that had not been worn by any other Timberwolves player since his departure and the team defeated the Washington Wizards 97–77 at the Target Center. On June 6, 2014, Saunders was named the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, returning to the franchise for a second stint. During his second stint with the Timberwolves, Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. As a result, during his recovery, he would delegate his coaching position over to assistant coach and former NBA Coach of the Year winner Sam Mitchell. On October 25, 2015, Saunders died at age 60. Mitchell took over as head coach. In honor of Saunders, the team announced that they would wear a patch reading "FLIP" on their uniforms for the duration of the 2015–16 season. 2016–2019: The Tom Thibodeau saga On April 20, 2016, the Timberwolves agreed to sign Tom Thibodeau to be their head coach and president of basketball operations. He was previously an assistant coach for the team from 1989 to 1991. On September 23, 2016, Kevin Garnett announced his retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA. He expressed interest in playing one more year for the Timberwolves but felt that his knees would be unable to hold up for the duration of the season. The Timberwolves ended their season with a 31–51 record, having only a two-game improvement from their previous season. 2018: The Arrival of Jimmy Butler and the return to the playoffs On June 22, 2017, the Timberwolves acquired Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft in trade for Zach Lavine, Kris Dunn and the 7th overall pick in the draft (used to select Lauri Markkanen). This trade marked the end of the LaVine and Wiggins duo, dubbed "Bounce Brothers". Later that night, the Timberwolves selected center Justin Patton with the 16th overall pick in the draft. Later, the team added Taj Gibson, Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford and Derrick Rose during free agency. The Timberwolves ended their season with a 47–35 record, which became the first winning season since the 2004–05 season, and secured the last spot in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season with a 112–106 win over the Denver Nuggets. The 2017–18 season also ended the longest streak without a playoff appearance at 13 seasons. The Timberwolves would be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets in five games.