Timberwolves' David Kahn: Jonny Flynn is going to be great http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ci_12841876 Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has been in Las Vegas watching young players from his team take part in the NBA's summer league. While there, he also has interviewed coaching candidates and looked into getting fifth overall draft pick Ricky Rubio into a Wolves uniform. I talked Wednesday to Kahn about those things, and a few other items, too. BS: How is the search for a coach coming? DK: It's coming. I have the two final interviews of the preliminary round (on Wednesday). I'll probably take a day to collect my thoughts (before starting a second round of interviews). It'll be a much smaller number than we've had on the front end. BS: Who are the two coaching candidates left to interview? DK: I can't say. I told all the candidates I wouldn't do that. BS: How many candidates were interviewed in the preliminary round? DK: I think it's 12 or 13. BS: How many will make it to a second round of interviews? Three or four? DL: I'm not sure yet. BS: Of the 12 or 13 from the preliminary round, have you seen a few you can see coaching the Wolves? DK: I can tell you this: This will be a very hard decision for the franchise. There are a lot of quality people out there. This isn't a case of "We're stuck." There are a lot of attractive people out there. Even with the people we won't bring back for second interview, there are quality people who can be head coaches in the NBA. BS: Do you have a deadline for hiring a coach? DK: I do not. The important part is getting it right. BS: ESPN had a list of four coaching prospects it said you're interested in. (Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis, Houston Rockets assistant Elston Turner, Dallas Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts and TV analyst Mark Jackson.) Except for Stotts and a brief stint by Rambis, the group is light on head-coaching experience. Do you prefer staying away from head-coaching retreads? DK: No, I'm not saying that, either. By the way, I don't think the (ESPN) report was accurate. We weren't done with our first round (of interviews). I think people's experiences can be helpful to a head coaching opportunity. I'm not very focused on they must have done this. BS: Will you encourage the new coach to keep some of Kevin McHale's assistants? DK: No disrespect, (but) I don't want to talk about that. BS: Who has impressed you the most in the Wolves' summer camp games in Las Vegas? DK: Jonny Flynn (the sixth overall pick by the Wolves in the recent NBA draft). Wayne Ellington (the 28th overall pick) was second. He was pretty solid. We're very thin up front. Our big men corps is a big man corps that is not as experienced as other teams' big men corps. BS: How impressive has Flynn been? DK: He's going to be great. I'm telling you: He's going to be great. There's so much more to him. There are intangibles. He's a leader. A very special kid. BS: Is Flynn better than you thought when you drafted him? DK: I think he's what we expected. We were very high on him. I think he is meeting our expectations. And I've heard from other teams that they were very high on him. One team had him No. 3 on their entire draft board. I know that if (Tyreke) Evans had not been there at (the fourth overall pick) for the Sacramento Kings, they would have taken Flynn at four. They've told me that. BS: What are the chances of Ricky Rubio playing for the Wolves this season? DK: Don't know yet. I wouldn't even put a number on it. We're not far enough down the path to provide the odds. BS: What are the chances of Rubio ever playing for the Wolves? DK: I never felt badly about those chances. I believe Ricky Rubio wants to play in the NBA. I never felt he would not be in a Wolves uniform at some point in his career. BS: There has been a lot of movement and improvement of Western Conference teams. Does that add any sense of urgency to get good fast? DK: No, not at all. What I hope people can recognize is we have a plan. We want to be ready by training camp of 2010 to have a team that has a chance for the next two or three years after that to be a championship contending team. I want to spend the next 14, 15 months methodically adding pieces to this team. I want to run. I want to be an up-tempo team. BS: How do you like living in Minnesota so far? DK: I haven't had a chance to find a place. It would be a real misuse of my time and disservice to the franchise if I took time to find a place. --

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