T-Wolves owner: Flip Saunders not expected to return this season

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor shared some unfortunate news in regards to the status of head coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.

When asked about Saunders' timeline for return, Taylor told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that he doesn't expect Saunders to return for the 2015-16 season.

"Not this year," Taylor said. "I just think his illness, I mean, it's serious. At this point, if he came back I still think he'd have a hard time to recover all his energy and all that because he has been in the hospital for a long time."

Saunders announced in August that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and it was thought that he would continue working while he combated a condition that was first characterized as "very treatable and curable form of cancer."

Taylor didn't offer a concrete return date for Saunders, but did offer that the 60-year-old's absence has taken its toll on the psyche of his team.

"I don't care how old you get or how experienced you get, these friendships that are in your lives are so important," said Taylor, whose history with Saunders dates back to 1994. "They do affect your heart and your mind on a daily basis."

Sam Mitchell will handle head-coaching duties on an interim basis, while general manager Milt Newton takes full control of team operations.

"We haven't put anything on hold," Taylor said. "Milt's handling it just the way I'd expect him to. He tells me what he thinks, and we talk about things, just the same as I did with Flip. Milt's just stepped in. Sam has to be his own coach. He won't do things exactly as Flip does, and I wouldn't expect him to."

Across 17 seasons as an NBA head coach, Saunders boasts a regular-season record of 654-592 and a 47-51 record in the postseason.