Sam Mitchell told his former SiriusXM NBA Radio pals today that he "absolutely" plans to start Zach LaVine over vet Kevin Martin at shooting guard.
He also told reporters that Ricky Rubio will not play in tomorrow night's preseason opener against Oklahoma City at Target Center.
The radio network had former NBA star Eddie Johnson and Mitchell's former broadcast mate Justin Termine in town and at practice for interviews with Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, among others, that will air Wednesday from 6 to 8 pm.
Here's the audio.
Mitchell has said these last few weeks that his job is to develop talent, which certainly suggested he might start LaVine at shooting guard.
But Mitchell told SiriusXM NBA Radio that he told LaVine that decision is written in pencil, not pen, and that the job is his to lose or give away.
Mitchell told Martin of the decision before the Wolves began camp practices last week. We'll see what that means for his future here. He's in the same position as Corey Brewer was last year -- able to opt out of the final year of his contract after this season -- and Brewer was traded in December.
Until today, Mitchell had only said opening night is a long way off when asked about who'll start where, although he made it pretty clear he's committed to the team's youth.
