On October 25, 2015, Saunders died and the Wolves announced that Mitchell as the interim coach for the rest of the season.
[a] It also marked the final season of Kevin Garnett's career in the NBA and his first time since 2006-07 playing with the Timberwolves.
Prior to his second stint with the Wolves, Garnett played two disappointing seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, one of them with fellow Celtics Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.
The Timberwolves missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, equalling the second-longest postseason appearance drought in NBA history of the Golden State Warriors between 1994–95 and 2005–06, only behind the Los Angeles Clippers[b] between 1976–77 and 1990–91.
However, the Timberwolves had their second straight Rookie of the Year winner with #1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns earning the award.