The Minnesota Timberwolves fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas on Wednesday, a move that seemed to surprise a number of people around the NBA.

Most importantly, Wolves superstar Karl-Anthony Towns was among those who were stunned:

"Today the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas," current team governor Glen Taylor said in a statement. "As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of."

The timing of the move is surprising on a number of levels. For one, Rosas was allowed to essentially run the team's entire offseason, from the draft and free agency to potential trade talks, with the Wolves consistently rumored to be interested in Ben Simmons. 

It also comes at a time when a new ownership group led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez owns 20 percent of the team, per The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski. That could expand that to 40 percent by Dec. 31, 2022, and majority ownership on Dec. 31, 2023. 

But perhaps most surprising is that the Wolves apparently didn't even give Towns a heads up about what was happening before making the decision. Superstars may not ultimately get a deciding vote when it comes to firing and hiring front-office executives, but keeping them in the loop is one way to keep them happy.