Minnesota Timberwolves: Is Tom Thibodeau doing a good job?

Exploring whether Tom Thibodeau has done a good job during his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves

Tom Thibodeau, in some people’s opinion, has been on thin ice, as the head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has made moves that make you wonder if he’s clinging on a little too hard to his days as head coach of the Bulls, and whether or not those moves are hurting the Timberwolves’ progression towards the future.

When he was hired on, Thibs had two top picks in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine who can jump out of the gym and they would later add Kris Dunn, a defensive stud who should’ve been able to thrive with Thibodeau, who has always been praised as a defensive coach.

The Timberwolves could feel the playoffs within their grasp. It didn’t last though.

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During the 2017 NAB Draft, the Wolves would trade their No. 7 draft pick, which would later become Lauri Markkanen, Dunn and LaVine for Bulls’ All-Star Jimmy Butler, reuniting Thibs with one of his best defenders, and all-around players, from Chicago. He would also end up adding Taj Gibson, another key piece to Thibodeau’s Bulls era.

Late in the season, Thibs would bring in Derrick Rose, one of the biggest “what ifs” in NBA history, a former MVP, oh, and another former player of Thibodeau while he was in Chicago.

On Monday, it was reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that the Timberwolves had agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million deal with Luol Deng, which would make him the fourth former Bull to join his former coach in Minnesota. It has also been reported that the Wolves have shown interest in Joakim Noah, another former Bull.

As Minnesota continues to add players from 2011 Chicago Bulls, (who were pretty great by the way) it’s tough to sit here and pretend like Thibodeau is doing a good job. From a front office point of view, in a league that is always looking to its future stars, Thibodeau has assembled a team of guys who have been near the top, but failed to finish the job, granted that Bulls team was always plagued with some kind of injury or series of injuries.

The Jimmy Butler trade seemed like a no-brainer at the time. Kris Dunn had a rough rookie year, Zach LaVine was coming off of an ACL tear and that No. 7 pick seemed worthy of an NBA All-Star who is elite on both ends of the floor. But in the end, was it really such an easy trade to make?

Dunn would go on to have a solid sophomore season, LaVine may not have played a lot of games, but he looked explosive and confident when he did play and Lauri Markkanen had an excellent rookie campaign, being named to the All-Rookie team.

Let’s imagine that the Timberwolves don’t make the trade. Their potential starting lineup would have Towns, Wiggins, LaVine, Dunn and Markkanen. Five young, athletic players with the tools to be effective on both ends of the floor, and with a ton of upside. But that’s just a hypothetical. Who am I to say that this team would’ve been better off? They did make the playoffs after all.

It was a tough road to the playoffs, that didn’t come to fruition until the very end of the final game of the season. Wiggins felt left out, Butler questioned Towns’ defensive effort and the team’s depth was called into question on a regular basis. It would all end with a first round exit, falling to the Rockets.

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Over the last year, Wiggins, Butler and Towns have all reportedly voiced frustration about the organization, and with Wiggins and Towns each signed to long-term deals, it seems that Butler could potentially leave the team after this upcoming season, leaving the Wolves, well, right back where it started.

Last season, the ice began to thin out on Tom Thibodeau, and if things don’t turn around this season, the ice will crumble, and Thibodeau will have left the Minnesota Timberwolves worse-off than he found them.

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