When the news of Flip Saunders death reached Randy Foye and Mike Miller, it came from Nuggets general manager Tim Connellyat a team bowling excursion this past Sunday.
It was as melancholy a conversation as there is.
Foye’s head dropped.
“Just as a person, he was awesome,” Foye said. “He genuinely cared about your progress. He’d pull you to the side and let you know. It’s tough because a lot of the things that I learned as a player was from him. I wish the family nothing but the best. I send my prayers up for them.”
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Foye and Miller played for Saunders when he coached the Washington Wizards. Connelly was in the Wizards front office as a young executive while Saunders coached.
Saunders was on leave from his post as Minnesota’s coach and president, battling Hodgkin lymphoma when his condition quickly worsened. He died Sunday at age 60. The Timberwolves are in town to face the Nuggets Friday night in Denver’s home opener.
“Words can’t effectively convey how much he meant to me both professionally and personally,” Connelly said. “Flip is one of the best people I’ve ever come across. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
Stories of remembrance continue to file in for those who knew Saunders. But one of the most heartwarming came from a person Saunders was just getting to know, Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
The story goes like this: Malone had just been fired as head coach of the Sacramento Kings last December. Soon thereafter, the Kings traveled to Minnesota for a game. In his pre-game meeting with media, Saunders, who didn’t know Malone at that point, railed against the firing, saying he couldn’t understand why a coach who had done such a good job was let go.
Malone called Saunders to thank him for the kind words. “He didn’t have to say that,” Malone said.
He left a message.
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“And then he called me up,” Malone said. “We started talking.”
That conversation led to Saunders inviting Malone to Minnesota for a few weeks to clear his head and recharge.
“I spent three weeks with him and his team last season,” Malone said. “It was getting to know him, more importantly as a man, that was something that I’ll value and cherish for the rest of my life. He didn’t have to do that. Especially not knowing me.
“There was no previous relationship, and that doesn’t happen a lot in the NBA. We always say it’s a coaching fraternity, and it is, and sometimes it’s not. It’s a cutthroat business. But the fact that Flip allowed me to be with him to learn from him to get to know him, was terrific.”
Malone fought back tears.
“He said to me, ‘You know, when you get fired in this league, you hear from everybody the first 24 hours,’ ” Malone recalled. “You hear from some people the first 48 hours. Two weeks later you hear from nobody.’ I heard from him two weeks later…”
Minnesota is wearing specially designed shooting shirts that say “WE,” with the name Flip across the heart side of the shirt. The team is also wearing a commemorative patch on their jerseys.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
MINNESOTA AT DENVER 7 p.m. Friday, ALT; 104.3 FM
Spotlight on Ricky Rubio:
Remember him? In the midst of missing significant playing time to injury last season, then drafting young guns Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns, Rubio got lost in the shuffle. But he’s a talent in his own right, and that was on full display in Minnesota’s season-opening win over the Lakers. Rubio contributed 28 points and 14 assists to the victory.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets:
Wilson Chandler (hip) and Jusuf Nurkic (knee) remain out. … The Nuggets will unveil new features during Friday’s game designed to enhance fan experience, including a drum line and a dunk squad. The best, however, will be technology that projects 3-D images on the court. It’s a spectacular visual experience that the Cavaliers have used for a couple of seasons. Now the Nuggets will join them.
Timberwolves:
Nikola Pekovic is out of action to start the season as he rehabs his right Achilles tendon. He had surgery April 8. … The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four games against the Nuggets. But the one win came at the Pepsi Center on Jan. 17. Andrew Wiggins scored 31 points in that game.
