The Official Chris Finch Thread I

[urinesane]

I think it's kind of messed up that the only thread dedicated to Chris Finch, as of today the 2nd most successful Wolves HC in franchise history, is called The "Fire Chris Finch" Thread... wtf guys?

The amount of people calling for his job is pretty crazy, considering the following facts (not feelings):

Chris Finch is the second most successful Timberwolves Head Coach in the history of the franchise.

1 of 3 coaches in franchise history to coach the Wolves into the playoffs.1 of 2 coaches to take this team to the playoffs multiple and in back to back seasons. 1 of 2 Wolves HC to have more than one playoff victory.

Which is actually MORE impressive considering just the fact that for finishing 7th and 8th, compared to every other coach outside of Ryan Saunders, that would have been good enough to guarantee a playoff spot. In both years they had to WIN an extra game after the regular season just to keep their spot.

In addition to that, it's not just beginners luck.

As of today he has coached the 3rd most games in franchise history (205) and outside of the FO having a stroke will take 2nd place in early December of this coming season.

He is 1 of 2 coaches with a positive record in franchise history. Then again, this franchise has stunk and most of these stats say more about it's futile existence over most of the last 30 years...

Let's look at some weird all-time NBA coaching stats via some table I found on basketball reference.

Going back to 1947, there have been 346 Head Coaches in NBA HIstory.

Out of those 346 coaches, Chris Finch became the 338th Head Coach in NBA History in 2021.

He currently ranks as of today:
- 192nd (though it's actually a tie between 157th and 192nd) for longest tenure in as an NBA HC (3 years).
- In games coached he is 164th with 205 games (technically tied with David Fizdale for 163rd currently).
- 145th all-time in win total - (205 wins).
- 104th in career winning %
- 129th in Playoff games coached.
- 137th in career playoff games won.
- 157th in playoff winning %

We'll see how these stats change over the coming seasons, but imo they should just give him like a 10 year contract and commit to the Finchy era. He's the best coach we've had in forever.

[Calinks]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

[minimus]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

Agree. I also think that every great player makes coach better. Hopefully Edwards is that type of star.

[urinesane]

I think something that has been overlooked and is probably a tough one for those wishing we had more draft picks to reconcile is the fact that for the first time in... well forever, we have a coach that is willing and able to develop younger players, while also not just being a baby sitter (and still gets respect from vets/stars).

Timberwolves Coaches in the last 10 years.
Rick Adelman 2011-2014 (3 seasons) Age: 64 - 67 years old
Flip Saunders 2014-205 (1 season) Age: 59
Sam Mitchell 2015-2016 (1 season) Age: 51 years old
Tom Thibodeau 2016-2019 (2.5 seasons) Age: 54 - 61 years old
Ryan Saunders 2019-2021 (137 games over 3 seasons) Age: 32 - 35
Chris Finch 2021 - Present (2.5 seasons) Age 51 - 53

Adelman came here at the end of his career, there was no way he was interested in developing young players after having already been the head coach in 1,561 NBA games. It was the end of his career and he just wanted to make one last run before retirement (and probably make a bit more money from a desperate franchise going into retirement).

Flip Saunders would have been OK with developing the youth, after all it was the roster he had just traded the teams best player to bring in talented youth (with Rubio only in his 3rd year and some other vets past their prime: KG, KMart, Mo Williams). Obviously we all know what happened, so he didn't get a chance to develop the younger players.

Sam Mitchell did a hell of a job for basically having to fill in for the HC that had died basically in training camp, but he was also now thrust into a position where he was auditioning to become the full time HC, not just interim. He had to balance developing the younger players and having enough success on the court to hopefully justify a contract going forward.

Tom Thibodeau was coming in with a chip on his shoulder to prove the Bulls and naysayers around the league wrong. Which means that he was not interested at all in developing young talent, accumulated "his guys" and ran a very small rotation focused on winning now at the expense of talent development. He had already coached nearly 400 games in the NBA before coming to MN and it was clear that he was not interested in developing guys that weren't yet ready.

Ryan Saunders was very green as a HC, having it be his first job (and at a very young age compared to most HCs). He also had a pretty lackluster roster and was basically setup to be a babysitter/placeholder during years that they knew were going to be rough. It's difficult to develop youth when it's a patchwork roster and you're guaranteed to be losing A LOT. Though by all accounts, even with a good roster, he was not a HC that was going to make a team better.

