Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor shared and unfortunate update in regards to the health status of head coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.
When asked about a possible return for Saunders, Taylor told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that he doesn’t expect Saunders to return this season.
“Not this year,” Taylor said. “I just think his illness, I mean, it’s serious. At this point, if he came back I still think he’d have a hard time to recover all his energy and all that because he has been in the hospital for a long time.”
Saunders announced in August that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a condition that was first characterized as “very treatable and curable form of cancer.” Taylor said that Saunders' absence has taken its toll on the psyche of his team.
“I don’t care how old you get or how experienced you get, these friendships that are in your lives are so important,” said Taylor, whose history with Saunders dates back to 1994. “They do affect your heart and your mind on a daily basis.”
Saunders is 654-592 as a head coach in 17 NBA seasons.
By Glenn Erby
