Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:I'd like to see Thibs focus on the front office eventually and find an up and coming coach to run on the floor. I'm hoping this is his longer term plan for the franchise actually. On the positive I do think Thibs has made some progress on the player development front with Wiggins and KAT coupled with him bringing in complimentary personnel to show them the way on the floor. I am also excited that Thibs is going to be their playoff coach for this year as I think this is where we can really evaluate Thibs coaching in the game to game adjustments. This first year of the playoffs is going to be huge for Wiggins and KAT to open their eyes to what NBA basketball is really all about, and I think having a veteran coach like Thibs to be able to point out where the areas of improvement are is important. Still long term I think some of the issues and concerns are valid and think the smart play for Thibs is to use his talents in building the team rather than the day to day on the court issues.

Uh, they aren't in the playoffs yet, so I'm certainly not assuming we get to see Thibs coach in that environment. Never underestimate this team's ability to embarrass and disappoint its fan base!

As for Wiggins and KAT.....eh. Not so sure either have taken that big of a leap. If they had, we wouldn't have a losing record without Butler in the lineup and these guys would be doing much more to help us win games. These two are the common thread in a team that has consistently been terrible defensively for the past three years.

I'm confident they'll be in the playoffs. I know you have a more cautious approach. Philosophically, I believe that the bad defensive metrics are not as heavily on KAT and Wiggins as on the really poor defensive contributions of Dieng and Crawford with they enter the game. You're working from a pragmatic and logical position, but I can't see how you couldn't look at this year as progress in what you are seeing on the court defensively from those players. They certainly aren't perfect, but I've seen improvements.

Teague doubled down today. Saying he rarely has played that many minutes and now he is a little banged up. Also said the bench needs more minutes.

monsterpile wrote:I can't remember who posted it or what thread it was in but they mentioned Thibs should get fired for just all the yelling. I'll share this info here.

On a recent podcast Souhan and Jon K has Steve Terry on from TSR injury law who is a Wolves sponsor and sponsor of their podcast. Anyway they asked him some thoughts as a fan who sits court side. One point he made was that even though it may sound crazy but Thibs has toned his yelling etc down A LOT and he would know he sits directly "behind Thibs ass". He said of course Thibs is still Thibs but it's VERY noticeable how much less his antics are compared to last year.

He also said Wiggins doesn't sweat and it's weird and he said that happens even if he is playing hard. I play basketball with a guy like that. We can be playing in a non air conditioned gym in the summer and it's gotta be well over 100 in there with high humidity (and yes he plays D) and i've seen him sweat like once and we all made a big deal out of it. Lol I've seen Wiggins sweat before watching on TV but a lot of times yep looks as cool as a cucumber and he hasn't just been standing around and stuff.

I'm good friends a family who I believe are the longest season ticket holder, I only know this because they were honored before a game a couple years, they have a couple courtside seats right next to the wolves bench on the baseline and multiple other seats behind the basketball. Anyway, I know they are extremely unhappy with Tibs and have voiced this to Taylor quite often. I heard the podcast with the TSR guy as well. Thought it was very good and he voiced some very valid concerns.

I saw an article that the Knicks are thought to be moving on from Jeff Hornacek (not surprising) and the supposed candidates are Mark Jackson and Doc Rivers. Below that there was an article that reported Porzingis cursed out Jeff last season and now that adds up with Noah and O'Quinn also cursing him out. It's a little weird and obviously troubling.

There just isn't a coach available out there I am dying to get even if I was done with Thibs which I am not. I haven't seen people stumping for any coach either even the people that are interested in seeing him go which makes me think they feel similarly.

monsterpile wrote:I saw an article that the Knicks are thought to be moving on from Jeff Hornacek (not surprising) and the supposed candidates are Mark Jackson and Doc Rivers. Below that there was an article that reported Porzingis cursed out Jeff last season and now that adds up with Noah and O'Quinn also cursing him out. It's a little weird and obviously troubling.

There just isn't a coach available out there I am dying to get even if I was done with Thibs which I am not. I haven't seen people stumping for any coach either even the people that are interested in seeing him go which makes me think they feel similarly.

Monster -- As you know I never liked the Thibs hire and I'd like to see him go. But I'm with you in not having any great alternative in mind. I like Doc Rivers and I'm really impressed with what he's gotten out of the Clippers this season. Maybe JB Bickerstaff. He was really well liked by Flip and Wolves players when he was assistant coach here. I like that he has his Grizzlies team highly motivated, beating the Wolves and Blazers even though his players really have little to play for. So those are two names I'd be intersted in.

lipoli390 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I saw an article that the Knicks are thought to be moving on from Jeff Hornacek (not surprising) and the supposed candidates are Mark Jackson and Doc Rivers. Below that there was an article that reported Porzingis cursed out Jeff last season and now that adds up with Noah and O'Quinn also cursing him out. It's a little weird and obviously troubling.

There just isn't a coach available out there I am dying to get even if I was done with Thibs which I am not. I haven't seen people stumping for any coach either even the people that are interested in seeing him go which makes me think they feel similarly.

Monster -- As you know I never liked the Thibs hire and I'd like to see him go. But I'm with you in not having any great alternative in mind. I like Doc Rivers and I'm really impressed with what he's gotten out of the Clippers this season. Maybe JB Bickerstaff. He was really well liked by Flip and Wolves players when he was assistant coach here. I like that he has his Grizzlies team highly motivated, beating the Wolves and Blazers even though his players really have little to play for. So those are two names I'd be intersted in.

I remember back when I hated Randy Wittman so much I was saying we should try to get a guy like Jay Wright. The chances of getting a guy like that are pretty low because those college coaches are basically princes with their own kingdoms and the prospect of all the travel and a short-term job can't appeal that much, but the Celtics managed to do that with Brad Stevens.

