NBA: Timberwolves coach Chris Finch gets contract extension
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch listens during a news conference after Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Friday, May 24, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
The Minnesota Timberwolves took care of one bit of business before the NBA draft and free agency begin by signing coach Chris Finch to a four-year extension that will run through the 2027-28 season.
It marks the third contract Finch has signed since becoming head coach in February 2021. On Finch’s watch, the Wolves have made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons and are coming off their first appearance in the NBA Western Conference finals since 2004.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The NBA draft is Wednesday and Thursday before free agency negotiations start this weekend.
“I’d like to thank [owner] Glen [Taylor], Becky [Taylor], and the entire organization for their continued support and commitment to me and the team,” Finch said in a statement. “I’m proud of the way we’ve been able to establish a great culture here with the Timberwolves and I look forward to continuing to lead this organization and make our fans proud.”
Finch is the second-winningest coach in franchise history, behind Flip Saunders, with a record of 160-127. His winning percentage of .557 is the best of any coach in franchise history.
READ: Timberwolves advancing further in NBA playoffs comes with cost
He previously signed an extension toward the end of the 2021-22 season. Finch finished third in this season’s Coach of the Year voting as the Wolves finished third in the Western Conference, and he has made an unconventional frontcourt of both Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert work while overseeing Anthony Edwards’ ascension into an All-NBA player. Finch also coached the Western Conference in this season’s All-Star Game.
Finch coached the last two rounds of this season’s playoffs after rupturing his patellar tendon in Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against Phoenix when point guard Mike Conley collided with him on the sidelines. Finch sat behind the bench or off to the side as assistant Micah Nori, who has interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs this offseason, roamed the sidelines.
Finch developed his reputation as a great offensive assistant coach in Houston and New Orleans before Gersson Rosas hired him to succeed Ryan Saunders in February 2021. But Finch oversaw the league’s No. 1 defense this season.
Finch has worked in unusual circumstances in his first four seasons as coach, as he has had three different bosses running basketball operations for the Wolves during his tenure — Rosas; executive vice president Sachin Gupta, who was the interim president after Rosas’ firing, and President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly for the past two seasons. Connelly and Finch previously worked together in Denver, where Finch was an assistant.
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Despite criticism last season as the Wolves struggled in the first season after the Gobert trade, Connelly never wavered in his commitment to Finch and often referred to him as an “elite” coach.
“Chris is a wonderful coach, and an even better person,” Connelly said in a statement. “We are thrilled that he is being rewarded with a well-earned extension. Under his guidance the team has improved every year, he’s the perfect leader for our organization.”
Connelly recently restructured his deal to push back a buyout in his contract until after next season as the ownership situation between Taylor and Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore plays out in arbitration over the next few months.
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