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BOSTON – Tom Thibodeau has had his hands full during his first season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He was hired this past summer to serve as Minnesota’s head coach and president of basketball operations – in other words, the equivalent of throwing the responsibilities of Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge onto one person’s plate.
Fortunately for Thibodeau, it’s been a smooth transition thanks to the fact that he was primed by one of the best front offices in the NBA.
Thibodeau spent three seasons – from 2007 to 2010 – with the Celtics, handling associate head coaching duties under Doc Rivers. He also interacted with president of basketball operations Danny Ainge on a consistent basis, learning the ins and outs of how to manage a professional roster.
“There was great leadership,” Thibodeau recalled Wednesday morning before taking on the Celtics in Boston. “Doc is a great leader. Danny is a great leader. The ownership is great from top to bottom. It just gave great order to everything.
“And I think the biggest thing was the communication between Danny and Doc. They talked every day. Danny talks to everyone so it was good. It felt like they always wanted your opinion on things. You didn’t have to agree with everything. You debated things. It was great.”
Thibodeau’s opinion was held in high regard during his time in Boston. He was the defensive mastermind that helped orchestrate the Celtics’ title run during the 2007-08 season.
Thibs’ reputation, unsurprisingly, garnered interest from other NBA teams, and sure enough the Chicago Bulls came calling in 2010 and signed him to be their head coach. He would go on to win Coach of the Year honors during his first professional head-coaching campaign, and he stayed with the Bulls through the 2014-15 season.
Now, Thibodeau has raised the bar by taking on twice the responsibility with the up-and-coming Timberwolves organization. He’s finding that his past experiences are coming in handy as he attempts to assemble a successful team.
“The Celtics and the Spurs, they’re at the forefront of (basketball operations),” said Thibodeau, who also spent two seasons during the early ‘90s as an assistant coach in San Antonio. “So obviously spending time with [those two teams], you learn from all those experiences and take the best ideas that you’re seeing.”
Thibodeau currently is in control of one of the most intriguing rosters in the NBA.
The T’Wolves are young and raw, but they have the potential to become a serious threat in the near future as they build around youthful phenoms Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
The team is certainly going through some growing pains – it held a 19-33 record through early February. However, things are beginning to heat up in Minnesota, as the team has won seven of its last 10 – and nine of its last 14 – including wins against the Clippers, Warriors and Wizards during this past week alone.
At 28-38, the Timberwolves are just one win away from tying last season’s win total (29-53). Their defense has been elite of late, having posted the second-best defensive rating (99.9) in the NBA since the All-Star break behind San Antonio’s mark of 98.1. By comparison, Minnesota logged a 107.1 defensive rating last season, which was ranked 27th in the league.
The improvements are undoubtedly a direct result of Thibodeau’s coaching and defensive expertise.
So far Thibodeau is making a strong mark on the Timberwolves as he admirably juggles multiple roles within the organization. He credits his ability to do so to Ainge, Doc and the Celtics ownership. They all played a large part in teaching him the ropes, and now he’s harnessing that knowledge by attempting to lead Minnesota down a successful path.