After his team was blasted by the Houston Rockets on Monday, Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell could have ripped his players for a weak performance in front of the home crowd.

Mitchell could have stormed out of the postgame press conference without taking a question, as he did after a similar Target Center loss to the Los Angeles Clippers a few weeks earlier. He could have accused his young players of reading too many flattering press clippings after their overtime victory at juggernaut Golden State the previous week.

No one would have been surprised.

Instead, Salty Sam — as he was sometimes called during his time with the Toronto Raptors — was encouraging. Although critical, he didn’t throw his players under the bus.

“They’ve got a right to feel good about themselves,” he said. “But part of this league is you’ve got to have a short memory.”

Fans and local media need to have a short memory about the way Mitchell has projected his frustrations this season, in interviews and on the sidelines. It might have been beneficial for him to tone it down, but that’s who Mitchell is. He hasn’t made it easy for the public to embrace him since he took over for his late friend Flip Saunders, but when you look beyond the saltiness, it’s clear that he can coach.

And the Wolves should keep him.

Mitchell’s behind-the-scenes work with young players probably gets overlooked. The core of the franchise is developing: Zach LaVine is quickly becoming a legitimate NBA off guard; Andrew Wiggins has found a home as a small forward; and center Karl-Anthony Towns is about to be named NBA rookie of the year.

Mitchell hasn’t just screamed and yelled. He has changed tones to suit players, helped them study film and created daily routines for them. Notably, Towns responded when Mitchell started benching him late in December.

Owner Glen Taylor hasn’t endorsed Mitchell as the team’s coach of the future but said in a statement he is “very excited about the development of our young core and the direction we are headed.”

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is already upset because he doesn’t believe Mitchell will get a fair shot at the full-time job. Some have speculated that former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks and former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau might be in Minnesota next fall.

“I watched him be the coach of the year in Toronto; I know this man can coach basketball,” Smith said on “First Take” after the loss to the Clippers. “Karl-Anthony Towns is the rookie of the year. Zach LaVine is the two-time slam dunk champion. He has tremendous promise. Andrew Wiggins has tremendous promise, as well. But these guys are kids. … The promise is there. They’re being schooled and coached. They’re getting better.”

Mitchell is laying the foundation for future success. The Wolves don’t appear to be close to making the playoffs yet — not next season, anyway — so why not let Mitchell keep building a young roster?

Other high-profile candidates would demand a long-term deal. Mitchell could get a two-year situation that allows Taylor (or whoever the next majority owner is) to evaluate the progress after next season. At the rate budding stars such as Wiggins and Towns are improving, Minnesota should be much closer to postseason contention in a year with a more complete supporting cast.

Then, if there’s a better coach than Mitchell to take over at that point, so be it.

There were times this year when Mitchell appeared unable to communicate with his 20-year-old starters. The old-school NBA tradition of scaring young players straight, as Mitchell and his teammates did when they played in the league — are over. Even notable hard-case Kevin Garnett has been forced to pat the youngsters on the back.

In the age of social media, kids are more thin-skinned; they need to be liked by everyone. And bottom line, the NBA is a players’ league. If Wiggins and Towns are comfortable with Mitchell’s style and want to continue working with him, it will go a long way toward deciding his future here.