Tony Ronzone out as Minnesota Timberwolves assistant General Manager – NBA Update
Tony Ronzone is no longer the assistant General Manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ronzone reportedly left the position by mutual agreement and the reason behind his departure is not clear as of now.
Ronzone joined the Timberwolves just before the NBA Draft in 2010. Known for his extensive links outside of the United States and his prowess as a scout, Ronzone was given charge of the franchise’s scouting department. He is also
believed to have been a major policy maker in their draft decisions for the last two years.
Ronzone is widely credited with convincing Ricky Rubio to finally join the Timberwolves after he was originally drafted by the franchise back in 2009. The first round pick was under contract with Spanish club Barcelona at the time
and his hefty escape clause persuaded the youngster to stay in Spain.
Ronzone and his international links are believed to have been instrumental in Rubio’s decision to come to the United States this summer and officially sign with the Timberwolves. Tony was also responsible for Minnesota picking
Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica and Brazilian big man Paulao Prestes in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Another of his reported selections, Congo forward Tanguy Ngombo, turned out to be controversial because of his age. Tanguy is 26 years old, making him ineligible for the NBA Draft. However the league gave Minnesota the benefit
of the doubt because of the confusion of age and awarded his drafting rights to them.
Ronzone is also a fixture in the United States basketball setup where his knowledge of international basketball helps preparing for foreign opponents.
Why such a respected figure would quietly be removed from his post at the Timberwolves is anyone’s guess at the moment, although fingers have already been pointed at David Kahn. Kahn is the General Manager of the Timberwolves and
one of the most ridiculed figures in the NBA.
His time with Minnesota has been marred by one bad decision after another. Many draft busts are attributed to Kahn’s poor judgement and he was also the man responsible for hiring Kurt Rambis as head coach of the Timberwolves. Rambis
and his Triangle Offence proved a complete failure with Minnesota and he also developed differences with star man Kevin Love.
When the time came to finally show Rambis the door, David Kahn even dragged that process out for around two months, even after Rambis led the franchise to the worst record in the NBA. Around Draft time, Kahn reportedly developed
differences with Tony over the direction of the franchise, but things seemed to quite down in the backdrop of the NBA lockout.
However, it seems now that those differences were irreconcilable as Tony Ronzone has moved on from the Timberwolves.
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