National Basketball Association

Report: Timberwolves to fire Rambis

Published Jun. 22, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Minnesota Timberwolves have decided to fire coach Kurt Rambis but are not expected to announce the decision until after Thursday's NBA draft, Yahoo! Sports reported, citing sources.

Timberwolves general manager David Kahn made the decision and has already started looking at possible replacements, the sources said. University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and Portland Trail Blazers assistant Bernie Bickerstaff are expected to be among the candidates.

Rambis has two years left on his four-year contract but his relationship deteriorated with Kahn during last season to the point that they barely spoke, according to the report, published late Wednesday.

Kahn reportedly wanted Rambis to communicate better with the players, while his relationship with All-Star power forward Kevin Love was described as "frayed at best."

The Timberwolves went 17-65 last season for the worst record in the NBA. They will be boosted by the addition of Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio for next season and are also scheduled to have the second pick in the draft.