Chris Finch was new to HC in the NBA, but had a ton of very valuable experience leading up to his hiring in MN. He is a great communicator and is able to not only tell players what he wants from them, but why... and how it will help them and the team. For the first time in the last 10 years, we have a coach that is not only willing to develop youth, but is also capable of getting them to the level of play where they can actually experience winning without having to sacrifice development (or massive amounts of wins).

The people looking to fire him are being incredibly short sighted imo, I think he is the perfect type of coach for what the roster was last season, is now, and will develop into in the future. Sure, he makes mistakes, but I'd love to see any HC that doesn't make any mistakes, the important thing is that his goals AND the players/franchise's goals are in alignment (and he is VERY adaptable and willing to change things to maximize the players he has, rather than forcing a specific system down their throats).

There's been a lot less whining over not developing our young guys and Finch has shown that if a young player is doing what the team asks of them, he will get them time to prove themselves regardless of their age or salary.

Those who want to fire Finch AND blow it up for a bunch of picks/talent need to reconcile the fact that most of the coaches people have floated bringing in aren't necessarily the guys you want developing a bunch of young players.

[urinesane]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

No coach is perfect, but for THIS team, he's probably as close to perfect as they get. A great balance of urgency to win now, with the understanding that in order to have sustained success in a smaller market franchise, you have to be successful at talent development (and understanding that WINNING helps with talent development).

[Klomp]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

No coach is perfect, but for THIS team, he's probably as close to perfect as they get. A great balance of urgency to win now, with the understanding that in order to have sustained success in a smaller market franchise, you have to be successful at talent development (and understanding that WINNING helps with talent development).

And with that last paragraph, I still believe all of that makes Connelly the right exec for this franchise.

[urinesane]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

No coach is perfect, but for THIS team, he's probably as close to perfect as they get. A great balance of urgency to win now, with the understanding that in order to have sustained success in a smaller market franchise, you have to be successful at talent development (and understanding that WINNING helps with talent development).

And with that last paragraph, I still believe all of that makes Connelly the right exec for this franchise.

Same.

If you look at the Nuggets draft history during his time vs ours, they drafted 3 starters on the #1 team in the West (and possibly in the NBA) 7th, 14th, and 41st (whom also happens to be a 2x MVP), along with a solid rotational guy (and potential future starter) in Christian Braun last draft 21st. We've drafted 3 starters for the current roster, but two of those were #1 picks (the other was Jaden at 28th).

Which clearly shows that Connelly has an eye for talent and can get great value regardless of where we pick. Which means that we can still fill the roster with talent that can develop into rotational players (maybe even future starters) without having to put pressure on them due to their draft # (which often tries to force guys to be who they aren't, aka really good 3rd/4th guys having pressure to be a franchise savior).

This also comes into play when it comes to trades/FAs. Rather than being a team that constantly goes through the development years of a younger player only to lose them and have a more established team benefit (by not having to spend the time/money on development in their early years). Now we can be that team, find diamonds in the rough, or players on good contracts that fit well in MN (and can have their ceiling raised due to culture/defined roles) and take advantage of the time bottom dwelling teams wasted developing them (and going through the roughest parts of that development, i.e. massive losing) only to not get the fruits of their labor.

I'd much rather be where we are than where we've been for such a long time (bottom feeder minor league development program for other teams).

[frankenwolf]

No coach is perfect, but for THIS team, he's probably as close to perfect as they get. A great balance of urgency to win now, with the understanding that in order to have sustained success in a smaller market franchise, you have to be successful at talent development (and understanding that WINNING helps with talent development).

And with that last paragraph, I still believe all of that makes Connelly the right exec for this franchise.

Same.

If you look at the Nuggets draft history during his time vs ours, they drafted 3 starters on the #1 team in the West (and possibly in the NBA) 7th, 14th, and 41st (whom also happens to be a 2x MVP), along with a solid rotational guy (and potential future starter) in Christian Braun last draft 21st. We've drafted 3 starters for the current roster, but two of those were #1 picks (the other was Jaden at 28th).

Which clearly shows that Connelly has an eye for talent and can get great value regardless of where we pick. Which means that we can still fill the roster with talent that can develop into rotational players (maybe even future starters) without having to put pressure on them due to their draft # (which often tries to force guys to be who they aren't, aka really good 3rd/4th guys having pressure to be a franchise savior).

This also comes into play when it comes to trades/FAs. Rather than being a team that constantly goes through the development years of a younger player only to lose them and have a more established team benefit (by not having to spend the time/money on development in their early years). Now we can be that team, find diamonds in the rough, or players on good contracts that fit well in MN (and can have their ceiling raised due to culture/defined roles) and take advantage of the time bottom dwelling teams wasted developing them (and going through the roughest parts of that development, i.e. massive losing) only to not get the fruits of their labor.

