New Timberwolves coach to build on Saunders' plan
New Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau says he has a plan to turn the underperforming basketball team around.
The move to Minnesota is a homecoming of sorts for Thibodeau. He started his NBA career with the Timberwolves in 1989 as an assistant coach under the late Bill Musselman when the expansion franchise team played in the Metrodome.
Thibodeau recalled those early days fondly and said it was through Musselman that he met Flip Saunders, who was on his second stint as Timberwolves head coach when he died just before the start of last season.
"Whenever we would coach against each other, Flip would come down to my bench before the game, he would share a Musselman story, we would laugh like crazy, and then we would try to predict what play we were going to run to start the game," he said. "And it would always be a Musselman play."
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Thibodeau — who's also the team's president of basketball operations — comes to the Timberwolves from Chicago. That's where he led the Bulls to five playoff appearances before he was fired in 2015.
He inherits a talented group of young players including last year's No. 1 draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns and forward Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick of 2014.
Thibodeau said he was drawn to Minnesota by the legacy Saunders left.
"He had a well thought-out plan of how he wanted to rebuild the team. He executed it great," he said.
Nevertheless, the team did not have a winning season. Under interim head coach Sam Mitchell, the Wolves improved but still finished 29-53, fifth in their division. And the team has not made it to the NBA playoffs since 2004.
Thibodeau said his turnaround plan includes improving the players already on the roster, and adding others through the draft, trades and free agency.
Joining the new coach is a new general manager — Scott Layden. He comes to the Timberwolves from San Antonio, where he was the Spurs' assistant GM. Layden said he expects to get along well with Thibodeau.
"I'm thrilled with this relationship, and that's not to say every day is easy, or that we agree on everything, that's not how it is. But we're going to commit to what's best for the franchise," he said.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said with a young roster and new coaching and management talent, the Timberwolves have a unique opportunity to become a championship team. Taylor said he wants both Thibodeau and Layden to stay for the long haul.
"When I offered these two gentlemen a contract, I offered them both five years, because that's just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term goal of this team, to be one of the elite teams in the NBA for many years to come," Taylor said.
When asked if the 2016-17 season would bring an end to the Wolves' protracted playoff drought, the new coach wouldn't make any promises. But Thibodeau did say that if his team plays at a championship level every day, the results would take care of themselves.