Kander Being Candid

The Wolves hired Arnie Kander as their Vice President of Sports Performance last week.

When you first saw that press release, you probably thought to yourself, “Who is Arnie Kander?”

And that’s a fair question. Most NBA fans don’t pay attention to a team’s physical therapist, Kander’s role with Detroit before coming to Minnesota. But if there were an All-Star Game for physical therapists, Kander would probably be the starting point guard - hence why the Wolves made him their Vice President of Sports Performance.

So, let’s get to know Kander. You can read the press release for the basic details. We’re here to feed you some of the very interesting things he told the media members. Seriously, guys. The mini press conference went 20 minutes and it was all gold.

Here are some of the highlights.

Kander started back in 1992 as the Pistons’ first strength and conditioning coach. It’s his belief that he was just the second strength and conditioning coach in the entire NBA. My, how far we have come.

You know that old saying it’s not necessarily about what you know, but who you know?

Well, we know that Kander is extremely good at what he does, but it helped that he had two influential guys help him out early on.

While working at Rochester Knee and Sports Therapy in Auburn Hills, a man name Isiah Thomas walked into the clinic due to an ankle injury. Before you knew it, Kander was working for the Pistons after Thomas recommended him to Detroit’s front office.

By that time, Thomas was already an 11-time All-Star, so yeah, what he said went.

“Isiah came into a clinic off of a bad ankle sprain and (I) started working with him there and it kind of began with that,” Kander said.

But it also helped that Kander had an extremely solid relationship with longtime Pistons owner Bill Davidson. Davidson died in 2009, but Kander and Davidson had plenty of memories. When talking with Kander, it was so obvious the respect he had for Davidson.

Davidson came into the clinic three days after Thomas and Kander helped him out with some neck tightness.

For the next 18 years, Kander saw him every single day, Monday through Friday.

“Every single day he’d walk into the practice site,” Kander said “He built an office right across from our practice site and he would at lunch, come over and we’d have an hour and a half. Imagine this. If you’re a player, there’s a good reason you don’t want to be on the treatment table. You’re right next to the owner!”

After Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups “split” his hamstring in a game against the Orlando Magic, Kander put frozen banana peels on Billups’ hamstring, hoping to “pull” the bruise out.

Bruises aren’t pretty. Most of the time they are puke color. But Kander says those are the most beautiful ones.

“Bruises that stay in are not good. So when a person gets really hit really hard and there’s no bruise, I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s pull this bruise out.’ Chauncey was good with banana peels… There’s a rational and a method behind everything.”

So next time you are bruised in a rec game, grab those bananas your grandma saves in the freezer for banana bread and pull that bruise out!

When in Detroit, Timberwolves President of Basketball of Operations Flip Saunders (then the head coach of the Pistons) became close friends with Kander. The two spent time together from 2005 to 2008, going 176-70 over that stretch.

Kander’s favorite memory? In 2005-06 when the five starters (Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace) missed a combined three starts. That’s pretty incredible.

“We’ve stayed really good friends,” Kander said of Saunders. “I know the family and all of that. So that’s my big connection.”

Kander said that Saunders brought him to Minnesota four times before Kander finally said yes. Nothing was rushed.

“If you come here and just sign a contract and the fits not right, that’s not a good situation. But it feels like the right fit, I’m excited about it. We’ll see how it goes.”

This should have Timberwolves fans practicing their behind-the-back passes in their driveway. Or on their Xbox, depending on the weather and athleticism of the fan.

Point guard Ricky Rubio, as we know, missed 60 games last season due to an ankle injury. We haven’t heard much from Rubio this summer as far as the status of the ankle. He was in town shooting for a while, but we saw that last year even when he was out.

But Kander tells us that well, you already read the headline…

“Ricky’s got great ankles… He’s looking good. Everything’s where it needs to be.”

Kander also said that he had Rubio take part in one of his dribbling contraptions he put together. He said a couple of guys were fine, but Rubio blew him away.

“It’s like, ‘Can someone film this please?’ This is how it’s supposed to be done,” Kander said.

Good to see No. 9 healthy again. Hopefully he can go 82 next season.

Kander will be joined by another long-time Piston in Minnesota. Prince was with Detroit from 2002 to 2013 and again for 23 games last season. Kander, of course, was also there during that time.

“Tayshaun’s one of the brightest guys I know,” Kander said. “He does it all through his body. He’s prepared. He’s professional. He’s a routine guy.”

Kander expects Prince, along with veterans like Andre Miller and Kevin Garnett, will help immensely with some of the younger guys on the team.

“They can get more out of these guys. They can squeeze the grape a little bit more. And we’ve got some pretty good grapes here.”

How much of a difference can Kander make? That remains to be seen, but there’s a reason why he’s so highly-regarded across the NBA. You’re not going to stop injuries, but Kander has the relentlessness to never give up on a solution to an injury.

Again, the banana peels.

“As soon as you stop learning in this business and say you know it all, you’re in trouble,” Kander said.

He believes the fit in Minnesota is the right fit because of the players, the new practice facility and Saunders, but also the staff he’ll be working with on a daily basis. When Kander went on a visit to Minnesota with this wife, something unusual happened, at least in NBA circles.

Kander’s wife, who is in the psychology world, mentioned that the staff was very friendly and genuine.

“(It was) real dialogue, which I hate to say, sometimes in the NBA we don’t have real dialogue,” Kander said. “… I can’t say enough good things. I’ve only been here a short amount of time, but I love the city… It’s a good vibe.”

Minnesota fans hope this helps the injury struggles the Wolves have had over the last few years. By looking at Kander’s track record, it’s hard to think otherwise.