Adrian Wojnaroski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Timberwolves and Tom Thibodeau, former coach of the Chicago Bulls, are close to setting terms on a deal to bring the defensive-minded taskmaster to Minnnesota’s bench.
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Timberwolves’ interim coach Sam Mitchell was given his walking papers after the team finished 29-53 in 2015-16.
Thibodeau’s deal could be worth about $8 million per year for five years, with Layden receiving more than $2 million, according to ESPN.
Layden, who is 57, recently spent the last four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs as the assistant general manager.
“Tom’s resume speaks for itself”, Taylor said. Thibodeau will serve as the coach and president of team operations.
There were calls for the Knicks to pursue Thibodeau, a former assistant coach for the team, after they fired Derek Fisher, but sources told The Post that team president Phil Jackson was unlikely to pursue him.
It’s hard to refute Thibodeau’s clam that Minnesota has the “best young roster” in the league. Layden is still somewhat of a question mark, as he was behind drafting John Stockton and Karl Malone in Utah but made a series of questionable decisions in NY that put the Knicks in a whole for years. Thibodeau will have final say in all basketball matters, which was one point of contention for why his five-year run in Chicago unraveled and he was sacked after the 2014-’15 season.
Over the course of his five seasons with the Chicago Bulls, the 58-year-old compiled a 255-139 regular-season record and a 23-28 playoff record.
The Wolves have arguable been the worst National Basketball Association franchise over their 12 year playoff drought that started with the departure of Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Tom Thibodeau back to the Timberwolves”, said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor.
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Other teams, including the Houston Rockets, were reportedly interested Thibodeau as a coach, but he was pushing for control on the court and in the front office. “His teams have annually been among the league leaders in defense and we are excited about the approach and mentality he will bring to that side of the ball”. 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.
