Flip Saunders will take a leave of absence from the team as he is undergoing cancer treatment, Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Sources: As president/coach Flip Saunders battles cancer, assistant Sam Mitchell will soon be elevated to Minnesota’s interim head coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 10, 2015
The Timberwolves President and Head Coach announced earlier this summer that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which could affect his short-term status with the team.
There’s hope Saunders will return to bench this season, but plan will be for Mitchell to give him time to work on health, sources tell Yahoo — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 10, 2015
The team has called for a press conference on Friday in which they say they will make a “major announcement.” If and when the team announces that Saunders will take a leave of absence, it is expected that assistant coach Sam Mitchell will be elevated to Interim Head Coach.
Mitchell was the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year, leading the Raptors to the Playoffs that season. Mitchell spent five seasons as the Raptors coach where he had a record of 156-189. Mitchell also has familiarity with the Timberwolves, as he played ten years with the team.
