The Timberwolves planned to meet with Jackson after interviewing Van Gundy and former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, a person with knowledge of the process told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting on Twitter that the Wolves are nearing a deal with Tom Thibodeau to make him the next head coach. Minnesota was in desperate need of a quality head coach that could effectively develop the team’s inexperienced core into a Western Conference threat for the future.
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It’s one he began his professional coaching career with back in 1989 when he joined the Timberwolves in their inaugural season as an assistant coach, staying through the 1991 season.
Layden has previously been the general manager for the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks.
While his time with the Knicks didn’t go well, there has been a lot of time since his stint as their general manager and learning from the Spurs is something that can’t be understated.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been searching for their new head coach since the season ended with a 144-109 win over the Pelicans on April 14th. The looming cap spike and cornerstones Karl-Anthony Towns and swingman Andrew Wiggins make this a more intriguing destination for free agents, but the 2016 draft might give the Timberwolves that last piece they need to grow into contenders.
According to Yahoo, Thibodeau, 58, has convinced Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that he has a “vision of sustained success and playoff basketball in Minnesota”.
In five seasons as head coach in Chicago, Thibodeau compiled a 255-139 record in the regular season and was 23-28 in the playoffs.
“Tom’s résumé speaks for itself”.
Wolves owner Glen Taylor says they quickly identified Thibodeau as the best leader available to take charge of a team with one of the most promising young rosters in the National Basketball Association.
Thibodeau was sacked by the Bulls last season after clashing with management on his hard-driving style, which included a propensity for playing his most important players more than 40 minutes per night to squeeze out every possible victory from the schedule.
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Since then, he has become an established coach in the National Basketball Association, winning a championship in 2008 as Assistant Coach of the Boston Celtics before being awarded his first head coaching position in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls in 2010. “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”.
