Timberwolves part ways with Rambis

The Minnesota Timberwolves have fired Kurt Rambis as coach.

The leading candidates for the job include Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Bickerstaff’s son, J.B., an assistant with the T’wolves under Rambis, joined Kevin McHale’s staff with the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, Y! Sports’ Marc Spears reported. Timberwolves general manager David Kahn also has shown interest in University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, but it could be difficult for the T’wolves to lure Romar from the successful college program he’s helped build.

Yahoo! Sports reported on June 22 that Kahn had made the decision to fire Rambis and had begun researching possible replacements, but it took until Tuesday for the general manager to formally part ways with Rambis.

Rambis had two years and about $4 million left on his original four-year contract. With the Timberwolves in the midst of a major rebuilding project, he went 32-132 as coach, including a league-worst 17-65 this season.

Kahn had wanted Rambis to become a better communicator with players. He also wanted him to design an offense away from the triangle and toward the open-court talents of rookie point guard Ricky Rubio. Rambis’ relationship with key young players, especially Kevin Love, had been frayed, at best.

Kahn and Rambis barely spoke over the final months of the regular season, and haven’t communicated much well into the offseason. Rambis has felt mistreated throughout the ongoing saga surrounding his future with the T’wolves.