National Basketball Association

Fun-damentals: Saunders building team chemistry through quirky ways

Published Oct. 13, 2014 5:05 p.m. ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Card tricks, footballs, vinyl records and deep-fried alligator fritters.

If he wasn't the coach, president and part owner of the Timberwolves, Flip Saunders might be mistaken for a lead carny.

When he's directing a drill, Saunders is as straight-edged as they come, often stopping practice to provide specific, meticulous direction. He'll grab rookies Andrew Wiggins or Zach LaVine by the arm and guide them to the desired spot on the floor, then harp on them until they get it right in real time.

But the only man to lead this beleaguered franchise to the playoffs strikes a balance between instruction and construction, between the monotony of the grind and the unconventional.

It's a product of both history and necessity. At every stop on his long, winding basketball executive journey, Saunders has picked up tidbits on how to maximize players' production. And with a roster whose average age is 25.9 years, a step outside the usual can forge chemistry -- cause the youngsters to buy in and the veterans to participate in that process.

"We . . . just have fun, go out there and enjoy ourselves and just believe in what we're trying to do -- team building, togetherness, and being a family," power forward Thaddeus Young said.

Constructing

The Wolves originally had practice scheduled for Sunday afternoon. But instead of putting them through a workout at the Target Center's Lifetime Fitness practice facility, Saunders took them all to the Vikings game at TCF Bank Stadium.

They sat in Gophers coach Jerry Kill's suite and soaked in some sun while it's still shining on clear ground in Minnesota. "I think it was a great thing that Coach did," center Nikola Pekovic said after practice Monday. "We have some fun."

Said Saunders: "I've always done things where I've taken guys and kind of sensed where they're at, a bonding-type situation. . . . We might not have another opportunity, at least not when it's going to be above 60 degrees."

Every team focuses on team building as its season approaches. But Saunders has paid special attention to it this fall, mostly to keep the young guys and more seasoned players engaged and on the same page.

So he brought a magician to entertain them after practice and at a team dinner the first day of training camp in Mankato. He had them toss footballs around Minnesota State's Bresnan Arena before another camp workout. Before last season, he gave every player, coach, trainer and Timberwolves staffer a souvenir coin that said "We're Ready."

Saunders said he used to do all sorts of similar activities as coach of the Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards before taking over as president of basketball operations before last season. His days playing for Gophers and inaugural Wolves coach Bill Musselman and coaching and managing in the Continental Basketball Association have influenced him greatly, too.

The latest antics are a bit more conducive to public consumption, though, Saunders intimated with a grin.

"When you read my book, it'll have all my secrets," said Saunders, who coached the Wolves to eight straight playoff appearances (the only ones in club history) from 1996-2004. "I'm going to make you pay for those."

Competing

The Wolves ran wind sprints at the end of Monday's practice, each of them dressed in one of three practice jersey colors -- red, black or white. A player from each team's performance at the free-throw line dictated how many suicides the rest of his teammates would endure.

Almost everything in Saunders' practices involves some sort of competition. It was even one of the "words of the day" at training camp -- a different term to focus on each practice at Mankato. Each workout's best performer received a key with the word for that day engraved upon it.

Whether it's shooting, ball-handling, or something as simple as conditioning, Saunders has aimed to make this preseason the most competitive in his 17 years as an NBA head coach. With each miniature battle comes a small reward -- time cut off practice, a few extra bucks for winning a shooting contest, and so forth.

It all must be balanced with rest. For example, Ricky Rubio and Gorgui Dieng, though fully healthy, didn't practice Saturday. Pekovic and J.J. Barea have sat out as precautions, too, and Saunders has been patient in bringing Kevin Martin (strained adductor) and Shabazz Muhammad (strained Achilles) back from nagging injuries.

"I judge a lot by how I feel," Saunders said of evaluating how hard to push players. "If I feel somewhat tired, they're going to be twice as tired as me."

Promoting

Nothing's been tantamount to the CBA's "1 Million Dollar CBA Supershot," but Saunders has asserted himself as a master promoter since arriving back in the Twin Cities.

He had Anthony Bennett eating fried 'gator with Wiggins, LaVine and Young at the Minnesota State Fair, officially introducing the Kevin Love trade haul in "Hey, look at me!" fashion. He put them and the rest of their new teammates on display at "Dunks After Dark" to kick off training camp a la Midnight Madness. Last year, he had "Bruise Brothers" records bearing Pekovic and Love's likenesses made in hopes of sending both to the All-Star Game.

Saunders has a weekly radio appearance on KFAN 100.3, something some NBA coaches -- particularly his predecessor, Rick Adelman -- might not agree to.

And he of course yanked the strings that brought Young, Wiggins and Bennett to Minnesota in a blockbuster deal that could make the Wolves better than ever in the long run.

That, of course, depends on what he can do to develop the raw talent. And that, Saunders holds, goes far beyond defending pick-and-rolls and running the right inbounds play.

"I think Flip has done a great job since he came here for GM," Pekovic said. "He's trying to put us all together . . . to spend some more time together off the court. That's important if you want to build a team. It's not only important to be together on the court."

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