The departure of Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota was a long time coming. The tension between the front office, ownership, and Thibadeau has been well-documented. His inability to get star center Karl-Anthony Towns to play better defense at the rim, and the whole team to improve in general, has put him in the hot seat for some time.
It was no surprise when the team announced this past week that they were letting him go. They immediately promoted Ryan Saunders, the 32-year-old son of longtime Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders.
The team needed a culture change. A breath of fresh air. Thibodeau had a tendency to be a bit old-school in his thinking. His defensive scheme is outdated. A decade ago, teams didn't have to worry about the constant ball and player movement with a floor full of capable three-point shooters.
When he served as an assistant under Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics, defensive principles like ICE'ng the pick and roll, forcing shooters to take inefficient shots, doesn't work when they are so many options offensively. Big men can take shots from distance. Thibadeau prefers having two bigs who can rebound the basketball and stick in the paint.
Akin to the triangle offense, without having a group of experienced veterans to execute the demanding communication and precise decision making involved in Thibodeau's system, its impossible to make it work successfully. Especially when the modern evolution of the offensive attack was concocted to beat defenses like his.
The ironic thing is, his own star center in Karl Anthony-Towns didn't fit the mold of the center he needed defensively, nor did he utilize him correctly on offense. He represents and is the stretch big that has turned his former coach's defense obsolete.
To be a bit sympathetic, Thibodeau never had the personnel he needed to run his systems on either side of the ball. Towns is an all-around great offensive player, and yet never seemed to fully find the balance between his post game and his ability to be more than a one-dimensional center. Andrew Wiggins shows hardly any effort or IQ on the defensive side of the ball. He's a shot creator gone wild.
There's been no player development. They never had a point guard, other than Rubio at first, who had the shooters around him to distribute the ball effectively.
The experiment was failed at the start. Jimmy Butler was another antagonistic leader in the locker room that Thibodeau loved to have, but it didn't make the team better. He had the opportunity to evolve, change the way he coached to fit the kind of players he had. But he refused. Perhaps, he didn't know any better but to stay.
Now, without the inhibitions Thibodeau put on the team, Wiggins and Towns have the chance to become their best selves. Wiggins, the man with one of the worst contracts in the league. Towns, who's never been utilized correctly by a coach. Someone who could take their two talents and put them into an offensive scheme that fully embraces their strengths and their shortcomings.
The Timberwolves have long been a suitor of former Chicago Bulls head coach Fed Hoiberg. Even from his time at Iowa State, ownership saw something in Hoiberg. They saw something new. Intriguing. Different.
He had an offense that utilized a big man who could pick and roll, pop or fade. Something where the plays that allow a talented center to use his athleticism, jump shot and touch at the basket. An offense that needs multiple ball-handlers who can make the open pass and hit from deep.
Hoiberg's former mentor and coach Tim Floyd spoke of his coaching style. It's freeing:
“His sideline demeanor is better than any coach in the country. He tells his players that when they’re open, they need to shoot it. It’s freedom. He doesn’t pull them out for missing a shot that’s a quality shot: You’re open, shoot it. And the kids believe the next one is going in.”
Towns and Wiggins so desperately need a coach that doesn't control how they play. But allows them to flourish and grow.
The Chicago Bulls had early signs of this kind of offense. Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen pick and rolls were the hopes and dreams of every single Bulls fan alive. With the addition of Wendell Carter Jr., another year of development from Kris Dunn, the Bulls had the chance to turn into an offensive juggernaut.
But no. The front office, as they did before with Tom Thibodeau only four years later, decided to move on from Hoiberg. Because he lacked the “leadership ability” and “lost the locker room.” He “failed.” The organization decided to promote another antiquated basketball mind, Jim Boylen. And it hasn't worked at all. There's not mutual respect between the players and their coach,
Fred Hoiberg was never given a chance to succeed. Like Thibodeau, he never had the right personnel to run his offense. Instead of growing confident, into his own self, his failure was labeled as a lack of personality, a lack of authority. He wasn't culpable.
Thibodeau was a fleeting mirage. He seemed capable. But instead, he remained immovable and unable to change when the time called him to. That's failure.
Leadership isn't defined by bravado. Or by how intimidating you are. It's defined by its quantitative result in this game we call basketball. Wins.
Perhaps, Hoiberg needs a fresh start as much as Towns and Wiggins do.
Now, the Wolves may not go after Hoiberg. They may go after Jerry Stackhouse or Jeff Hornacek, both of whom also run a more modernized offensive system. Owner Glenn Taylor has even said that he's fond of Ryan Saunders. He may get the job as well.
But whoever they acquire, it will be an offensive mastermind. Something completely different. Something new. Something fresh.
Now is the time for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to prove that they can be great basketball players. Ones who win not only in the regular season, but in the postseason. They can't do it on their own.
But soon enough, neither Towns or Wiggins won't have an excuse. It's time for them to take this new era of Wolves basketball, this new arena coming next year, this new coach coming next year, and to truly grasp the opportunity they have to be great.
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