FanPost

Timberwolves 09-10 season; coaching search.

From http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/wolves/2009/07/29/wolves-set-to-open-09-10-season-oct-28-at-home-vs-new-jersey/ :

Wolves set to open ‘09-10 season Oct. 28 at home vs. New Jersey

Posted on July 29th, 2009 – 11:55 AM
By Jerry Zgoda

The official NBA schedule isn’t expected to be released for at least a few days, but here’s a quick snapshot from somebody who has seen the preliminary sked:

– The Wolves again will open at home, Wednesday night Oct. 28 against the New Jersey Nets.

That gives David Kahn 91 days to get Ricky Rubio freed and delivered and to get this roster in some kind of competitive shape, which it certainly isn’t in now.

– They will play a New Year’s Day game at Target Center and will be home over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

– There’s 16 back-to-back sets, down from last season’s 20-something.

– The longest road trip is four games.

I’m also hearing there will be as many as 20 fewer games televised this season — 75 of 82 were shown last season – and many of those will be home games, a decision intended to get people to buy tickets. Last season, 35 home games were televised.

And for the coaching decision…David Kahn said he hopes to have one named by the end of next week, perhaps sooner. I’ve talked to a couple people in coaching circles and they say the Kurt Rambis probability all depends on money and length of contract.

Rambis interviewed for the open Sacramento job earlier this summer but the Kings hired Paul Westphal after Rambis wasn’t willing to commit to the Kings because the Lakers were still in the playoffs. Westphal signed a two-year deal with a team option for a third season that reportedly pays him a base salary of $1.5 million a year with incentives that could bring it to more than $2 million a year.

Rambis also reportedly wanted significantly more than that if he were to take the job.

Rambis certainly has the edge over Mark Jackson when it comes to coaching experience and time with a championship organization, but he also could cost considerably more, an important consideration in these economic times and given the fact that this coach simply could be a transitional one.

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The Wolves are trying to make more money by televising less games. They want people to actually come and watch their games so they're televising as many as 20 fewer games than they did last year, which could lower the televised games to 55. I personally don't like this idea because I watch most games on TV.

It seems like Mark Jackson might become our next head coach. Kurt Rambis would have to make more than 2 million dollars. The Timberwolves currently have 3 players who make less than that: Bobby Brown, Wayne Ellington, and Oleksiy Pecherov. This article doesn't say anything about any other possible coach, which kind of surprises me. Elston Turner is another possible candidate for the job, however it is possible that there are others.