Minnesota hasn’t hired Rambis to be coach just yet

Minnesota Timberwolves President David Kahn told the Associated Press on Thursday that the team and Kurt Rambis were not close to a deal to name Rambis as its new head coach.

Kahn said Wednesday that he is in a position to “do something within a week” and would like one or two of the coaching candidates to meet with owner Glen Taylor before a decision is made. Kahn has spent the last seven weeks interviewing candidates and has settled on Lakers assistant Rambis, ESPN analyst Mark Jackson and Houston assistant Elston Turner as the finalists.

The Times reported that Rambis traveled to Minnesota on Wednesday night to meet with Timberwolves officials, but it was not immediately clear if Jackson or Turner would be asked to do the same. The Timberwolves, who are coming off a 24-58 season and are in the early stages of a rebuilding mode, are the only NBA team without a head coach.

Rambis is the only candidate with head coaching experience in the NBA. He coached the Lakers during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season and has filled in for Phil Jackson several times over the years.