It Doesn't Sound Like Flip Saunders's Fight Against Cancer Is Going Well

In August the Timberwolves announced that head coach/president of basketball operations Flip Saunders had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but planned to continue coaching. After he suffered a setback that plan became unworkable, and three weeks ago Saunders took a leave of absence from the team.

In a live chat today Star Tribune beat writer Jerry Zgoda provided an update on Saunders’s condition, and things seem pretty grim (emphasis mine):

There’s no question things have changed dramatically since the team announced his diagnosis in August, back when it quoted his doctors saying the cancer was very treatable and curable. Since then there have been changes to the way his body handled the chemotherapy (and maybe how much cancer they’ve found) that have made it life threatening. Everyone involved has gone radio silent because of the family’s request for privacy and federal patient-privacy laws, etc., but between the complete silence, the lack of people visiting as far as I can tell apart from his immediate family and very inner circle while he remains hospitalized here in Minneapolis and the things I’m hearing second-hand, well, none of it is good. I’ll just say this, and this is just my own opinion, if he pulls through this: I doubt very much he’s back this year, it’s probably unlikely he coaches again just because of the stress inherent doing both those jobs and I think there’s a pretty good chance he doesn’t return full time to either job. As far as the franchise goes, that will put them in a holding pattern for some time. I can’t see Glen Taylor allowing Milt Newton and Sam to make a major decision until they know more about Flip’s future and Glen decides who will run his team for the long term. I wouldn’t assume it’ll be Milt and Sam going forward, that’s just for the short term until things become clearer.

Please, get well soon Flip.

[ Star Tribune]

Photo via AP; h/t Patrick Fenelon

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