Timberwolves announce assistant coaching staff for Chris Finch
Chris Finch was introduced as the newest coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday after Ryan Saunders was fired Sunday night amid a 7-24 season.
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday finalized their front bench coaching staff to work with head coach Chris Finch for the 2021-22 season.
The Timberwolves named Joseph Blair, Micah Nori and Pablio Prigioni as assistant coaches next season.
"We had a diligent process to evaluate our front bench needs and determined the coaching styles, philosophies and ideologies that best complement Head Coach Chris Finch and the vision we see for the future of the Timberwolves. We’re confident that with Chris at the helm and with the support of the assistant coaches, we have a group in place that will maximize our top players’ potential both on and off the court and also untap our young talent," Timberwolves front office head Gersson Rosas said in a statement.
Blair spent last season with the Timberwolves after serving as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019-20. He also spent four years with the Houston Rockets G League team, including one season as their head coach.
Prigioni has been an assistant with the Timberwolves since 2019, and is known as the team’s offensive coordinator. He led Minnesota to the championship game of the NBA Summer League in 2019, and spent the prior season as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets. Prigioni had a 20-year playing career, featuring stops both in the NBA and overseas. He spent most of his career playing in Spain, where he won three Spanish King’s Cup titles, four Spanish Supercup titles and a Spanish League title. He played in the NBA for four seasons with the Knicks, Rockets and Clippers.
As a member of the Argentine national team, Prigioni won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and finished fourth in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Nori comes to the Timberwolves after three seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He also spent three years with the Denver Nuggets. He has a 23-year NBA career that started with 15 seasons with the Toronto Raptors as a director of scouting, an advanced scout and eventually an assistant coach.
"It was an easy decision to round out our front bench staff with Joseph, Micah and Pablo because of the different skills, approaches and backgrounds each bring to the table. I look forward to getting to work with each coach starting this summer," Finch said in a statement.
Rosas hired Finch to take over as Timberwolves’ coach after firing Ryan Saunders, following a 7-24 start to the 2020-21 season. The Timberwolves finished 23-49, and currently do not hold a pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.