Timberwolves execute sweeping front office shakeup

MINNEAPOLIS — When Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor decided to hire Tom Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations and Scott Layden as general manager, many in the organization braced for sweeping changes to the front office and coaching staff.

Those changes arrived Friday, a few weeks after Thibodeau and Layden took over.

Milt Newton, the general manager who took the lead after Flip Saunders died from Hodgkin’s lymphoma just before the season began, and Arnie Kander, the sports science guru brought in by Saunders to help address the team’s difficulties in keeping players healthy, were among the most significant names not to be retained.

Layden also announced that vice president of basketball operations Rob Babcock, assistant coach Sidney Lowe, scouts Milt Barnes and Jason Hervey, director of sports performance Koichi Sato, manager of team travel/facilities coordinator Bill Hohenecker and head of video department and manager of basketball technology Brice Long would not be retained.

“We would like to thank all of these individuals for their contributions to our organization and wish them well in their future endeavors,” Layden said in a statement issued on Friday evening.

Newton followed Saunders from Washington three years ago and played a big role in rebuilding the roster from one of the worst in the league to one teeming with young talent. He was Saunders’ right-hand man and was particularly influential in the draft, where the Wolves added Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui …

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