Minnesota Sports Forum

I'll bring this up. Who do you think would be more likely to keep Ricky: Thibs or JVG?

While I realize some of you aren't on the "Ricky's our PG for the now and future" bandwagon, that's not what I'm asking. Which guy do you think would appreciate Ricky more and be less likely to dealing him?

It's been so long that I can't really remember what Van Gundy wants his PG to be or if he even has a mold that he wants. With Thibs, Ricky's play-making/smart defense, facilitating from all angles and willingness to set good screens on offense make me think he'd fall in love with him and hold on tight.

Camden wrote:I'll bring this up. Who do you think would be more likely to keep Ricky: Thibs or JVG?

While I realize some of you aren't on the "Ricky's our PG for the now and future" bandwagon, that's not what I'm asking. Which guy do you think would appreciate Ricky more and be less likely to dealing him?

It's been so long that I can't really remember what Van Gundy wants his PG to be or if he even has a mold that he wants. With Thibs, Ricky's play-making/smart defense, facilitating from all angles and willingness to set good screens on offense make me think he'd fall in love with him and hold on tight.

Very hypothetical. I am confident that both would play him enough to properly evaluate whether he is a winner and would use a variety of methods and data to back up those conclusions. Ricky does seem like a Thibs type player, because of his obsessive and passionate attitude about basketball. That being said, Van Gundy seems similarly passionate about effort on the court. I could see JVG falling in love with Rubios game and maybe convincing himself that Ricky would learn to shoot one day too.

I think Van Gundy would be better at the all encompassing POBO/HC role. I think Thibs is the better HC.

As far as Ricky, I really don't see him going anywhere for a few reasons. First I don't think you can get fair compensation for him. Teams aren't lining up for guys that aren't great shooters, that being said Ricky holds so much value to our team because he does so many things well and he runs things so well for our young team. His post all star break play is something to hold onto as well.

TRKO wrote:I think Van Gundy would be better at the all encompassing POBO/HC role. I think Thibs is the better HC.

As far as Ricky, I really don't see him going anywhere for a few reasons. First I don't think you can get fair compensation for him. Teams aren't lining up for guys that aren't great shooters, that being said Ricky holds so much value to our team because he does so many things well and he runs things so well for our young team. His post all star break play is something to hold onto as well.

... sans final 8 games where he struggled quite a bit offensively.

5.5 ppg
7.1 ast
(12 - 46 fg / 26.1%)


[Note: But count me officially in the camp that I hope he returns because I really WANT it to work out here with him on the squad.]

Camden wrote:Interesting how Lip gave JVG credit for admitting he needs some help offensively, but completely ignores how Thibs visited plenty of NBA teams and coaches to learn from them and add things to his own playbook. He visited Steve Kerr, George Karl, Stan Van Gundy, Brad Stevens... But he has no humility.

The perception of Thibs as a person has been wrong ever since Chicago fired him and talked shit about him as he went out the door. If Thibs is such a dickhead, why didn't he badmouth the organization/FO?

Camden wrote:Interesting how Lip gave JVG credit for admitting he needs some help offensively, but completely ignores how Thibs visited plenty of NBA teams and coaches to learn from them and add things to his own playbook. He visited Steve Kerr, George Karl, Stan Van Gundy, Brad Stevens... But he has no humility.

The perception of Thibs as a person has been wrong ever since Chicago fired him and talked shit about him as he went out the door. If Thibs is such a dickhead, why didn't he badmouth the organization/FO?

I never said Thibs was a dickhead. And I used the words "appears to" in reference to humility. My overall concern with Thibs is his personality and whether it is a good fit for the Wolves organization, community and most importantly the players. My concerns are base on what I've seen from Thibs over the years, what I've heard from friends in Chicago (where I'm originally from) and from press accounts. I see JVG having a more affable, positive, engaging personality. For example, I've noticed that JVG has a self-effacing sense of humor and has mocked or criticized himself on a number of occasions. I've never heard the same sort of thing from Thibs. That's part of the humility thing.

But note the following. First of all, I haven't seen anything that suggests to me Thibs is a dickhead or that he's not a terrific head coach. Second, I wouldn't have said that Thibs should be one of three candidates the Wolves should focus on if I thought Thibs was a bad choice. Simply put, I think the Wolves organization should do their due diligence on all the candidates and that includes Thibs. Part of the due diligence on Thibs has to include exploring whether his personality might be problematic for our group of young players and for the longevity of his tenure. Honestly, I'd explore the same issue with JVG.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15229278/minnesota-timberwolves-interview-tom-thibodeau-talk-jeff-van-gundy

Awesome.

Also doesn't it seem like Windhorst unofficially became the Wolves national guy since the Wiggins deal? He is on all the Wolves stories.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15229278/minnesota-timberwolves-interview-tom-thibodeau-talk-jeff-van-gundy

Awesome.

Also doesn't it seem like Windhorst unofficially became the Wolves national guy since the Wiggins deal? He is on all the Wolves stories.

Exciting stuff. I'd prefer JVG, but it would probably take me about 5 minutes to get real excited about Thibs if they go that way.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15229278/minnesota-timberwolves-interview-tom-thibodeau-talk-jeff-van-gundy

Awesome.

Also doesn't it seem like Windhorst unofficially became the Wolves national guy since the Wiggins deal? He is on all the Wolves stories.

We all lean one way or another when it concerns these two, but I think either/both would be successful here. Reading this just got me super pumped.

Camden wrote:

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15229278/minnesota-timberwolves-interview-tom-thibodeau-talk-jeff-van-gundy

Awesome.

Also doesn't it seem like Windhorst unofficially became the Wolves national guy since the Wiggins deal? He is on all the Wolves stories.

We all lean one way or another when it concerns these two, but I think either/both would be successful here. Reading this just got me super pumped.

That's pretty much it. Getting to choose among the top candidates is a far cry from ending up with the Kurt Rambis/Randy Wittmans of the world.

Is it greedy to hope we could get JVG for GM and Thibs as coach?