Minneapolis-St. Paul –The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has added to Head Coach Ryan Saunders’ coaching staff by hiring Kevin Burleson as Player Development Coach, promoting Brian Randle to Player Development Coach and naming Jason Hervey Quality Control Coach. Burleson, Randle and Hervey join previously announced hires David Vanterpool (Associate Head Coach) and Pablo Prigioni (Assistant Coach) on Saunders’ staff.
“We have added two talented player development coaches in Kevin and Brian,” said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. “Developing our players both on and off the floor is critical to creating a sustainable winning environment. Kevin and Brian’s skills and experience in this area will help us immensely.”
“We welcome Jason to our Timberwolves family,” Rosas said. “As we focus on collaboration and alignment, Jason will be vital in helping our basketball operations and coaching staffs operate efficiently.”
“I’m excited to have a fellow Gopher in Kevin coming back to Minnesota,” said Timberwolves Head Coach Ryan Saunders. “Kevin has a proven ability in player development and we’re glad to add him to our staff.”
“We valued the work Brian did for us last season and look forward to his perspective in helping to develop our players,” Saunders said. “Brian has a bright future in the NBA.”
“Jason is a valuable addition to our staff,” Saunders said. “He has worked his way up in the NBA and brings a broad and diverse skill set to our team. I am looking forward to having him join our staff in this role.”
Burleson joins the Timberwolves after serving as an assistant coach for player development for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018-19 NBA season. In 2017-18, Burleson was associate head coach of the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate. He began his coaching career when he joined the Houston Rockets as a player development coach, a role he held from 2014-17.
“It’s great to be back in Minnesota and with a team on the rise,” Burleson said. “I’m eager to start working with our players to help them and the team succeed.”
Undrafted out of the University of Minnesota in 2003, Burleson started his professional playing career in Germany with USC Heidelberg (2003-04). He then went on to play for the Walter Tigers Tübingen of Basketball Bundesliga before signing with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats in 2005. Burleson played one season for Charlotte, appearing in 39 games. He later competed professionally in the NBA G League, Turkey, Romania and Egypt. The brother of former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson, Kevin has two seasons of player experience in the G League, suiting up for the Fort Worth Flyers during the 2006-07 season and the Idaho Stampede in 2008-09.
Randle joined the Timberwolves staff last season as assistant video coordinatorafter spending the previous 10 seasons overseas playing professionally in Germany, Israel and Italy, including reaching the Eurocup Final Four with Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in Israel. Randle was a two-time Israeli League champion (2010, 2017) and two-time Israeli Cup winner (2015, 2016). He was named the Israeli League Best Defender in 2009, 2014 and 2015.
“I’m excited to have an even larger role in developing our players this season,” Randle said. “We have a lot of talent on our team and I’m looking forward to working with Ryan and our other coaches to maximize our players’ potential.”
Randle was a student-athlete at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2003-08, averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 121 career games. He was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team following the 2005-06 season.
Prior to rejoining the Wolves, Hervey served as advance scout for the Phoenix Suns for the past three seasons. As quality control coach, Hervey will be responsible for assisting the coaching staff in scouting, video and all aspects of preparation to make for an efficient and productive workflow. This is Hervey’s second stint in Minnesota as he previously served as the team’s advance scout for two seasons from 2014-16.
“I’m looking forward to working with Gersson, Ryan and the rest of the basketball staff,” Hervey said. “I want to help them build a winning culture here in Minnesota.”
Hervey was director of player development for the Detroit Pistons from 2012-14 and advance scout for the Washington Wizards for three seasons from 2009-12. Hervey began his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons as video coordinator from 2005-09.