Gersson Rosas was the third of four planned interviews for the Timberwolves president of basketball operations opening when he walked into team headquarters at Mayo Clinic Square on Friday.



By the time he left the building late that afternoon after sitting before a six-person interview committee led by CEO Ethan Casson and meeting with a host of other members of the organization, Rosas had rocketed to the top of the list of candidates.



“We didn’t want him to leave,” a source with knowledge of the process told The Athletic.



Four days later, Rosas was completing a handshake agreement with Glen Taylor at the Timberwolves owner’s home in Mankato to take over the team’s basketball department, completing an improbable rise from a youth in Bogota, Colombia, to beginning his career with the Rockets as a video coordinator before eventually climbing up to executive vice president. On Friday, the Wolves made the hiring...