MINNEAPOLIS — Arnie Kander was retired. The well-respected physical therapist and strength coach had called it a career and was assimilating to his first summer out of the NBA in nearly a quarter century.
He helped his son move to Boulder, Colorado, for grad school. He took a trip to New York. He even skipped summer league for the first time in 24 years.
Just when Kander thought he was out, longtime friend Flip Saunders came calling and pulled him right back in. It took four trips to Minneapolis, meetings with Timberwolves players, coaches and staff and a couple of tours of the Twin Cities with his wife before Kander decided to pick and move to Minnesota to help his friend with one of the league's long-struggling franchises.