Sad Day For NBA As Coach Flip Saunders, 60, Dies of Cancer

The organization will follow up with more information as it becomes available.

Flip Saunders, the head coach and president of the Minnesota Timberwolves, had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in June.

Saunders also had ties to the Celtics organization, serving as a consultant to the coaching staff during the 2012 postseason, during which Boston made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals.

The second offer came from longtime AD Joel Maturi, who looked at Saunders as his dream hire to replace Dan Monson in 2007. Saunders had been confined in the hospital for over a month. He played alongside Mychal Thompson and future “Wolves coach Kevin McHale”. The Timberwolves eventually acquiesced and sent Marbury to the New Jersey Nets in a three-team trade that netted then Sam Cassell. After that, the Wolves didn’t have a losing record till the 04-05 season.

After he was sacked in Minnesota, the Detroit Pistons hired him after their recent championship victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Saunders coached the Washington Wizards between 2009 and 2012, and helped develop John Wall during his Washington tenure.

“Saunders is by a lopsided margin the winningest coach in franchise history – with a 654-592 record in almost 11 full seasons – and is the only man to coach the team into the playoffs…” “With more than 40 years around the game, 20 of them in the National Basketball Association, Flip’s untimely passing has left a gaping hole in the fabric of our league. I know God will take good care of you and keep your family safe!”

“If anybody is a competitor, a fighter, it’s Flip; that’s not going to be an issue”, Womeldorf said. I’ve watched him coach many games and he always seemed to have a great demeanor and was well respected. The news hit former Celtic and current Timberwolf Kevin Garnett particularly hard.

Barnes was quoted saying that he and Rivers “never saw eye to eye” during their time together with the Clippers and that Rivers “couldn’t wait to get rid of me”.

“I am taking it step by step and day by day to understand how to best manage this process”, Saunders said in a statement at the time. I know you will RIP because you did all of what you did on earth in your lifeline. However, he had been hospitalized since September after experiencing complications following the completion of chemotherapy. However, it’s something that will be looked into, to find out what happened.

The team said that doctors described it as a “very treatable and curable form of cancer”. In 2014, he took over again as coach. It’s just terrible how this whole thing went down. “He didn’t give me a timetable, he just said that he wasn’t doing well”.

Over the years, Donovan and Saunders remained friendly.

All you had to do, really, was keep your ears open to the basketball world that adored him. “That’s why this is so heartbreaking to see him gone so soon, way too young… this does not feel right”.