Minnesota Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau was “not gonna comment on any trade speculation or any of that stuff.” Ricky Rubio practiced but did not address the media. Gorgui Dieng, who is safely locked into a four-year, $64 million deal, joked that he’s got his bags packed just in case.
The trade deadline is near, and everybody’s a bit on edge.
“Here’s the thing with the trade deadline (2:00 pm Thursday): there’s three times during the year where you have a chance to really improve your team, and usually it’s the obvious — the draft and then free agency and then the trade deadline,” said Thibodeau at practice on Wednesday. “So you gather information. … That it’s your job, to know what’s going on in the league, that’s part of your communication.
“Every team is talking to every team this time of the year, and if there’s something that makes sense that can make you better, then you take a look at it,” he continued. “If not, I’m happy with the team we have. I like the guys that we have, I like the approach that we have, but if there’s something out there that can make us better, we’ll look at it.”
Asked if he’s likely to do anything at the trade deadline, Thibodeau demurred. “No, not at this point,” he said. “You come in, you coach the guys that you have, and I like our group a lot.”
This time of year can be difficult for players
It’s a typical coach line, but Thibodeau is not a typical coach. Unlike most head coaches in the league, he’s got control over personnel, so his decisions as president Thibodeau directly affect him as coach. In essence, he’s only got himself to blame.
In order to get insight on the situation, he was asked how he plans to balance picking up the phone and talking to other general managers while also preparing to face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
“You have an unusual amount of time to prepare for an opponent, so it’s good,” he said. “And I think it’s just organizing your time. We have a great staff: our scouts, Scott, our assistant GMs, everyone’s doing their job. Everyone has a job to do, it’s a big job to be on top of everything and be talking to everybody, studying tape.
“You prepare all year round. Your international stuff you’re preparing for, the draft stuff you’re preparing for, free agency, and also knowing the league well.”
This time of year can be difficult for players. Unless they are locked into a long-term deal, like Dieng, their names are often floated in trade rumors. With the prevalence of Twitter, online newspapers and blogs, it’s hard to miss all the speculation.
“They’re pros. They’re pros,” Thibodeau said when asked how his players block it out. “You come in, we’re all pros, you come in every day and do your job. And that’s a part of building a habit of how you get ready to play, how you practice, how you prepare, and if you want, you can find an excuse every night in this league — there’s always something.
“So you block all that stuff out, just lock into what’s in front of you.”
Point guard Ricky Rubio’s name has been front and center in all of this. Thibodeau damned him with faint praise early in the season, and while he has been more complimentary of him in post-game press conferences, sources around the league have indicated that Thibodeau has been speaking to the New York Knicks about a possible Rubio-for-Derrick Rose swap.
Thibodeau wouldn’t talk details, and Rubio was not available to the media today. By tomorrow at 2:00 pm, everyone will know whether or not he stays. Until then, his fans and detractors will just have to wait.
Players back to work after break
All-Star Break usually provides must rest and recuperation for players, especially Minnesota’s stars like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Both players, along with Rubio and most of the starters, have played hefty minutes and need to be at their best down the stretch if the Wolves are going to sneak into the playoffs this year.
“It was good to get back at it,” said Thibodeau. “It was a good chance to take a break, take a look at everything that has transpired. To focus in on things we want to improve upon, and to keep our concentration. It’s on daily improvement, build the right habits, do the right things, a couple areas that we want to lock into. But nothing changes.
“I want our approach to be the same: the attitude has to be right, the concentration has to be right, and the effort has to be right.”
Thibodeau, who has been focused on the minutia throughout the season, said that he was able to step back and look at things from a broader view during the break.
“So you have your master plan at the beginning of the season, then the season unfolds and obviously there’s a lot of things that happen”
“It allows you to…step back and look at, ‘Okay, this is where we are. What are the things we want to improve upon, and where are we going, and how are we gonna get there?’,” he said.
“So you have your master plan at the beginning of the season, then the season unfolds and obviously there’s a lot of things that happen. And then the games reveal exactly where you are, so you go step by step. We know the areas that we have to improve up, so to try to develop a plan to improve in those areas, so we can get better and achieve the goals that we’ve set forth for our team.”
Thibodeau has had to go back to the old drawing board a few times this year, presumably, as Minnesota’s 22-35 record would indicate. But even with all of the shortcomings this team has had this season, they are still in the playoff hunt. Thibodeau would not talk about the playoffs, however.
“What’s in front of us?,” he asked rhetorically. “Put everything you have into it, [then] all that stuff takes care of itself.”
Stephenson’s future still in limbo
Lance Stephenson was rehabbing his left ankle across the hallway from the Wolves practice facility in the Mayo Clinic square. He is technically a free agent, and Thibodeau would not commit to signing him to another 10-day contract.
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” he said. “Obviously he’s gotta be healthy before we go forward.”
Jones is without an agent
Tyus Jones was the only player to speak to the media today. He spoke about being a player during the deadline and how he avoids the distractions that come with it.
More interestingly, however, is that his former agent, Rob Pelinka, was recently named the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. As of right now, he does not have an agent, but he didn’t seem too worried about it.
You can hear all of his comments in the video below.
