Flip Saunders: 'I believe I'm the right guy to coach' Wolves

Saying he believed he was the right man at the right time, Flip Saunders officially added the job of Wolves head coach to his existing position as president of basketball operations at a press conference Friday afternoon.

It was a decision that Saunders and owner Glen Taylor said they came to after weeks of trying to fill the vacancy left by Rick Adelman's decision to retire. But, as Taylor – and Saunders stressed – it was not the first option explored, but rather one that loomed as the coaching search moved forward.

"We never felt we had found the perfect person," said Taylor, who had been vocal about his desire to keep the two jobs separate. "Or even the near perfect person for the job. So last week we met again, and we came to the conclusion it wasn't going to serve us well to go another month (into the process). We should sit down and make a decision.''

And that decision was Saunders, the winningest coach in team history. He coached the team for nine-plus seasons starting in the 1995-96 season and led the team to eight playoff berths. In 2003-04 the team won 58 games and advanced to the Western Conference finals. Later Saunders coached the Detroit Pistons to three straight Eastern Conference Finals. Overall, Saunders has had seven 50-win seasons as an NBA head coach.

Saunders, too, claimed that coaching wasn't his first option.

But it was one he also came to after what he called an eye-opening coaching search.

"Every team has a right coach at the right time," Saunders said. "I believe I'm the right guy to coach this team in this situation. It's time to put my tool belt back on and go to work."

Now Saunders will begin to build an assistant coaching staff that will have a blend of experience and the ability develop players. He said it was not necessarily his intention to have a "head coach in waiting'' on that staff, but said he did hope the staff would include somebody who would develop into a strong candidate.

"I took this job because I think we're going to be successful," Saunders said. "It would have been easier for me to hire a coach than to coach. But this is what's best for the organization. That's why I'm doing it."

And, of course, there is one perk to the move.