Advertisement

Timberwolves fire president of basketball ops Gersson Rosas days before start of training camp

jason owens
Staff writer
·2 min read
6

The Minnesota Timberwolves have fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.

Outgoing team owner Glen Taylor announced the decision on Wednesday just days prior to the start of NBA training camps.

“Today, the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas," a statement from Taylor reads. "As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of.”

President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on in the second quarter of the game between the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on April 13, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Gersson Rosas was fired on Wednesday. (David Berding/Getty Images)

The Timberwolves hired Rosas in 2019 from the Houston Rockets. A protégé of Daryl Morey who spent 16 seasons with the Rockets, Rosas, 43, brought an analytics-based approach to his brief tenure in Minnesota. Taylor did not expound on the decision to dismiss Rosas beyond his initial statement.

Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reports that Timberwolves executive vice president of Sachin Gupta will take over Rosas' former role on an interim basis. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the franchise will conduct a wider search for Rosas' full-time replacement while Gupta runs basketball operations.

Karl-Anthony Towns' response

The news arrived as a surprise in Minnesota and around the NBA, including to Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who tweeted this shortly after Rosas' dismissal was announced:

Towns complained about a lack of stability within the franchise in an interview with Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill last week.

Who made the call to fire Rosas?

Taylor reached an agreement in May to sell the Timberwolves to an ownership group led by tech entrepreneur Mark Lore and former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez. The sale that also includes the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx is not yet final, but was approved by the NBA in July. Lore and Rodriguez are expected to take controlling ownership via incremental share purchases of the franchise between now and 2023.

Neither Lore nor Rodriguez initially commented on Rosas' dismissal.

The Timberwolves posted records of 19-45 (2019-20) and 23-49 (2020-21) since hiring Rosas. Rosas oversaw the 2019 and 2020 drafts that saw the Timberwolves acquire first-round picks Jarrett Culver and Anthony Edwards, who was selected first overall in 2020 and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball.