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  • the T Wolves fired their head coach, Ryan Saunders.

  • They hired Toronto Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch as a replacement.

  • Stephen A Your thoughts on this move.

  • Um, listen, Chris Finch has been around for a long time.

  • He was an assistant in Houston, started our careers assistant Houston, uh, the front office, Rojas said.

  • In Minnesota, he was a running Houston's operation right there.

  • So obviously their relationship goes back a long way.

  • I respect the fact that this man is given an opportunity is not like he didn't have any coaching experience whatsoever.

  • But you know what I'm going to lament?

  • I'm going to lament the fact that you know what, clearly there's no Rooney rule or a Bud Selig rule in play or anything like that.

  • So this is a guy that's on a bench in Toronto during the season and is being hired as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

  • Um, so relationships clearly matter because obviously not enough black folks have that relationship in the league to 75 to 80% black with a plethora of coaches.

  • I'm looking at guys like Lionel Hollins and even feel handy with the Los Angeles I mean, every time every staff that Phil Handy ends up on, it seems they win a championship.

  • What about him?

  • I'm looking at Mike Brown and Golden State.

  • What about him?

  • I'm looking at Nate McMillan, who was a damn good head coach in Indiana.

  • What about him?

  • He's an assistant now.

  • What about him?

  • Melvin Gordon?

  • What about him?

  • The list goes on and on and on.

  • I got a few names here.

  • I see Sidney Lowe.

  • I see shock Von.

  • I see Melvin Hunt.

  • I see Mike Woodson.

  • I see Tyrone Corbin.

  • I see Tony Brown.

  • I see Lionel Hollins.

  • Okay, I'm just looking at it.

  • And I'm saying you've got a whole bunch of black coaches that have been around for a long time, starving for an opportunity, opportunity, a chance.

  • And in the middle of the season, you get rid of Ryan Saunders and you got a coach.

  • They're already in play.

  • Okay, I'm just saying, Damn!

  • You know, listen, listen.

  • Carry the credit to Kyrie, Irving, Avery, Bradley and those boys who brought it up.

  • Who brought attention to the issue before play in the bubble where something needed to be addressed about black coaches getting looked at in the National Basketball Association.

  • I applaud them for that.

  • They deserve kudos for that.

  • I'm going to keep doing it again.

  • I'm paying attention to the process.

  • That doesn't seem to be a definitive process that's followed when it comes toe hiring these quite coaches and bypassing these black coaches.

  • Steve Kerr has been on the record speaking against this, along with various others.

  • It's a damn shame that in the year 2021 we still have to talk about the unfairness and the practices of all of this.

  • But Chris Finch?

  • I cannot knock the fact that he's getting this opportunity.

  • It's not like he's somebody that hasn't been around or has not paid some dudes.

  • I wish him nothing but the best.

  • I can't condemn them for it.

  • I'm just saying damn to the black coaches out there can't catch our break whatsoever.

  • I applaud you for doing this every time A coaching hire is made, and David Vanderpool is well in Portland, you know, I'm sorry.

  • Another guy, David Vanderpool.

  • Yeah, sure, It's a tough position to be in, because frequently the higher is a competent higher that happens to be a white guy, right?

  • But you have to take a step back and and look at it like you know, what are the what are those artists?

  • Call Stephen A.

  • They do the dots, you know?

  • And then when you step back, you can see the picture.

  • So each dot they put you put on you Okay, that's that's plausible.

  • That's plausible.

  • That's possible.

  • And when you step back and see the picture, it's a very white picture.

  • So I you know, I'm glad you bring it up and I got your back.

  • I support I I second that that notion.

  • I appreciate that, Max, By the way, I think Vanderpool is in Minnesota now.

  • Yeah, he's I think he's right there.

  • Right, Right, right.

  • I'll say this.

  • This is where what I started thinking Karl Anthony Towns is is, you know, when healthy, a tremendous player.

  • But they have not won in Minnesota, and at a certain point you're gonna have toe win because there are very few Damian Lillard's in the world who say, no matter what, I'm staying here.

  • And even Lillard had there was promise on the team, and I think every move you make in that franchise.

  • If you really want to keep Karl Anthony towns, you better be very careful.

  • Get his input and try toe.

  • Try to put something around him that will entice him to stay.

  • Because no matter what he says, people have a threshold for lunatic Max.

  • I would say this real quick before we end this segment.

  • Number one Karl Anthony Towns does have to be on the court.

  • I think over the last season and a half, he's only played like 45 games and we know he's been through a lot and God bless him and his family with what Cove it took from him in terms of losing his mama.

  • My heart goes out to him.

  • He's been through a lot, but he's got to get on the court.

  • Eso that's gonna help because he's a terrific player when he's on the court.

  • The other thing that I wanted to mention is this.

  • You know what?

  • We point to these coaches and what have you.

  • You know, people misconstrue what I said when I talked about white privilege and I talked about Steve Nash getting the job with the Brooklyn Nets.

  • Steve Nash is doing a hell of a job.

  • He deserves a lot of credit.

  • Mike D'Antoni is a brilliant offensive mind, and he deserves a lot of credit for the help that he's giving them.

  • I've got no issues with it.

  • My issue wasn't about Steve Nash.

  • My issue was about the fact that he never coached on any level and the job he inherits.

  • His first job in the business is coaching Kyrie and K D and ultimately, James Harden arriving in a trade.

  • Black folks don't get those opportunities, and I remember when I reported that on first take, everybody tried to misconstrue, and there's been plenty of coaches that were black that were given jobs without any coaching experience.

  • I never said that didn't happen with black coaches.

  • What I said was, you didn't see black coaches getting those kind of jobs.

  • If there's anything to celebrate today, is that the Minnesota Timberwolves stink, and the default position wasn't to give a black coach that job, which is on a track to nowhere for the immediate future, even though I got faith that they ultimately get their ships stared in the right direction.

  • But let me get to see a black man with no coaches in Nash's, can get a job with the content of his first job and then come talk to me.

  • In Nash's case, that seemed like a relationship thing.

  • Like it is a relationship with the Stars.

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the T Wolves fired their head coach, Ryan Saunders.

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