Sources: Wolves Fired Basketball Ops Lead Gersson Rosas For Creating Toxic Culture, 'Inappropriate Relationship'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota Timberwolves announced a shakeup Wednesday with the firing of President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.

WCCO’s Mike Max says based on conversations, Rosas is out for two reasons: a culture he created that allegedly was toxic, and for an “inappropriate relationship” inside the organization.

Rosas was hired on by the organization in May 2019, promising to build a “special organization” with the Wolves. Max says while Rosas turned over the roster, he had not yielded any results that indicate he was on the right track.

People inside the organization have been put off by him at times, and the latest issue to surface was seemingly the final straw. One other employee of the team also left abruptly Wednesday.

The team made the announcement in this statement from Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor Wednesday afternoon: “The Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of.”

Wolves player and former 2015 first-round draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns tweeted “wtf…” not long after the announcement.

Sachin Gupta, who was the vice president of basketball operations, will handle day-to-day operations in an interim basis. Gupta began his basketball career at ESPN, where he invented the NBA Trade Machine, which allows fans to simulate trades and determines how realistic they would be.

Gupta has also spent time with the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers.

Max reports that the new owners who have yet to take over — Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore — will have a role in naming a replacement. They were also concerned with how long the situation lasted before it was addressed.