Fractured front-office relationships and a consensual interoffice relationship created a problematic and untenable workplace within the Minnesota’s Timberwolves basketball operations department, multiple people told USA TODAY Sports.
The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the internal workings of the Timberwolves.
On Wednesday, the team dismissed president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas with no official explanation, just days before the start of training camp next week.
Rosas’ consensual relationship with another team employee, who did not report to him, was not the main reason for his firing, but it did accelerate the process, people told USA TODAY Sports. The other person involved in the relationship is no longer listed on the team’s web site or listed in emails as part of the communications staff. That person joined the Timberwolves two years ago.
The larger issue was with the direction of basketball operations under Rosas, who, people within the league indicated, alienated staffers and frustrated agents and executives with other teams with his communication.
