Wolves Press Clippings

Wolves Press Clippings

Tom Thibodeau always believed he could lure free agents to the Los Angeles Lakers, that the proper structure and vision still makes that franchise the ultimate superstar destination. Thibodeau always had his eyes on the most glamorous job in basketball, but the Lakers hesitated and missed the chance to recruit him. Once Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor understood the greatness of Karl-Anthony Towns, had grown weary of missing the playoffs year after year, Thibodeau had his market and his match: total control, a $40 million-plus contract and a chance to construct a championship contender.

To suggest it would’ve been an easy choice to choose the Lakers over the Timberwolves for Thibodeau is naïve, but make no mistake: It would’ve been a choice for him. Thibodeau uses his USA Basketball coaching job to build relationships with the best players in the world, potential free agents including Kevin Durant and James Harden, Russell Westbrook and, yes, LeBron James, too.

LaMarcus Aldridge was dying for the Lakers to blow him away in a free-agent presentation on July 1and left the room deflated over the parade of marketing and partnership suits that sold him on the residual impacts of playing for the Lakers. Had that been a Tom Thibodeau basketball presentation to Aldridge, there are those who believe Aldridge would’ve been swayed to sign there.

For all the possibilities that could’ve existed with the Lakers – who are still debating coach Bryon Scott’s future – the Timberwolves offered Thibodeau a sure thing: Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s 20 years old, a perfect gentleman, a relentless worker and the best young big-man talent in the world.

Thibodeau has deep admiration for the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick and has studied him and his program long and hard. Now, Karl-Anthony Towns has a chance to be Thibodeau’s Tom Brady. Thibodeau still marvels over a trip to Foxboro for OTA’s, watching Brady’s fervor in repeating a fundamental footwork drill over and over and over. All those Super Bowls, and Thibodeau couldn’t get over Brady’s obsession with dominating that exercise on a springtime morning.

The Timberwolves coaching staff marvels over Towns’ tenacity and character, his obsession with becoming one of the great ones. Kevin Garnett told him that if he wanted to be the leader of the franchise, he needed to be the first one to practice and the last to leave – and Towns did it. Before every game, Towns did a hard 20-25 minute workout on the floor, working up a sweat and bringing it into the game. There is strong talent on these Wolves, including Andrew Wiggins and an unselfish point guard, Ricky Rubio, who defends the way that Thibodeau demands.

Thibodeau does have a big ego, and yes, the bright lights of the Staples Center, the Lakers’ prestige, intrigued him. To win a title is most important, yes, but to win with the Lakers would’ve been historic, and Thibodeau cares about his place in history. Nevertheless, the Buss family is too fractured to turn power over to one person – never mind an outsider – and maybe Thibodeau and the Lakers were never made to work.

For now, Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden is the perfect complement for Thibodeau with the Wolves because he’ll do the job of general manager quietly, efficiently and thoroughly. San Antonio president R.C. Buford loved his meticulousness in the scouting and evaluation of players, and Layden has strong relationships and respect throughout the league for the purpose of making deals. He’s done the GM job twice – with Utah and New York – and learned the Spurs’ way the past four years in San Antonio.

There is a reason why a lot of NBA executives and owners would’ve never ceded this kind of power to Thibodeau: They wonder if he can properly handle it all. When the business side needs the franchise’s president to help them sell tickets and sponsorships, it’ll be interesting to see how motivated Thibodeau will be to take on the broader duties of his title. Nevertheless, winning sells – and Thibodeau will win basketball games.

For all the blame that Chicago management deserved for the dysfunction of the Thibodeau era, the coach was never blameless. Yes, he was right to fight for the drafting of Gorgui Dieng over Tony Snell in 2013, but becoming obsessed with whom had the job of assistant weight coach was often misplaced frustration.

Now, Thibodeau is accountable. Now, everything’s on him. He wanted big power and big money and it belongs to the president of basketball operations and head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is everything Tom Thibodeau wanted, everything he’s chased, and most of all, Tom Thibodeau can never say there’s someone holding him back again.

Wolves Press Clippings

If Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour reminded us of anything, it’s that being just a tad crazy – or in his case, a stark-raving lunatic whose lifelong obsession with basketball led to five titles and a Hall of Fame career – can be pretty damned effective when it comes to this game.

With that in mind, the Minnesota Timberwolves should be ecstatic about their expected addition of Tom Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations on Wednesday. They landed a mad scientist of a coach, a 58-year-old man whose worst crime during those endlessly-debated years with the Chicago Bulls (2010-15) was caring too much about getting the best out of his players.

The top front office role comes as no surprise to anyone who remembers the Bulls backstory, as Thibodeau constantly clashed with Chicago general manager Gar Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson. He’s expected to partner in Minnesota with San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden, an old friend from Thibodeau’s New York Knicks days from 1999 to 2003 (Layden was general manager, Thibodeau an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy andDon Chaney).

There are no guarantees that this will work, but we'll finally get to see the full scope of the Thibodeau vision now that he has the kind of personnel control he coveted before. It might very well turn into a thing of basketball beauty.

The Karl-Anthony Towns/Andrew Wiggins foundation is as good a young base as there is in today’s NBA, the kind of combo that was headed toward good things no matter who was coaching them. Especially considering another lottery pick will come Minnesota’s way in June by way of their 29-53 finish under Sam Mitchell last season (he took over after the tragic passing of coach and president Flip Saunders in late October, who died of cancer).

But this idea of the hard-driving Thibodeau speeding up the Timberwolves’ learning curve is enough to make you wonder if Minnesota might have a chance to become elite in the next few years. And from a free agency standpoint, it certainly doesn’t hurt that he has extensive experience as an assistant coach on the American national team and, thus, has relationships with the best of the best in today’s NBA. The Timberwolves are expected to have approximately $27 million in salary cap space this summer.

At his core, Thibodeau is a defensive-minded task master. Yes, he grinds hard – practices more than most – and players in Chicago most certainly grew tired of that style in the end. Yes, much like Bryant, his life begins and ends with basketball in the kind of way that makes people around him wonder about his OCD tendencies.

But a funny thing happened on his way out of the Windy City: the Bulls started realizing what they had once he was gone. With first-year coach Fred Hoiberg in place, this less-disciplined Bulls bunch went from third in the Eastern Conference (50-32) to out of the postseason picture entirely (42-40).

The Thibodeau offense that was so often criticized had finished 10th in the league last season, only to be followed by a 25th-place ranking under Hoiberg. The defense digressed, too, from 11th in Thibodeau’s final season to 15th in 2015-16 And that waswith a vastly-improved Jimmy Butler taking his game to yet another All-Star level and former MVP Derrick Rose playing more games (66) than he had in any of his previous three seasons.

The Bulls’ loss, make no mistake, is the Timberwolves’ gain.