After being off the grid from coaching an National Basketball Association team for one year, Thibodeau has finally agreed to a five-year contract, although details of the deal has yet to be announced, but sources told Sports Illustrated that it will be worth $10 million annually.
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With a roster consisting of some of the best young talent in the league that has a bright future ahead of them, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to land the top guy on the market to be their next head coach.
Tom Thibodeau coached the Chicago Bulls for five seasons, taking them to the playoffs in each of those five seasons.
Thibodeau spent 20 years as an assistant coach, including the Wolves’ first two seasons as an expansion franchise from 1989-91, before being promoted by Chicago. Known as a defense-first coach, Thibodeau was also an assistant with the Spurs, Sixers, Knicks, Rockets and Celtics before being named head coach of the Bulls in 2010.
The job is certainly one that has attracted attention from many current and former coaches. Yahoo!
The Timberwolves fired interim coach Sam Mitchell on April 14.
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How great? Think about this hypothetical: If the Cavs and Wolves jobs were open at the same time this summer, and if complete control were available in both places, which one would be more appealing? The core of the team includes guards Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, wings Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad and big man Karl-Anthony Towns and while they struggled again in the recently concluded season, they have shown potential to be serious players in the West in the coming years. During his tenure, Derrick Rose won the regular season MVP Award (2011), Joakim Noah won his only Defensive Player of the Year award (2014), and Thibodeau himself took home Coach of the Year honors (2011). 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. Thibodeau had his interview over the weekend with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, according to Windhorst and Stein. Saunders had it and Stan Van Gundy demanded it from the Pistons in order to make the move from Florida to the Midwest. Jeff Van Gundy followed up that season with a trip to the NBA Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers.
