Flip Saunders
Flip Saunders was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States on February 23rd, 1955 and is the Basketball Coach. At the age of 60, Flip Saunders biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 60 years old, Flip Saunders has this physical status:
Coaching career
Saunders began his teaching career at Golden Valley Lutheran College, where he set a 92-13 record, with a perfect 56-0 record at home in four seasons. He began working as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Minnesota, in 1981 and helped the Golden Gophers win the Big Ten championship that season. He spent two seasons at Minnesota before moving to the pro ranks.
In the 1988–89 season, Saunders served as the team's general manager, while future Kings and Warriors head coach Eric Musselman served as the team's general manager. When Bill was head coach at the University of Minnesota, Musselman's father, Bill Musselman, recruited Flip.
Saunders then went to the La Crosse Catbirds for five seasons (1989-94), where he won two CBA Championships before coaching with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 1994-1995. He also served as general manager (1991–93) and team president (1991–94) of the Catbirds. Saunders' stellar CBA career featured seven seasons of 30 or more victories, two CBA championships (1990, 1992), two CBA Coach of the Year awards (1989, 1992), and 23 CBA-to-NBA player promotions (2009, 1992).
Saunders will retire after seven years as a head coach in the CBA, where he currently ranks second with 253 career victories.
Saunders joined the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on May 11, 1995, as general manager, working under his former Minnesota teammate, Kevin McHale. Bill Blair was voted head coach of the Timberwolves on December 18, 1995, replacing Bill Blair.
The Timberwolves' basketball operations were taken over by McHale shortly after. After the team had gotten off to a 6–14 start, he transitioned coaching duties to his GM position. The Timberwolves went 20–42 the rest of the year, but the emergence of young Kevin Garnett as a front-line NBA player was a major plus over the second half.
The Timberwolves' first-ever playoff appearance in 1996–97, his first full season as a head coach. He led the Timberwolves to their first-ever winning season a year ago. They went on to a franchise-record 50 victories in 1999-2000, which was duplicated in 2001–2002.
The Timberwolves' triumph in the 2003–04 NBA season, in which they captured their first (and to date, only) division championship and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, they failed in the 2004–05 season. McHale fired Saunders and named himself head coach for the remainder of the season on February 12, 2005. McHale was unable to correct the ship, and the Wolves lost one game in the playoffs for the first time in nine years. Many people believed that Saunders' dismissal was unwarranted, blaming Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell's work as the team's demise. However, many people acknowledged that Saunders had worked in Minnesota for ten years, but perhaps a new voice was needed.
Larry Brown was fired as the Detroit Pistons' coach on July 21, 2005. The team won the regular season under Saunders, establishing a new franchise record for victories during the season, finishing with a 64–18 record. In the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas, Saunders coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars.
The Pistons won three consecutive Central Division titles and three straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, the fourth in a row of six consecutive Conference Finals appearances dating back to 2002-03. Saunders was Pistons coach for three seasons (1983–1992) during Chuck Daly's tenure (1983–1992).
Saunders was fired in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals after the Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics. Joe Dumars, the team's president of basketball operations, said that the team needed a "new voice." Saunders never fully earned the loyalty of the Pistons locker room, and was unable to force them to raise their game at critical moments, according to a post-mortem by ESPN's Chris Sheridan.
Saunders and the Washington Wizards signed an agreement on April 14, 2009, making him the new coach. According to reports, the agreement was worth $18 million over four years.
Saunders was fired as the Wizards' coach on January 24, 2012. Saunders departed the Wizards after being replaced by former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Randy Wittman, who had a record of 51–130.
Saunders was named head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 6, 2014, marking his second stint in the franchise. Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma during his second stint with the Timberwolves. Sam Mitchell, the year's champion, delegated his coaching duties to assistant coach and former NBA Coach of the Year winner Sam Mitchell during his recovery. His 427 victories in two seasons were the most in franchise history, and before the 2017–18 season, he was the only coach to lead the Timberwolves to a winning season or coach a playoff game.
Career as an executive
Saunders joined the Boston Celtics as an advisor on April 29, 2012.
Saunders was named President of Basketball Operations by the Timberwolves on May 3, 2013. Saunders was named head coach on June 5, 2014, as well as others. Milt Newton, the team's general manager, delegated his front office duties during his recuperation from Lymphoma in Hodgkin.