Report: Former NBA player, coach Sam Mitchell to join Timberwolves staff

Sam Mitchell had two stints as player for the Wolves, the second of which was spent playing for head coach Flip Saunders. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/Getty Images)

Sam Mitchell had two stints as player for the Wolves, the second of which was spent playing for head coach Flip Saunders. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/Getty Images)

Former NBA coach Sam Mitchell, who carved out a 13-year NBA career mostly playing for the Timberwolves, is reportedly set to join Minnesota's staff, according to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

In May, it was reported that the 50-year-old Mitchell was a "serious candidate" to be the head coach of the team next year, but that opportunity has since gone to Flip Saunders, who is also the team's president of basketball operations. News of his rejoining the Timberwolves will be announced once terms of the deal have been finalized, a process Wojnarowski said is in its final stages on Thursday.

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Mitchell was  on the roster for the Wolves in their inaugural season as an NBA expansion team in 1989. The third-round draft pick played for Saunders in his second stint with the Wolves from 1995-2002. During his coaching tenure with the Raptors from 2004-2008, he reached the playoffs twice and was named coach of the year in 2007. His only other coaching experience came in 2010 as an assistant coach with the Nets, then in New Jersey. He has since worked as a TV analyst for various networks.

Sam Mitchell is finalizing an agreement today to join Flip Saunders coaching staff in Minnesota, league source tells Yahoo.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 12, 2014