Former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is “aggressively” pursuing the Timberwolves job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of the Vertical. According to the report the Timberwolves are willing to give full control of basketball operations to the right head coach, and that is a stipulation for Thibs.
This potential partnership is interesting on a few different levels. For starters, the chance to coach Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine in their “pre-primes” is extremely appealing. And, the ownership group in Minnesota appears willing and ready to build a legitimate team. But, given the evolution of the NBA game and the focus on pace and space, efficiency and analytics, is Thibs the right man for the job?
One thing we know for sure, Thibs will have this young nucleus working hard and they will be disciplined on both sides of the floor. He is the right type of coach to teach these guys how to compete and win consistently at the NBA level. What we don’t know, and only time and opportunity will tell, is has a year away from coaching given him new perspective on the game? Can his style mesh in the current NBA? I hope we get to find out.