I'd much rather be where we are than where we've been for such a long time (bottom feeder minor league development program for other teams).

We have a core and do not have rely heavily on first round picks producing. We can take chances on picks, groom them in the G-league and if they work out, great, if not, we haven't tied up first round money in a bust. (Which we all know happens) This team, from FO to ballboys, need to stick together, become cohesive and build that winning culture we keep talking about.

Finch is perfect to lead this group. I would like to see a pops style era here from Finch.

[moss_is_1]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

Agreed. He's not perfect, but no coach is. As we see almost no coach is safe in today's NBA. Nurse, Monty Williams, Bud all recent COTY and fired within a few seasons, 2 of them winning a title.

Why don't we give Finch a chance to actually have his team together? Rudy in eurobasket, Kat getting a major illness, then missing 50 games, now we have Conley who is a much better fit with the team. I think we mostly run it back and see once the team has more time together.

The only glaring issue with Finch is with the offense bogging down he needs to try and have some go to plays, and use his timeouts more to stop giving up so many big leads.

[urinesane]

Does Finchy win COTY this year?

I think yes.

[KGdaBom]

Does Finchy win COTY this year?

I think yes.

I'm going to place a bet on that.

[Krapinsky]

I like Finch but I question whether he has enough fire under his belly to lead the team through adversity. He can be a little too ‘aww shucksy’ at time, which I think can rub off on the players.

[urinesane]

I like Finch but I question whether he has enough fire under his belly to lead the team through adversity. He can be a little too ‘aww shucksy’ at time, which I think can rub off on the players.

I think there is a public facing Finch and a locker room Finch. It's well known that he gets on Ant's ass about things and coaches him tough, because it's not only what he wants, but what he needs. I think adaptability is the key to dealing with adversity and throughout his career Finch has shown an ability to adapt. He may not be the best at in game adjustments (at least not so far), but he also isn't a "system" guy that tries to fit square pegs into round holes, he takes a look at the roster and maximize their skills and minimizing their weaknesses.

There's being outwardly emotional and reactionary during games (a la Thibs) and being Stoic (so that when the emotion comes out the players listen and respond). Just because Finch isn't hooting and hollering doesn't mean that he doesn't have a competitive fire (or the willingness to show his displeasure). He's just more measured when they are under the watch of fans/tv, etc. Which is smart, because the Thib's style can rub a lot of players the wrong way and potentially embarrass them in public. Finch is smart enough to show respect, but I'm sure he's chewed some asses out behind the scenes (which I think carries more weight due to his normal calm demeanor).

I think you've fallen for the public facing persona, because the "aww shucksy" stuff by all accounts is not how he is around players (from everything that's been said, they respect the hell out of him).

[Klomp]

I think this team may be building in a Spursian model, with high IQ, quick decision-makers and playing with pace.

I think both Edwards and Towns have an ability to play this style, but getting the correct players around them was important.

[Baseline81]

I think this team may be building in a Spursian model, with high IQ, quick decision-makers and playing with pace.

I think both Edwards and Towns have an ability to play this style, but getting the correct players around them was important.

Am I the only one to question this?

[Note30]

I don't think Finch is perfect but I think he is a damn good coach. I t think he will grow and learn with the team. Look at Mike Malone, he has grown leaps just this season it seems. Having a consistent voice is important and I will be upset if Finch gets fired largely because of a bad trade.

I think this is pretty true as well. I'm hoping Finch grows with this team. There's maybe one or two coaches I could think of that I would actually want. Outside of that everyone is pretty fresh or inexperienced or straight up impossible to get.

[Klomp]

I think this team may be building in a Spursian model, with high IQ, quick decision-makers and playing with pace.

I think both Edwards and Towns have an ability to play this style, but getting the correct players around them was important.

Am I the only one to question this?

I get why you are questioning. But some guys tend to be more a product of their environment. I think the first 8 years of his career, he developed some bad tendencies. But as we've seen from Wiggins, tendencies can be corrected in the proper environment. If they start to nurture a system based on quick reads and no ball-stopping, I think Towns can break some of those habits.

[jscott]

I support Chris Finch.

[m2002brian]

I think this team may be building in a Spursian model, with high IQ, quick decision-makers and playing with pace.

I think both Edwards and Towns have an ability to play this style, but getting the correct players around them was important.

Am I the only one to question this?

No. Dude hasn’t even figured out how to pass out of a double team. 8 years!

[Klomp]

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