MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves fired second-year Coach Bill Musselman Monday, one day after the expansion team finished with seven more wins than the year before.
Team President Bob Stein said Musselman, who has a year left on his contract, was fired because he refused to play young players enough and because he 'couldn't communicate'with his team.
Musselman said he was grateful to the Timberwolves for giving him a chance to coach in the NBA again, and admitted it was tough for him to do anything less than go all-out to win every game.
But he denied he had a communication problem with his players.
The team also fired Musselman assistant Tom Thibodeau and offered assistant Dave Pritchett a management position in the team's player personnel department under director Jim Brewer. Assistant Eric Musselman, Bill's son, will be offered a scouting position.
Stein said Bill Musselman was let go 'due to differences in philosophy that couldn't be resolved over a lot of meetings in the last couple seasons.'
'It boils down to really two issues,' said. 'We talked about them before Bill was hired, and they are things that he agreed to address, but for whatever reason had a tough time doing.'
First, Stein said, Musselman wasn't willing to let young players 'develop over time as a key priority.'
'That's above and beyond winning any particular game at all costs,' Stein said. 'That is our top priority, and we think it's appropriate for an expansion team.'
And secondly, Stein said, communication between the coach and his players was lacking.
Musselman wasn't good at telling players 'what their roles are, how they're doing, why someone is promoted or demoted. And we think that's important both to enhance the individual development and team development,' Stein said. 'That's all we asked him. We didn't tell him how to coach a particular player. It was the big picture, those two issues from Day One.'
Personalities didn't play a part in the decision, Stein said, adding that the team and Musselman are parting ways friends.
Stein and team co-owner Marv Wolfenson said they haven't contacted any other coaches about filling the vacancy, but promised one would be hired in time for the June 26 NBA draft.
Possible replacements mentioned have ranged from former Boston Celtics coach Jimmy Rogers to Milwaukee Bucks assistant Mack Calvin. Other former and current NBA coaches thought be in the running include Doug Collins, Kevin Loughery, Cotton Fitzsimmons of Phoenix and John McLeod of New York.
Musselman had a 51-113 record in his two years as the Timberwolves' only coach. He specialized in motivating his players to work hard, at times making up with hustle and determination what they lacked in size and talent.
Minnesota finished at 29-53 this year, seven wins better than last year's 22-60 mark. The team had a winning 21-20 mark at home and finished in fifth place in the Midwest Division, ahead of non-expansion teams Dallas and Denver. Only Orlando had a better expansion team record this season at 31-51.
Musselman, 51, appeared in control during a impromptu news conference elsewhere in the Target Center moments after management announced the decision. He was obviously disappointed however, and came close to breaking down when he described saying good-bye to his players.
The coach said he couldn't change his spots when it came to wanting to win every basketball game, no matter how meaningless in the standings.
'I coach to win,' he said. 'My philosophy is that development comes when guys work hard. Going in, I understood it was an expansion team, I understood the wins weren't going to be there, that this team is starting from scratch. Still, my job was to get them to play hard, and when the ball is thrown up, it was to try to win the ball game.'
Musselman, however, did not agree with management's assessment that he had a communication problem with the players.
'I take pride in communicating with people in general, and in particular with players. Some people are more difficult to communicate with than others,' he said. 'I think the Timberwolves are coachable. At times, I can be hard on players. But on the other hand, through the years I've coached a lot of players who have their best seasons under me. I think that's true for everyone on the team this year.'
But it was player dissatisfaction that most probably did him in. Earlier in the year, vocal complaints about the coach were raised by the team's most visible players, guards Pooh Richardson and Tony Campbell. Campbell had demanded to be traded.
'You can tell he's really down,' Campbell said Sunday after the Wolves beat the Washington Bullets 89-87 in the season finale. 'He didn't really say a lot. I feel sorry for him.'
Musselman said he hasn't given any immediate thought to what's next for him. He did say he'd take a week off and then start working on it. There has been speculation that Musselman could coach in Europe, return to the Continental Basketball Association or maybe even get another job in the NBA.
Musselman was hightly successful in the CBA, winning four straight championships. However, he was 27-67 in a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and was 7-30 with a couple of ABA teams before going to the CBA. Before joining the pro ranks, Musselman coached at the University of Minnesota, going 69-32 in four seasons with one Big Ten title. He also coached Ashland College to a 129-30 record over six seasons.
