The Timberwolves hired Babcock and former Minnesota player Fred Hoiberg as assistant GMs on Thursday.

Babcock spent the last two seasons as general manager of the Raptors. He was fired in January and replaced by Bryan Colangelo after a series of highly criticized trades and draft picks. Babcock spent 12 seasons in Minnesota from 1992-2004 rising up the ranks from scout to vice-president of player personnel.

A heart ailment forced Hoiberg to retire in April after 10 years in the NBA, including his last two in Minnesota. He had surgery in 2005 to correct an enlarged aortic root and briefly contemplated a comeback last season before calling it quits and joining the team's front office.

``For Fred, he is doing a tremendous job in transitioning from being a player to a front office executive. Hopefully, he will continue to grow and learn in this new role,'' vice-president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said in a statement.

``Rob is someone who is very knowledgeable about the NBA, and has been here before so he knows what we do. Both of them were a great help in our preparations for this year's draft.''

Hoiberg and Babcock will assist general manager Jim Stack and McHale with the draft and scouting.

The Timberwolves also hired well-regarded veteran assistant Bob Ociepka to join coach Dwane Casey's staff and appointed Dave Vitel the new strength and conditioning coach.