Timberwolves fire basketball ops boss Rosas after two seasons

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas on Wednesday, less than a week before training camp in yet another change in leadership for this long-languishing franchise.

Owner Glen Taylor announced that the Timberwolves “parted ways” with Rosas in a two-sentence statement that revealed no direct explanation for the dismissal after just two seasons.

“As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of,” said Taylor, who has begun the process of selling his majority stake in the club to e-commerce mogul Marc Lore and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

Executive vice president Sachin Gupta was temporarily elevated to guide the basketball operations, Taylor confirmed in a separate announcement made about 2 1/2 hours later.

“We are committed to staying aligned to achieve our short-term goals and reach our long-term vision,” Taylor said.

Star center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to be caught off guard by the decision, tweeting out a three-letter acronym for a profane expression of confusion.

Rosas became the highestranking Latino in an NBA front office when he was hired in May 2019 after a long tenure with the Houston Rockets. Rosas replaced Tom Thibodeau, who held the dual role of head coach and president of basketball operations until his firing by the Twolves four months earlier.

Thibodeau’s successor on the bench was Ryan Saunders, who was initially retained by Rosas but fired in February after 137 games on the job.

Rosas took the unusual tack of hiring Chris Finch off the staff of the Toronto Raptors and making him the immediate midseason replacement.

The move drew criticism from players around the league stumping for assistant David Vanterpool and a rebuke from the National Basketball Coaches Association for rushing the process at the expense of a thorough search to maximize the opportunity for minority candidates.

The Timberwolves have made the playoffs just once in the last 17 years, under Thibodeau in 2018.