Vince Staples, 9th Wonder & Derek Minor Pay Tribute To Minnestoa Timberwolves

“If there’s one thing that brings a smile to my face on this very sad day, it’s hearing his players talk about him”.

Several members of the Vikings expressed condolences to the Saunders family following his death. You said “The point guard has to be the extension to the coach” These words lived inside of me as I’ve had my share of ups and downs with coaches. The player he had the greatest impact on was a big man, a wiry kid who came straight from high school in 1995 named Kevin Garnett. Unfortunately, Saunders’ offense could never get over the hump in the playoffs and he was sacked, starting the organization’s tailspin from which it’s just now recovering. After that, the Wolves didn’t have a losing record till the 04-05 season.

Minnesota, who have an exciting young roster that includes the last two No 1 overall draft picks Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, open their season on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Saunders kept the Pistons’ stout defense and improved Detroit’s offense to one of the most potent in the league in the regular season.

He began his coaching career at Golden Valley Lutheran College in St. Paul.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also paid tribute to Saunders along with an assortment of front office officials from around the basketball “fraternity”. “Flip’s untimely passing has left a gaping hole in the fabric of our league”. “He didn’t give me a timetable, he just said that he wasn’t doing well”. “It wasn’t until I really played [for] him that you really got the full genius that he is as a basketball coach and a basketball mind”. I was amazed and shows what kind of brotherhood the National Basketball Association has.

“I am attacking this with the same passion I do everything in my life, knowing this is a serious issue”, Saunders said in a statement on August. 12.

A picture of Saunders as a player is above of the concourse at Williams Arena on a mural with other memorable Gophers like former teammates Thompson and Kevin McHale. I want to write honestly about what I see happening with my favorite team, on and off the court, and I always thought that being apart from the team was the best way I could add to the conversation. Garnett must be thinking about what could of happened different to change this outcome.

At the time, Saunders chose to continue his duties uninterrupted.

The team anticipated that Saunders would be away from basketball for months once he started experiencing complications from chemotherapy. “Certainly thinking about him and praying for him and his family”.

On a personal note, I did not know Flip.

ESPN notes that the mourning phase will take a few time to gulp down the factor that the Timberwolves coach is no more. He was a fantastic coach who led his teams offensively and had a great system on offense.