Newly hired Minnesota Timberwolves Coach Kurt Rambis announced his assistants Thursday, including former NBA stars Reggie Theus and Bill Laimbeer. Theus, who spent 13 years with five teams as a player, was head coach at Sacramento where he was 44-62 in a 106-game stint from the start of the 2007-08 season to last December.

Chuck Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 78. Daly, who was diagnosed with cancer in March, died in Jupiter, Fla., surrounded by his family.

The Detroit Pistons missed 64 per cent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an all-star at point guard. It didn't matter.

Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championships and teamed with Larry Bird on one of the great postseason plays, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of his developmental team's practice. He was 52.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Detroit Pistons hired Flip Saunders as head coach Thursday in place of Larry Brown, who led the team to the NBA title last year. "I look at this as a great opportunity and a great challenge," Saunders told a news conference at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.