Timberwolves interim boss Sachin Gupta still makes team decisions, but job isn't permanent yet

Since taking over the day-to-day basketball operations on an interim basis in September, Wolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta has kept a lower profile in terms of public comments than his predecessor, Gersson Rosas.

Only three times has Gupta met with the media in a news conference format, once at the opening of training camp, again after the trade deadline, with the third time coming Monday, after the team signed coach Chris Finch to a four-year contract extension.

Gupta took the time to laud Finch's job this season and talk about what has made their partnership so effective.

The two first worked together on Houston's D League (now G League) team in Rio Grande Valley more than 10 years ago.

"There was a long history and trust that we built there," Gupta said. "I think also personality-wise, there's just no ego between either of us. We both view this as a partnership, and we trust in each other in that he's going to do a great job on the coaching side and I'm doing to do a great job putting the roster together."

The question going forward for the Wolves is just how long will that partnership last and what will the dynamics of it be? Wolves ownership has not announced who will be running the basketball operations on a permanent basis. If that is Gupta, the Finch-Gupta pairing will lead the Wolves for at least the next few seasons, but the possibility exists the Wolves might bring in a president from outside the organization. If that happens, what will Gupta's future be with the team?

Previously, Marc Lore, who is set to become controlling owner along with Alex Rodriguez in 2023, said the organization wouldn't make a decision on a team president until it had established its three core values, something Lore has done at several of his companies.

Gupta chose not to mess with the roster by making any moves at the deadline and signed Patrick Beverley to a one-year extension shortly after. He and Finch have collaborated on potential moves throughout the season.

"He's a huge part of every decision that I make, and any time I have any thoughts or input, he's wide open on that as well," Gupta said. "So it's truly a partnership."

Added Finch: "He's a good person. We're philosophically aligned. We trust each other. We don't try to do each other's jobs. He's got a very appropriate presence around the team. He's done a really good job of bringing stability, great energy to the whole building."

Taurean Prince was a late addition to the injury report because of right knee inflammation. He was questionable coming into the game and ended up not playing. Prince rested in Sunday's regular-season finale, a 124-120 loss to Chicago.

Robert Covington made his return to Target Center for the first time as a Clipper since Portland traded him to Los Angeles before the deadline. The former Wolves forward has now played for three different teams since Rosas traded him before the deadline in 2020: Houston, Portland and the Clippers. There aren't many players from Covington's tenure left on the Wolves roster, but one of them is his good friend Karl-Anthony Towns. They had a chat Monday.

"Just catching up on life," Covington said. "He's a strong individual. That's what he's always been. Strong individual. Me and KAT's relationship is bigger than basketball."

Covington said he and Towns stayed in communication while Towns lost his mother and multiple family members to COVID-19 and said he's happy his friend got through those dark times.

"He was able to push through and not let it break him," Covington said. "I'm glad he was able to come out on the other side."

Beverley as fined $25,000 for "improper conduct toward a game official" during Sunday's game against the Bulls, the league announced. Beverley was ejected from the game late in the first half.

Tuesday's game was stopped during the second quarter when an activist appeared to try to glue herself to the floor. The woman was removed from the arena.

An animal rights group claimed responsibility for the protest and said it was against Wolves and Star Tribune owner Glen Taylor over treatment of chickens at a Taylor-owned egg farm.

Staff writer Marcus Fuller contributed to this report.