Timberwolves pick Kurt Rambis as new coach

MINNEAPOLIS – Kurt Rambis has reached an agreement to become the new head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The team said terms would not be disclosed, but scheduled a news conference for later Monday. Rambis is scheduled to be introduced as coach on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old Rambis has been an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers for most of the past seven seasons. He won four titles as a player with the Lakers in the 1980s and two more as an assistant coach, the last coming last season when he served as the defensive coordinator to help the team defeat Orlando in the NBA Finals.

He replaces Kevin McHale, who was let go on June 17. Rambis was one of three finalists along with TV commentator and former NBA star Mark Jackson and Houston assistant Elston Turner.

"After a six-week search and thorough interview process, I feel that in Kurt Rambis we have found the best person to lead and develop our young team as head coach," Timberwolves president David Kahn said in a prepared statement. "Kurt is talented and hardworking, and his many years in the NBA as a player, administrator and coach have prepared him well for this opportunity."

The rebuilding Timberwolves have not made the playoffs since 2004 and won just 24 games last season.

Rambis has spent much of his NBA career under two of the most respected coaches in the game. He played for Pat Riley and coached under Phil Jackson, who has won more NBA titles than any other coach.

Long considered a possible heir apparent to Jackson in LA, Rambis filled in on several occasions while the coach was out with medical issues. He also served as the head coach in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, going 24-13. That experience gave him the edge over Mark Jackson, who has never been a coach.

Rambis also interviewed for positions in Sacramento and Philadelphia this offseason.

He takes over in Minnesota for McHale, the man who famously clotheslined him while playing for the Boston Celtics in the 1984 Finals.