Timberwolves moving close to deal to hire Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger
After a meeting with Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor on Saturday, Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger has moved closer to a deal to become the Timberwolves coach, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Grizzlies and Timberwolves officials have begun discussions on possible compensation for letting Joerger out of his contract, sources said.
Discussions on a contract between Joerger and the Wolves are ongoing too, and a deal could be reached early in the week, sources said.
After a purge of the Memphis management team that promoted Joerger a year ago, owner Robert Pera gave Minnesota permission to discuss its coaching vacancy with Joerger, a Minnesota native. Joerger has history with Timberwolves general manager Flip Saunders, who has been a long-time admirer of Joerger's climb through the minor leagues into the NBA.
Joerger and Saunders met earlier in the week to discuss the job.
Taylor had been an advocate of ex-Toronto coach Sam Mitchell, who had a long career with the Timberwolves as a player, to fill Minnesota's coaching vacancy. Mitchell has already interviewed for the job.
Joerger was 50-32 in his first season as head coach, losing in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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