2014
The Pioneer Press reports another Wolves assistant candidate, David Blatt, has stepped down as the coach for the Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel for a job in the NBA.
During a news conference Thursday Blatt would not say what job he had accepted. According to the Pioneer Press, Minnesota and Golden State have been rumored as possible destinations.
