Minnesota Timberwolves Coach Flip Saunders diagnosed with cancer
Minnesota Timberwolves President and Coach Flip Saunders talks to reporters during a June 25 news conference in Minneapolis.
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Minnesota Timberwolves President and Coach Flip Saunders has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, team officials announced Tuesday in a release.
“I am taking it step by step and day by day to understand how to best manage this process,” said Saunders, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
He was diagnosed with the cancer eight weeks ago and is expected to be able to fulfill his duties as coach and executive of the team. According to the team statement, his doctors have called it a “very treatable and curable form of cancer.”
Saunders, 60, began his NBA coaching career with the Timberwolves (1995-2005). He then spent time with the Detroit Pistons (2005-08) and the Washington Wizards (2009-12) before going back to Minnesota in 2014.
He’s led four teams to the Eastern Conference finals over the course of his career, but the Timberwolves are coming off an abysmal 2014-15 campaign in which they posted a league-worst record of 16-66.
“I am attacking this with the same passion I do everything in my life, knowing this is a serious issue,” Saunders said. “I also know that God has prepared me to fight this battle.”
Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme
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