New Wolves executive David Kahn is in the midst of his press conference and is answering questions about the big news he has now confirmed: Kevin McHale will no longer be the coach of the Wolves, an organization with which he has spent 16 years in various capacities, most notably as the team’s VP of basketball operations. Kahn said he has no candidates lined up and will begin searching for a coach in earnest the day after the June 25 NBA draft.

“I felt this was the right decision because we needed to take this course,” Kahn said.”

Owner Glen Taylor said in a statement: “I know that David made a careful anaylsis and this decision was made with the best interests of the Minnesota Timberwolves in mind.”

UPDATE:

If there was a theme to the roughly 20-minute press conference, it’s that Kahn said a lot with the things he didn’t say. As expected, he took the high road with McHale. He didn’t even really elaborate on why the change was made other than to essentially say it’s time. He said McHale has “enormous gifts” but that “at the present time we had to make a change.”

He said that while most people think decisions are black and white, he believes the world operates mostly in a shade of grey (maybe he can fill in on KFAN’s afternoon drivetime program …).

Essentially, Kahn came across the same way he did a couple days ago at a media breakfast: conflicted because he thinks McHale could have perhaps been a good candidate for the job but also understanding there was a bigger dynamic at play. Ultimately, he chose the fresh start — certain to be the most popular move overall, and probably the best one as well.

What’s next? Hiring a new coach, obviously. While Kahn doesn’t have a short list, he has also said it’s not brain surgery to figure out what candidates are out there. He said he imagines there will be a “robust list of candidates” when the time comes to get down to that business, which according to him, as noted above, is the day after the draft (a little over a week from now).

Thoughts, questions, etc.? Have at it in the comments.

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