Tom Thibodeau acted as a defibrillator this season in order to bring the Minnesota Timberwolves back to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. He returned to the franchise that gave him his first shot in the NBA back in 1989-90, the team’s inaugural season, and found it blue in the lips and cold to the touch.
Last season, his first as Timberwolves coach, he tried to will the team back to life. He barked and screamed and stomped up and down the floor, seemingly burning as many calories as his starters did — and probably more than the depth players glued to the bench. But try as he might, he couldn’t resuscitate the moribund Wolves in Year 1.
In Year 2, Thibodeau got out the jumper cables. He dealt away star scorer Zach LaVine, defensive stalwart Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick, sharpshooter Lauri Markkanen, to acquire Jimmy Butler, a superstar he molded in his image during their time together in Chicago, and the No. 16 pick.
Jamal Crawford, who turned 38 in March, a boom-or-bust sixth man was secured to round out the bench. Out went Ricky Rubio; in came Jeff Teague. Taj Gibson, another former Bull, was added for defensive prowess and toughness. Combined they had played in nearly 196 playoff games.
“The big thing about both of these guys is the fact that they’ve been in a number of playoff games, big playoff games, conference finals and things like that,” Thibodeau said, speaking about Teague and Gibson on the day they were introduced. “They’re both winners.”
All three came at a price. Crawford got $4.3 million with a $4.5 million player option for next year. Teague got a three-year, $57 million deal. Gibson rang in at two years, $28 million. Only Gibson’s contract has indisputably panned out so far.
The Butler trade was widely praised at the time. Thibodeau was portrayed as a vengeful god who extorted his former team. Absolutely fleeced them. Now, writers in both cities are calling it a win-win.
Given that Butler is in the final year of his contract, likely will want a max extension that would expire after his age 35 season and had back, knee and ankle issues this season that caused him to miss 23 games and the end of a do-or-die Game 5 in Houston, the deal looks riskier than it did on draft day.
LaVine and Markkanen are wings who would have provided three-point shooting. Dunn is a great defender. Both were weaknesses for the Wolves this season and team needs in the offseason. Dunn is 24, LaVine is 23 and Markkanen is 20.
But Butler brought toughness, both physical and mental, to the court. He embodied his coach in a way few players could, and combined with Gibson and Derrick Rose — the erstwhile franchise player and MVP who arrived for the final nine games of the season — began to import the culture Thibodeau had in Chicago here in Minneapolis.
In a crude and slapdash manner, Thibodeau got the Wolves into the playoffs this year.
“It’s the next step,” Thibodeau said at his final press conference of the year when asked if this season was a success. “I mean, when you haven’t done something for 14 years, it’s a major step for our organization. And it’s not easy to do. Winning in this league is very difficult, and we should understand that.
“When you lose for 14 years, that says a lot. And to change it, it’s a massive change in your culture.”
The value of returning to the playoffs, and the effort it took, should not be disregarded. We learned that Andrew Wiggins shines in the spotlight… until he doesn’t. Mike D’Antoni and the Houston defense made Karl-Anthony Towns look mortal offensively for the first time in his career. Nemanja Bjelica was neutralized. Slowly, but surely, they’re learning what it takes to win.
Two prominent questions must be answered in the coming year: Did Thibodeau overload his starters, effectively electrocuting his team in an effort to bring them back to life? And will Towns and Wiggins, the only two players who have more leverage in the organization than Thibodeau ever fully become “Thibs guys,” buying wholeheartedly into his methods?
The first year of Wiggins’ max extension, a five-year, $146.5 million deal, will kick in next season. Towns is expected to sign a similar deal in the offseason. Thibodeau signed a five-year deal two years ago that pays him $8 million annually to be the team’s president and head coach. If things ever came to a head, team owner Glen Taylor is more likely to side with his superstar players than a coach with three years left on his deal.
By nature, Towns seeks to please and seems more likely to integrate into Thibodeau’s culture. Wiggins is less likely to adapt. He’s a laid-back player who hasn’t yet tapped into his full potential due to an inconsistent 3-point shot, occasional lapses on defense and issues at the free-throw line. He also didn’t seem thrilled with being the third — or sometimes fourth — option on offense this season.
Both players may look around the locker room and see Butler, Gibson and Rose nursing ailments and wonder if they’re a cumulative result of Thibodeau’s minutes. They may also see the ice bags as the price to pay to win in the NBA. The way they view the players who have bought into Thibodeau’s methods will go a long way in determining whether they will adhere to them in the long run.
The chief criticism of Thibodeau is that his stubbornness and win-at-all-cost mentality leads to destruction. That a win today could mean losses later in the season due to fatigue. And make no mistake, Thibodeau felt the searing glare of his detractors this season.
“I have critics?,” he asked in jest at his final press conference of the year.
“That’s part of the business. And whether it’s praise or criticism, I treat it the same. To me, you only can control what you have, what you do, and so every day I put as much as I can into it, and I’m willing to live with the results. And that’s the way that I’ve always approached it, so I’ve never concerned myself with the critics. I feel I’m gonna study the team harder than anyone else, so I’m gonna have a better understanding of the team also.”
Some of the concern was warranted, however. Thibodeau needs a bench he can trust, so he’s not playing his starters unsustainable minutes. He can’t rely on the aging stars from his Bulls days forever. He needs Towns and Wiggins to buy into his orthodoxy and play to their potential.
He needs to create a winning culture that’s sustainable in the long run and conducive to maximum output on a nightly basis so the team isn’t losing to bottom-feeders in both conferences like they did this year. Otherwise, he’ll be what Mark Jackson was to the Golden State Warriors — the guy who got them to the playoffs, but not the one who turned them into a perennial contender.
Next year he needs to be a cup of coffee, not a defibrillator.
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