Timberwolves Fire Bill Musselman

On Feb. 26, Bill Musselman coached the Minnesota Timberwolves to a victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He also apparently coached himself out of a job.

Co-owner Marv Wolfenson fired Musselman Monday, saying the beginning of the end was that 100-94 victory over Dallas. The Timberwolves had lost nine of 10 games, including three in a row at home, and Musselman felt the only way they could beat the Mavericks was by using a six-man rotation.

“We had a meeting just that morning and all we talked about was, ‘Winning wasn’t paramount, developing younger players and please, communicate with the players more,’ ” Wolfenson said. “Well, we were sort of defied.”

Musselman, who will be paid about $365,000 for the final year of his contract, said he wasn’t trying to be defiant.

“We had lost a couple of games at home that were close,” Musselman said of the Dallas game. “We had beaten (Dallas) so many times (four times in a row previously) one way, I didn’t want to change my game plan.”

Musselman had public spats with several of his players, most notably with Pooh Richardson and Tony Campbell, usually over inconsistent playing time and lack of communication.

The Timberwolves’ two-year record was 51-113, the best of the NBA’s four most-recent expansion clubs.