Minnesota Sports Forum

Despite the negatives perceived or reality the amount of time Thibs if Chicago lets him go will be unemployed will be measured in hours or days or even 0 if they trade him. He gets a team to play defense gets a lot out of vet players and has had young players develop under him. I get why some people wouldn't want him though but I think he will be wanted when he is made available.

I don't think it's just game situations that grates on the players. From what I hear it's also practices, meetings, and his tact he uses with the players both on and off the court. He won't be unemployed long, but let somebody else have him. The guy you want to model a coach after is Steve Kerr. Intelligent, played a lot of years in the league, and has respect of his team without being a drill sergeant. It's an 82 game regular season and hopefully 25 more playoff games. Thibs style wears out in a hurry.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I don't think it's just game situations that grates on the players. From what I hear it's also practices, meetings, and his tact he uses with the players both on and off the court. He won't be unemployed long, but let somebody else have him. The guy you want to model a coach after is Steve Kerr. Intelligent, played a lot of years in the league, and has respect of his team without being a drill sergeant. It's an 82 game regular season and hopefully 25 more playoff games. Thibs style wears out in a hurry.

Sure. There's a bit of Scott Skiles in Thibodeau. But it gets results, because he's better than Skiles. And that's what this organization needs. Remember when the Wolves dumped Musselman because he was too demanding and won TOO MUCH?

That led to Bill Blair, Sidney Lowe, Jimmy Rodgers, Kurt Rambis, et al... and seemingly perpetual crappiness or mediocrity... almost like a curse. F that. Pro sports is a win-now league (although the NBA has turned that notion on its ear with teams like Orlando and Philly).

I see Chicago still playing hard for Thibodeau in Year 5. No way is the same collection of players working that hard for that long -- especially with all the turmoil that could have made it easier to quit along the way -- for the Jimmy Rodgers, Sidney Lowe, Bill Blair types.

So I say give me 5 years of professional effort and legit results and see where we come out on the other side.


[Note: The Wolves have had 10 coaches. Only 1 has made it past year 3.]

It's an interesting topic. Kerr's more cerebral style probably makes sense for Golden State since they were already a top tier team. It's not like he was dealing with a bunch of losers.It reminds me of how Phil Jackson walked into situations with teams that were already well on their way up or established and just needed some finishing touches to take it to the next level.

There is something to be said about situational coaching and perhaps some coaches are great for one part of the lifecycle while others are great for other parts of a lifecycle. I could easily see a new coach step in to Chicago next year and help take the team to another level. But that doesn't mean they lose the defensive habits that Thibs helped instill. His fingerprints will still be all over that team. And that's OK.

As for the Wolves, I believe we are close to the point of needing that defensive-minded coach. That's why so many of us were enamored with Joerger. Thibs would be a great fit for this team in its current stage of development. We were one of the worst defenses in NBA history last season.

It's a good debate. I think any team needs to have a sound defensive structure and proper focus on that end of the floor. You can't win a title without it. I look at our key pieces - Rubio, Wiggins, Lavine, Bazz - and feel we need to be a fast pace of play team to get the most out of our talent. I don't see that happening with Thibs. And we should be able to find someone that can bring both high tempo AND defensive intensity to the table. Shoot for the moon on the next coach.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's a good debate. I think any team needs to have a sound defensive structure and proper focus on that end of the floor. You can't win a title without it. I look at our key pieces - Rubio, Wiggins, Lavine, Bazz - and feel we need to be a fast pace of play team to get the most out of our talent. I don't see that happening with Thibs. And we should be able to find someone that can bring both high tempo AND defensive intensity to the table. Shoot for the moon on the next coach.

Shoot for the moon is a good idea in principle.

But I don't see the Wolves having the necessary assets to get anywhere close to it. They lost 66 games. The wayward shooting PG with the brand-new contract may not entice every coach with his unique style. Flip Saunders' eyeballs, fingers and possibly even heavy foot are staring at the coach from his lofty front office position.

I just don't think the Wolves are in position to leapfrog multiple other teams for the top candidates. Heck, as noted, not everybody is sold on Thibodeau and he's firmly out of the Wolves reach.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's a good debate. I think any team needs to have a sound defensive structure and proper focus on that end of the floor. You can't win a title without it. I look at our key pieces - Rubio, Wiggins, Lavine, Bazz - and feel we need to be a fast pace of play team to get the most out of our talent. I don't see that happening with Thibs. And we should be able to find someone that can bring both high tempo AND defensive intensity to the table. Shoot for the moon on the next coach.

Shoot for the moon is a good idea in principle.

But I don't see the Wolves having the necessary assets to get anywhere close to it. They lost 66 games. The wayward shooting PG with the brand-new contract may not entice every coach with his unique style. Flip Saunders' eyeballs, fingers and possibly even heavy foot are staring at the coach from his lofty front office position.

I just don't think the Wolves are in position to leapfrog multiple other teams for the top candidates. Heck, as noted, not everybody is sold on Thibodeau and he's firmly out of the Wolves reach.

Lets get McHale back.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's a good debate. I think any team needs to have a sound defensive structure and proper focus on that end of the floor. You can't win a title without it. I look at our key pieces - Rubio, Wiggins, Lavine, Bazz - and feel we need to be a fast pace of play team to get the most out of our talent. I don't see that happening with Thibs. And we should be able to find someone that can bring both high tempo AND defensive intensity to the table. Shoot for the moon on the next coach.

Shoot for the moon is a good idea in principle.

But I don't see the Wolves having the necessary assets to get anywhere close to it. They lost 66 games. The wayward shooting PG with the brand-new contract may not entice every coach with his unique style. Flip Saunders' eyeballs, fingers and possibly even heavy foot are staring at the coach from his lofty front office position.

I just don't think the Wolves are in position to leapfrog multiple other teams for the top candidates. Heck, as noted, not everybody is sold on Thibodeau and he's firmly out of the Wolves reach.

Lets get McHale back.

As the tv guy?

I'm all in. He was great with Kevin Harlan back in the day.

No Hoiberg, no Thibs, no Izzo. I'll take Bickerstaff and be happy.

Anyone listen to Van Gundy on the Lowe post yesterday? I love the way he talked about D. Very much coming from the philosophy that D is effort and not talent based. I think he already said no to us but I would love him. I give Flip a good deal of credit for targeting Joeger. That ilk of tough nose grind it out ball I think fits into the characters on this team and the culture of the twin cities.