I don't like turning over coaches so often, so if we do actually go for somebody new, it should be somebody who we commit to for a decent amount of time to let them develop. We once had Casey as coach and dumped him quickly and now look at him.

I'm guessing Calipari would want to switch to the NBA if/when the NBA ends the one-and-done rule, although I'd way prefer Jay Wright.

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I saw an article that the Knicks are thought to be moving on from Jeff Hornacek (not surprising) and the supposed candidates are Mark Jackson and Doc Rivers. Below that there was an article that reported Porzingis cursed out Jeff last season and now that adds up with Noah and O'Quinn also cursing him out. It's a little weird and obviously troubling.

There just isn't a coach available out there I am dying to get even if I was done with Thibs which I am not. I haven't seen people stumping for any coach either even the people that are interested in seeing him go which makes me think they feel similarly.

Monster -- As you know I never liked the Thibs hire and I'd like to see him go. But I'm with you in not having any great alternative in mind. I like Doc Rivers and I'm really impressed with what he's gotten out of the Clippers this season. Maybe JB Bickerstaff. He was really well liked by Flip and Wolves players when he was assistant coach here. I like that he has his Grizzlies team highly motivated, beating the Wolves and Blazers even though his players really have little to play for. So those are two names I'd be intersted in.

I remember back when I hated Randy Wittman so much I was saying we should try to get a guy like Jay Wright. The chances of getting a guy like that are pretty low because those college coaches are basically princes with their own kingdoms and the prospect of all the travel and a short-term job can't appeal that much, but the Celtics managed to do that with Brad Stevens.

I don't like turning over coaches so often, so if we do actually go for somebody new, it should be somebody who we commit to for a decent amount of time to let them develop. We once had Casey as coach and dumped him quickly and now look at him.

I'm guessing Calipari would want to switch to the NBA if/when the NBA ends the one-and-done rule, although I'd way prefer Jay Wright.

Drew - Glad you mentioned Jay Wright. He's the one college coach I could get excited about. But like you, I suspect he's not gettable. I think we could get Calipari this summer if we want to. My gut tells me he's ready to move on for the right offer. It's likely the one-and-done rule will end and he knows it. Moreover, I think he's ready for a new challenge. I would suspect the Wolves would be an attractive destination for him because of our talent and the fact that KAT is here. I'm not sure about him as a NBA coach. But he seems to have charisma and a knack for connecting with players. That's a huge part of being a successful head coach in the NBA.

I think most of us would agree that it's highly unlikely Thibs gets fired this summer. The only chance of that would be the Wolves ending up in 9th place. That might be enough to push Taylor over the edge. But the odds of that are remote. As one who wants Thibs fired, I nevertheless agree with Monster and others that firing him does nothing if we don't end up hiring someone better. And as much as I don't like Thibs as head coach, we could do far worse. I still remember Kurt Rambis. :)

MSM picking up on Thibs "the butcher" running his starters into the ground. Players have made the same comments. Play the bench guys a little more so they can get some rhythm and so that the starters don't get so worn down/tired over a game/season.

https://nypost.com/2018/03/29/the-timberwolves-have-a-tom-thibodeau-problem/?src=rss

Lip/Drew... let's not forget that Calipari was an NBA coach and executive.

26 - 56
43 - 39
3 - 17

But he's known most for almost drafting Kobe Bryant... before being duped by Bryant's lawyer and passing on him instead.

Hi guys. Thibs' absurd coaching forced me to take a break from the team (and this board), but I decided to check in with the playoffs looming. Good to see that board opinion about Thibs has turned decidedly negative. I became so disgusted with Thibs' poor coaching that I gave away all my tickets since January, with the exception of the Clippers game since a friend of mine from LA was visiting. I decided during that game that Thibs has completely lost his mind. I don't know if this was discussed here, but that was the game where Doc Rivers threw in the towel with over 5 minutes to go, and Thibs still left his starters on the floor until the final minute...insane! And now we see Butler hurt (and saying he was playing 40 MPG with a sore knee) and NBA vets Teague and Gibson publicly calling out their coach for not playing his bench. On top of that, we see the chart that shows how Thibs designs his defense to defend the long 2 and to allow 3's and shots in the paint...really???? I've had it...this guy needs to go. Now.

And the inventory of college coaches who could probably squeeze another 7-8 wins out of this team (while also protecting our stars' health) has never been stronger. I'm not a fan of Calipari (great recruiter, poor coach), but several other names intrigue me.

Kevin Ollie: Yes, UConn let him go because of undisclosed recruiting violations, but does that have any impact on how he would coach an NBA team? Just read Durant's and Westbrook's quotes about how Ollie turned around the culture in OkC, and you will begin to salivate over what he could do with KAT, Wig et al.

Tony Bennett: Like his dad, this guy is a basketball savant, and always seems to overachieve.

Jay Wright: What's not to like?

Eric Musselman: You can point to his sub-par record with the Warriors and the Kings, but he inherited horrible rosters and I would argue he overachieved. And his players would run through a brick wall for him. Plus, getting to gawk at his gorgeous wife on the sidelines would be great for ticket sales.

Chris Collins: Terrific pedigree and another overachiever.

Gregg Marshall: Why does he stay in Wichita? Added benefit? Halftime shows from his buddy Bruce Hornsby.

Buzz Williams: The guy flat out understands defense, unlike the Barking Ogre.

James Jones: The Yale coach's name seems to come up more in more for his basketball acumen and ability to motivate.

Come on, Glen...I know for sure that you are not happy with your coach's demeanor and performance. Learn from the Boston experiment with Brad Stephens, and correct the blunder you made two years ago and hire one of the guys listed above. Don't waste this window of opportunity that this roster has right now.