Former Bighorns owner tapped as T-Wolves head basketball ops

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) " The Minnesota Timberwolves hired former Indiana Pacers executive David Kahn to run their basketball operations, four days after being rejected by Portland assistant general manager Tom Penn.

The move was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person with knowledge of the hire. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement wasn't planned until Friday.

Kahn was the original owner of the Reno Bighorns prior to selling the team to SK Baseball, the group that also owns the Reno Aces. The Bighorns were the 14th expansion team of the NBA Development League and began play with the 2008-09 season.

Kahn fills the vacancy created when owner Glen Taylor moved vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale to the bench to replace fired coach Randy Wittman in December.

Taylor had said McHale was not a candidate to return to the front office, but the owner was hoping he would return as coach. McHale has been waiting to see who was hired before deciding on coaching. The person familiar with Kahn's hire said it wasn't clear what McHale will do.

Also unclear is the status of current Wolves GM Jim Stack and assistant GM Fred Hoiberg. Both were considered in-house candidates for the position and have continued to work on evaluating prospects for the NBA draft.

The Timberwolves have the No. 6 lottery pick Tuesday night and also have two more first-round draft choices through trades.

The picks, coupled with ample room under the salary cap and a young star in Al Jefferson, gives Kahn plenty to work with as the franchise continues a rebuilding plan that started almost two years ago with the trade of Kevin Garnett.

Kahn worked for the Pacers front office for nearly nine years. He was mostly on the business side, but he played a big role in helping the franchise move to Conseco Fieldhouse in 1999. He served on the NBA's competition committee and also was considered an expert in the collective bargaining agreement.

Kahn left the Pacers in 2002 and has been out of the league since. He has been part owner of several NBA Developmental League franchises and also led a group that tried to bring Major League Baseball to Portland, Ore.

The Timberwolves thought they had their man when they offered the job to Penn last weekend. But Penn surprised the team by taking a promotion with the Blazers.

He was the third candidate to withdraw this month, joining San Antonio's Dennis Lindsey and former Miami Heat GM Randy Pfund. Kahn came at the recommendation of commissioner David Stern and interviewed for the position this month.