Minnesota
Wolves assistant Micah Tori hired as Trailer Blazers head coach
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori as their next head coach on Tuesday, after making the playoffs for the first time in five years under the direction of interim coach Tiago Splitter.
Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed for multiple head coach vacancies, including the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024. Nori, who began his NBA career in 1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time they finished with a winning record in five years.
The news comes a day after the Wolves reportedly traded three-time All-Star Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly trading three-time All-Star Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
Minnesota is sending the 28th pick to the Nets and will be receiving the No. 33 pick that will be made in the second round on Wednesday night, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not received the required approvals from the league office.
For Minnesota, the trade opens up a slew of financial possibilities. It creates a $33 million trade exception, plus gives the Timberwolves room they can use to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu and target more players in free agency.
Randle, a three-time All-Star, will be moving to his fifth team after stints with New York, the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans and the Timberwolves. He averaged 21.1 points this past season, though shot just 39% from the field and 24% from 3-point range in Minnesota’s 12 playoff contests.
Claxton just finished his seventh NBA season, all with Brooklyn. He averaged 11.7 points this past season.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins Tuesday night.
At Senator Westrom’s St. Paul office, visitors are greeted by the classic Minnesota state flag, which the DFL leaders should not have taken away from Minnesotans.
However, local communities have the authority to keep flying it, like many have done, and Senator Westrom encourages communities interested in keeping it to do so.
News-Tribune, June 22, 1926
More Duluthians cast votes in yesterday’s primary election than in any primary in the city’s history. Statewide, the “wets” had their day, with M.J. Maas of St. Paul, a “light wine and beer” candidate, appearing victorious in the 4th Congressional District, and W.A. Pittenger of Duluth, similarly regarded as a “wet,” taking a commanding lead in the 8th.
News-Tribune, June 22, 1956
Following the deaths of a pilot and eight civilians in a crash in a residential area near Wold Chamberlain Field in Minneapolis, Duluth Mayor Eugene Lambert filed a request with the U.S. Air Force and Navy that jet training operations be transferred to Duluth, where congestion is less of a problem.
News-Tribune, June 22, 1976
Ralph Nader named Duluth environmentalist Arlene Lehto one of America’s five “unsung heroines” for her contributions to pollution abatement. Lehto in 1969 organized the Save Lake Superior Association to fight pollution in the lake.
News Tribune, June 22, 2006
Duluth City Councilor Russ Stewart will present an ordinance to the council that extends the city’s existing standards for adult bookstores to adult entertainment. The move would allow the 62-year-old Club Saratoga to continue operation in the face of a state law prohibiting strip clubs within 500 feet of a residence or within 2,800 feet of churches and schools.
Barrett Chase has been web editor for the News Tribune since 2015. You can email him at bchase@duluthnews.com or call him at 218-723-5310.
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