Sam Mitchell thanks fans on Twitter after accepting assistant coach position with Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves recently hired former player Sam Mitchell to be an assistant coach under Flip Saunders, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

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Mitchell was the head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2009, accumulating a record of 156-189. He won NBA Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading the team to their first Atlantic Division title in franchise history.

He was fired 17 games into the 2008-09 season after the Raptors started the year 8-9.

Since that time, Mitchell has worked as an NBA analyst for NBA TV, SiriusXM Radio and TSN in Canada.

He recently took to his personal Twitter account to thank fans for their support as he makes the transition from on-screen talent to sideline general.

As a player for the Timberwolves, Mitchell averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 757 games over 10 seasons (two stints) for the team.

He will be joined as an assistant coach by Sidney Lowe, who played with Mitchell on the Timberwolves in 1989-90. Lowe had previously worked as an assistant in Minnesota in 1990 before taking over head coaching duties in the middle of the 1992-93 season.

Lowe has worked with the Utah Jazz organization under Tyrone Corbin since 2011.