The T'Wolves yesterday hired Tom Thibodeau as their new coach and President of Basketball Operations and named Spurs Assistant GM Scott Layden as the GM "who will lead the front office under Thibodeau’s supervision," according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Thibodeau's deal is worth a reported $40M "over the next five years" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/21). ESPN.com's Marc Stein noted Thibodeau "will have full control of basketball operations while relying on Layden to handle day-to-day duties in the front office" (ESPN.com, 4/20). THE VERTICAL's Adrian Wojnarowski noted Thibodeau "emerged as the frontrunner in pursuit of the job in recent days, selling owner Glen Taylor on his vision of sustained success and playoff basketball in Minnesota." Thibodeau was "drawn to the full control of the organization and the chance to coach a talented young core." ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy "was among the finalists for the job" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/20). In St. Paul, Andy Greder notes Taylor "announced the search last Wednesday" after interim coach Sam Mitchell led the team to a 29-53 record. Taylor said that he and search firm Korn Ferry "would exclusively seek candidates outside the organization." Taylor "sought a leader to fill the roles vacated by Flip Saunders, who died three days before the season started in October." Former GM Milt Newton, who worked under Saunders and had been retained by Taylor, "could continue with the organization" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/21).
HISTORY LESSON: USA TODAY's Sam Amick writes the top front office role going to Thibodeau "comes as no surprise to anyone who remembers the Bulls backstory, as Thibodeau constantly clashed" with Bulls GM Gar Forman and Exec VP/Basketball Operations John Paxson. There are "no guarantees that this will work, but we'll finally get to see the full scope of the Thibodeau vision now that he has the kind of personnel control he coveted before" (USA TODAY, 4/21). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said Thibodeau is "not going to have some of the management problems he had in Chicago" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 4/20). ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said his "only concern" with Thibodeau having both titles is that he "hasn't done that" in the past. Gutierrez: "You don't want to necessarily give those powers to somebody who hasn't done that before. It could be overwhelming. It could be he makes short-sighted decisions, and so that part is just a question mark" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 4/20). ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton wrote any questions about this move "center on the long-term implications of giving Thibodeau the dual title." Pelton: "Calling the track record of NBA head coaches with personnel power 'mixed' might be generous." It is "impossible to predict how Thibodeau will manage basketball operations, but his tendency to focus on the present at the expense of the future as a head coach is a discouraging sign" (ESPN.com, 4/20).
TAYLOR MADE: BLEACHER REPORT's Kevin Ding wrote for Taylor, this is his "time to go legit -- after all the previous thoughts of surrender to sell the franchise and so recently being forced to face mortality with the passing" of Saunders. Taylor is "hopeful he can do things differently and do right by his new franchise player, Karl-Anthony Towns, after being unable all those years to put Kevin Garnett in realistic position to succeed." It is a "wise bet on Taylor's part that Thibodeau, better than anyone else available to hire, can make it all come together." It "opens the door for Taylor, a self-made billionaire with unshakable loyalty to Minnesota, actually to forge a legacy" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 4/20).
