Report: Ryan Saunders and Scott Layden Are Safe (For Now)

If you sat out the NBA last evening due to “load management” you missed quite a fascinating night in The Association:

• Anthony Davis went full Porky Pig on the New Orleans Pelicans.
• Dwyane Wade enjoyed One Last Dance with the Miami Heat.
• Dirk Nowitski also rode off into the sunset, albeit much more subtlety than his nemesis D-Wade.
• Former Timberwolf and friend of the program Jamal Crawford dropped a casual 51 against the Mavs, despite turning 39-years old a few weeks ago.
• PG13 went full NC-17 against the Houston Rockets.
• Magic Johnson quit his job because he wants to tweet more (#Mood).
• HOW COULD YOU BE MOE HARKLESS?
• And if THAT wasn’t enough, there was this late-night #WojBomb:

Like many of you who received this push notification on their phone, I was fairly startled by the news, especially the part about retaining GM Scott Layden. However, before I could fully comprehend what was happening, our good friend Jonny K dropped his own version of what was happening at Mayo Square:

In his latest piece on The Athletic, Jon went on to drop a handful of tasty nuggets, including Glen Taylor’s desire for this new President of Basketball Operations to be the one who decides the ultimate fate of both Saunders and Layden, which strongly goes against what Woj reported earlier in the night.

So... where does this leave the Wolves going forward? For one, it should be noted that while Woj continues to be the G.O.A.T. of basketball reporting, he has failed to secure strong contacts within the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise for years, and this is just the latest example of him being off the mark when it comes to Wolves news. Jon is far more plugged in, and his reports are backed up by this latest press release from the team themselves:

Here’s my hot take two cents: someone within the Wolves organization fed Woj incorrect information as sort of a “take that” revenge move for how Woj essentially played the role of PR Director for Jimmy Butler during his last days in Minnesota. Despite Glen’s “best efforts,” there was no way he could just casually bring back both Saunders and Layden and simply cruise into the offseason. One could argue this also supports my personal belief that Glen Taylor has a burner Twitter account, and after seeing the late-night uproar from the fan base, knew that something had to change.

And yet... we might not actually see that much change when all is said and done. From what I can tell, Glen wants to hire a new leader for the franchise (smart), while also simultaneously suggesting to that person that he (or she) keep both Saunders and Layden in their current position (not smart). In other words, Glen is hiring a new head chef for his restaurant, but would prefer that the menu remain the same. Brilliant!

As mentioned countless times throughout the Canis Hoopus community, this is going to be a FASCINATING offseason, one that will shape the future of this franchise for the next 5-10 years. While nothing with this franchise ever happens smoothly or easily, we can (at least for the moment) take solace in the fact that it appears Glen is taking the right approach going forward (even though it might end with the incorrect results).