The Minnesota Timberwolves have been looking for a replacement for coach Kurt Rambis who still holds his position and is not yet fired.

A request from the Timberwolves to interview assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff of the Portland Trail Blazers had been granted according to a report Monday in the Oregonian newspaper.

“Bernie’s been (a head coach) before,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan told the Oregonian. “So we’ll see what happens. I don’t want to speak for Bernie, but I know he’s extremely happy with Portland and being here working with me. He’s said time and time again he likes where we are and what we’re doing. It’s going to have to be something really attractive to go.”

Both McMillan and the Blazers president Larry Miller were unaware that Bickerstaff had an interview scheduled, according to the report.

Bickerstaff’s career record of 415-517 in 14 seasons was with the Charlotte Bobcats where he had been head coach from 2005-07. Bickerstaff worked as an assistant coach to McMillan’s staff last season.

“Bernie’s been around for a long, long time,” McMillan told the Oregonian. “He’s seen so many different systems and worked with so many different coaches. He’s been a GM; a president. He’s done just about everything you can do in the NBA except own a team. So he has a great deal of experience and knowledge for the game and he can help in so many different ways.”

On June 22, Yahoo! Sports reported that the Timberwolves had decided to fire Rambis who has a combined record of 32-132 over the course of two seasons.

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