There's little doubt Thibodeau's arrival will have an immediate, positive effect for the Timberwolves. Any questions about this move center on the long-term implications of giving Thibodeau the dual title of head coach and president of basketball operations.
Calling the track record of NBA head coaches with personnel power "mixed" might be generous. Past failures like college coaches John Calipari and Rick Pitino haven't prevented more teams from offering dual roles as part of the competition for the best available coaches.
In part, the tension stems from the short-term outlook typical of coaches, which contrasts with the longer view front offices must take. Coaches with personnel power like Doc Rivers of the L.A. Clippers have tended to undervalue their draft picks in trade in favor of signing trusted veterans. And even Stan Van Gundy, who has done a nice job balancing the acquisition of young talent with trying to win now in Detroit, has tended to lavish rich contracts on free agents.
With the salary cap exploding, Thibodeau and the rest of his front office (set to include San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, according to a report by the Vertical) must carefully manage their cap space to avoid being stuck with bad contracts as Minnesota's young stars begin getting more expensive extensions.
It's impossible to predict how Thibodeau will manage basketball operations, but his tendency to focus on the present at the expense of the future as a head coach is a discouraging sign. In particular, that manifested itself in Thibodeau's stars logging heavier minutes than almost anyone else in the league.
As coaches around the league reduced the load on their stars, Thibodeau remained a holdout. Four of the six highest minutes averages since 2011-12 belong to Thibodeau-coached players Jimmy Butler and Luol Deng, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Thibodeau's comments since being fired in Chicago, including his appearance on the Lowe Post with ESPN.com's Zach Lowe, don't suggest he has rethought his position on playing time.
During his five seasons with the Bulls, Thibodeau's top player in minutes per game (first Deng and later Butler) averaged 38.9 minutes, as compared to an average of 35.4 for leaders around the rest of the league. That lower number is almost exactly the average for the player who ranked second in minutes per game for Chicago. (After the top two, Thibodeau's minutes distribution was typical.)
That's a concern in Minnesota because the team's two leaders in minutes per game are likely to be Wiggins, who is 21, and the 20-year-old Towns. Already, Wiggins has played the second-highest minutes total over the past two seasons (only James Harden of the Houston Rockets has played more, according to Basketball-Reference.com) and Towns led all rookies in minutes in 2015-16.
Thibodeau's defense against claims he's overworking his players, that there's little proof of a link between heavy minutes totals and injuries, is a valid one. The injuries that tended to submarine the Bulls in the playoffs were either fluky (including a spinal tap that sidelined Deng) or suffered by players (Rose andJoakim Noah) whose minutes totals were unexceptional.
Still, protecting the development of Towns and Wiggins is more important for the Timberwolves than whether they make the playoffs next season. Hopefully for Minnesota, the long-term security of a massive contract and a dual role will help Thibodeau focus on the bigger picture. If so, the Timberwolves could enjoy years of prosperity under his coaching.
Date: 4/20/2016
Outlet: Associated Press
Author: Jon Krawczynski
Timberwolves hire Thibodeau as coach/president
Tom Thibodeau's NBA career started as an assistant on the inaugural Minnesota Timberwolves team.
He returns 25 years later as one of the most high-profile coaches in the game, ready to lead a talent-laden young roster out of the abyss.
The Timberwolves hired Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations on Wednesday, a power move for a franchise that has been depicted as a basketball wasteland for the last dozen years.
Thibodeau was the most coveted coach on the market, and he's bringing his unparalleled intensity and hard-driving approach to a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2004. He won nearly 65 percent of his games in five seasons with the Chicago Bulls, but was fired after last season amid speculation of a rift with general manager Gar Forman.
Landing such a big-name coach was a startling development for a Wolves franchise that has the longest-running playoff drought in the NBA and has routinely had to settle for second, third or fourth choices when jobs opened up. But team owner Glen Taylor, armed with one of the most promising young rosters in the league, turned 75 on Wednesday and doesn't want to wait around any longer for the team to become a winner.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Tom Thibodeau back to the Timberwolves," Taylor said in a statement issued by the team. "Through this process we quickly identified Tom as the best leader to shape our talented team and help them realize their full potential."
Thibodeau got a five-year deal worth about $8 million per season and Taylor also spent to bring San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden in to serve as the Wolves' general manager and Thibodeau's right-hand man in the front office.
It's a homecoming of sorts for Thibodeau, who got his start in the NBA as an assistant for the expansion Timberwolves under Bill Musselman in 1989. He spent two years coaching the Timberwolves and often recalled those days fondly on return trips with the Bulls over the years.
"I started my NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and it is an incredible opportunity to rejoin the organization at a time when they have what I believe to be the best young roster in the NBA," Thibodeau said in a statement. "Together with a great owner in Glen Taylor and a terrific basketball partner in Scott Layden, I look forward to building a winning culture that Minnesota sports fans can be proud of."
The man they call Thibs is the ultimate grinder, a defensive mastermind that demands as much from his players as any coach in the league. He likely would have garnered interest from many of the teams looking for new coaches, including the Houston Rockets, but couldn't say no to Taylor's offer of complete control.
"The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves has never been brighter and we are very pleased to have Tom as our basketball operations leader moving forward," Taylor said.
Thibodeau will replace Flip Saunders, who was both president and coach before his death in October. Sam Mitchell coached the season with an interim label and won 29 games, 13 more than they had the previous season.
The reasons for taking the job are more than just emotional for Thibodeau. Thanks in large part to the work of Saunders and GM Milt Newton, the foundation includes the last two No. 1 overall draft picks -- Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns -- along with dynamic shooting guard Zach LaVine, point guard Ricky Rubio and big man Gorgui Dieng, a player Thibodeau coveted in the draft while with the Bulls.
Add to that a shiny new practice facility that opened this season and renovations that are set to begin on the outdated Target Center this summer, and the Wolves job has suddenly and mind-blowingly become one of the most coveted in the league.
Layden was the GM in New York when Thibodeau was an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy. Layden also served as GM in Utah during the Stockton-Malone days and will help the lifelong coach Thibodeau with the nuances and intricacies of the executive branch of the franchise.
Giving coaches final authority on the roster has become a bit of a trend in the NBA in recent seasons. Saunders had it and Stan Van Gundy demanded it from the Pistons in order to make the move from Florida to the Midwest. The Los Angeles Clippers gave Doc Rivers dual roles, as did the Atlanta Hawks with Mike Budenholzer after GM Danny Ferry was fired.
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