According to a report by Yahoo Sports, Flip Saunders has made a decision on who will lead the team while he is treated for a form of cancer. He chose Sam Mitchell, who played 10 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before moving to coaching.
Saunders was diagnosed with a treatable form of Hodgkin's Lymphoma this summer, and has been undergoing chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Mitchell does have experience as a NBA head coach, as he was the head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2004-2008. In his four years with the Raptors, Mitchell had a record of 156-189, but was fired partway through the 2008-2009 season.
Mitchell joined the Timberwolves staff in July of 2014, and quickly became a favorite of team owner Glen Taylor. Saunders added him to the staff for his head coaching experience and to be a mentor to a young Timberwolves team.
Mitchell played 13 seasons in the NBA, with 10 of those being with Minnesota. He was known as a popular figure in the locker room and community, and was a mentor to a young Kevin Garnett.
Saunders is in his second stint coaching the Timberwolves, with his first coming from 1995-2005, a span in which the Timberwolves made the Western Conference Finals, as well as making the playoffs nine straight years.
In addition to head coach, Saunders is also the President of Basketball Operations, a job that he has held since 2013, which he will not give up while he is treated.
In his coaching career, Saunders is 654-594 with ten playoff appearances. The farthest he has gone in the playoffs is the conference finals, which he reached with Minnesota in 2003-2004, as well as three straight years with Detroit. He has never made it past the conference finals.
The move is expected to be officially announced at a news conference scheduled for Friday.