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Flip Saunders Will Keep Coaching Despite Health Issues

By Jameson Miller

Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders and number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns address the media at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders and number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns address the media at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are expecting big things out of their young, athletic roster this season. With their bevy of recent high draft picks and possible superstars in Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns, the Wolves are looking to develop their youthful talent and finally start translating their massive potential into on-court success. While Minnesota probably isn’t anticipating a playoff appearance or anything close to it, it seems the team is very much anticipating that head coach and team president Flip Saunders will be there every step of the way, despite recently being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

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In a statement released by the team on Tuesday via Twitter, it was revealed that the initial diagnosis came nearly two months ago during an exam with Sheldon Burns, the T-Wolves’ VP of Team Medical Services.

While the positive prognosis is certainly encouraging, the last line of the press release is particularly surprising. Even with over two months to go until the start of the 2015-16 season, a medical battle of this magnitude would seemingly take a serious toll on any working 60-year-old man, let alone someone navigating the daily stresses and rigors inherent to running an NBA franchise.

Then again, as Saunders’ doctors have advised, there is certainly something to be said for maintaining a degree of normalcy and continuing on with the daily business of a career that extends back almost forty years.

After an eleven-year collegiate coaching career, Saunders made stops at three different organizations in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association before eventually joining the NBA ranks in Minnesota in 1995. Saunders coached for the Rapid City Thrillers, the La Crosse Catbirds and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, leading the Catbirds to league titles in 1990 and 1992.

In a recent interview with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, Saunders shared a brief glimpse into what life as a CBA coach was like, discussing, among other things, the rough and tumble wheelings and dealings that netted him two championships as head coach of the La Crosse Catbirds.

One big takeaway: if you were a coach in the CBA during the 1990s, it was apparently a very bad idea to do business with Flip Saunders—especially if you’d had a few too many adult beverages:

"But you’d be doing deals with another GM at like 3 a.m., and there was no trade call like there is today. We’d just call Jim Tooley’s office and leave voice mails, and, boom, that meant the trade was done. And then the next day, one GM would try to beg out of the deal.Because, let me tell you, if you get a coach after six beers at 4 a.m. in Cedar Rapids, they will trade you something for nothing. The two times I won championships, I traded for big-time scorers at 3 a.m. and gave up nothing."

Though it’s fair to assume his NBA contemporaries are of sounder states of mind than some booze-addled CBA skipper down on his luck, Saunders has nonetheless done an admirable job stockpiling valuable assets, laying a foundation for future success and generally cleaning up the mess left behind by his predecessor, David Kahn.

With the last three top overall draft selections currently on the Wolves roster (yes Anthony Bennett still counts) as well as reigning slam dunk champion Zach LaVine, Minnesota has an enviable collection of rangy, athletic players with oodles of potential as well as wily veterans Kevin Garnett and Andre Miller to help steer the youngsters in the right direction.

Though Saunders’ ongoing battle with cancer and the struggles inherent with chemotherapy treatment obviously transcend any kind of cheesy, “lead by example” lessons to be applied to the basketball court, it’s hard not to imagine the Timberwolves’ players gleaning inspiration from their coach’s refusal to succumb to a potentially life-threatening disease as the young team continues to grow—no doubt forging an identity influenced by the resolve of their leader.

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