The Minnesota Timberwolves shook the NBA world by surprise after Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the organization had fired Gersson Rosas.

The Wolves hired Rosas back in 2019, and he wasn’t shy of making any moves during his tenure. These include:

• Drafting Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Leandro Bolmaro
• Trading half the roster at the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline
• Hiring Chris Finch mid-season
• Trading for Ricky Rubio and sending him off the next offseason

The Wolves will be promoting Sachin Gupta as their new head of basketball operations.

The Timberwolves are promoting VP Sachin Gupta as the new head of basketball operations, sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Gupta becomes the first person of Indian-origin to run a basketball organization.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 22, 2021

Along with becoming the first person of Indian origin to run a basketball organization, he was also the creator of the ESPN Trade Machine. Gupta is highly regarded around the league, and he should do well in his new role.

The move to fire Rosas was Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore’s doing. With them fully taking over as owners in the coming years, it only makes sense for them to fire Rosas now. If they assumed Rosas wasn’t their long-term POBO, then there’s no reason to drag this out.

It remains to be seen whether or not Rodriguez and Lore view Gupta as the long-term solution.

However, a name to keep an eye on is Elton Brand.

In wake of Gersson Rosas' departure, word has circulated among league sources since Summer League that incoming Minnesota Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have communicated they are fond of Sixers general manager Elton Brand. A name to keep an eye on here.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 22, 2021

Brand is currently the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and has done well since being hired in 2018. According to sources, Lore and Rodriguez are looking for a top-five person to come in and run the Timberwolves. The way these two men conduct themselves, you have the sense that the decisions they make are usually for the better.

Word has been out there for many months that Alex Rodriguez + Marc Lore want to hire a “top 5” executive to run basketball operations. The problem was availability.

Around the NBA, Current Wolves executive Sachin Gupta is regarded as one of the most attractive available options https://t.co/xYzbVs3Fyd

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) September 22, 2021

It was only a matter of time before Lore and Rodriguez made their impact on the organization. This was the first move of many, and one that caught most people off guard, even Karl-Anthony Towns.

wtf…

— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 22, 2021

This will not impact Chris Finch’s job, despite being one of Rosas’s guys. An organization isn’t going to fire its head coach days before training camp starts. Finch is highly regarded around the league and he would have been hired as a head coach by another team had Minnesota not.

This is a developing story, so make sure to stay tuned as we will be covering the events as they unfold.