J-Speaks: Timberwolves Unexpectedly Axe Their Head Coach/Team President

To say that there has been turmoil in for the professional basketball team in the “Twin Cities” dating back to last season would be an understatement. They thought that trading their disgruntled All-Star would get them back on track but they have been okay at best. Even after one of the their most complete victories of their season, the front office decided that a change was necessary and what they did next sent shockwaves across the organization and across the league. 

After their 108-86 victory versus the Los Angeles Lakers (22-19) on Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves (20-21) led by their CEO Ethan Casson and General Manager Scott Layden walked into president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau’s office and relieved him of his duties, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“We would like to thank Tom for his efforts and wish him all the best,” Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement by the team to start the week. “These decisions are never easy to make, but we felt them necessary to move our organization forward.” 

Coach Thibodeau had now idea that this decision was coming according to NBA sources. Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 28 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and two steals in the win felt that same shock saying on Monday, “No one saw it coming. It hit us all—a little curve ball. We had just celebrated a good win, so we all went home thinking the day was over. It was just beginning.” 

The team named Ryan Saunders, son of the late Flip Saunders, who coached the Timberwolves for two stints will take over on an interim basis. General Manager Scott Layden will take over the day-to-day duties in the front office of basketball operations. 

“Definitely didn’t expect to be standing. I’ll first off say how much I respect coach ‘Thibs’ and Coach Andy Greer as well as it’s tough when you spend so much time with people on the road or just in general, and you’re not going to see those people as much anymore. That’s a tough thing,” the young Saunders, who will be the youngest head coach in “The Association” said to the media on Monday. 

“I’m thankful for the opportunity though and moving forward I’m looking forward to seeing, you know progress on the court and helping to grow this team.” 

The T’Wolves to a very important first step in that progression by getting Saunders his first win when they took down the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-15) in their house 119-117 on Tuesday night behind a season-high 40 points from Andrew Wiggins, along with 10 rebounds. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns fought off foul trouble to score 20 points with nine rebounds. 

To put how good Wiggins was in this contest, he was 11 for 24 from the field and went 16 for 18 from the free throw line. 

The T’Wolves hired Coach Thibodeau before the start of the 2016-17 season following five seasons as the head man on the sidelines for the Chicago Bulls, where he compiled a 255-139 record making the playoffs each year. Coach “Thibs” finished his 2 ½ seasons with the Timberwolves with a 97-107 mark, which included a 19-21 record this season. 

“I said let’s let it go and sew how things worked and I think now, we’ve gone up through halfway through the season and I don’t think we’re where we thought we would be or where we think we should be,” Taylor said in how he came to the decision to give Coach Thibodeau the axe on Sunday, according to Christopher Hine of the Minneapolis Star. 

Taylor also said, “We still have hopes to get into the playoffs, and I think with half the season left, let’s see if this change will make a difference.” 

“I’m just looking at the results. The results are that I don’t think we should’ve lost against Phoenix or Detroit or New Orleans or Atlanta. Maybe one of those games. We just lost against a bunch of teams that we’re [better than]. Now why? I don’t think I know the exact reason, but I know it shouldn’t have happened.” 

WNBA forward of the Connecticut Sun and NBA studio analyst for ESPN Chiney Ogwumike echoed those same sentiments on Monday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump” saying that the Timberwolves made this move in search for leadership in the organization, especially in their locker room. That making this change now could be the spark necessary to get them prime for a push towards the playoffs this season. 

“So, I say why wait. Do it now. Find leadership and make a push,” she said.  

While the T’Wolves reached the postseason last spring for the first time in 13 years, they needed an overtime victory versus the Denver Nuggets at Target Center on the final night of the 2017-18 season just to get in. Their postseason appearance was a short one as they were knocked out by the No. 1 Seeded Houston Rockets in the opening round 4-1. 

Before the hiring of Thibodeau the T’Wolves had a .340 winning percentage with no playoff appearances and one season where they were above the .500 mark. In the 2 ½ seasons Thibodeau was with the organization, the winning percentage was at .475, they made the postseason and were above the .500 mark a season ago.  

Last summer’s prized acquisition in four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who played for Thibodeau in the “Windy City” missed 17 games in the second half of last season because of a knee injury that required surgery and the Timberwolves went from third in the Western Conference at the All-Star break a season ago to as mentioned barely reaching the 2018 postseason. 

After the loss in Game 5 at the Rockets which ended their season Butler did not travel with the team home to Minneapolis, MN which was not unusual.

What rose the antennas of the T’Wolves front office is when Butler turned down a reported four-year, $110 million max extension and deciding he would forgo the final year on his contract, a player option and become a free agent market in the summer of 2019, where he would be eligible for a five-year deal worth nearly $190 million. 

Things really took a turn for the worst though when Butler backed the T’Wolves’ front office into a corner with his stance that he wanted to be traded before the start of this season’s training camp. 

According to a story from Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of “The Athletic,” Butler gave the T’Wolves a list of the three teams he wanted to be traded to—The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. Butler told Coach/President Thibodeau that he wanted to be traded before reporting for the team’s media day. 

If the Timberwolves were to trade Butler, he would have been eligible to sign that max deal and if they did not trade him and he declined to re-sign with the T’Wolves he would have been limited to signing a new contract for four years at $141 million with another team. 

There were also reports that Butler had issues with the go with the flow attitudes of the T’Wolves two cornerstones in Karl-Anthony Towns, who signed a five-year, $190 million extension back in the fall and Andrew Wiggins, who signed a five-year, $148 million extension last summer. Butler, according to Krawczynski’s reporting he request to be dealt from the team “had little if anything to do” with either Towns or Wiggins and that at the center of all this was the matter of his contract. 

The T’Wolves did not trade Butler before the start of this season and not even his profanity laced tirade during a practice during camp at basically the entire organization did not sway their decision making either. 

A 4-9 start to this season, which included losing all five games on a road trip brought an awkwardness to the forefront that Thibodeau and Layden could no longer ignore. 

So, on Nov. 10, 2018 the T’Wolves traded Butler along with often injured second-year center Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers receiving in return forward Robert Covington, forward/center Dario Saric, reserve guard Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 Second-Round pick. 

“In my opinion I think this was more so about him getting a huge load. He had a huge opportunity with the ‘Big Three’ in Butler ‘KAT’ and Wiggins and nothing really transpired,” Ogwumike said of the move the T’Wolves made in dismissing Coach Thibodeau, “then you make the trade and the next thing you get Covington and Saric but it’s not necessarily like their better off or better for it.”

While Covington and Saric have fit in very well with the team, and Towns, and Wiggins have played better, the T’Wolves are just 16-12 since the trade. 

What really this showed was how difficult being both a coach and team executive can be and things just got to a point where a move needed to be made to try to save the T’Wolves season. 

While Saunders will be the head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of this season, Wojnarowski has reported that the likes of former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg who succeeded Thibodeau and was also fired back in December is on the T’Wolves radar for a front office position, though not a combine position of also being the team’s next head coach. Wojnarowski also has reported that the T’Wolves are also considering current ESPN NBA analyst and former 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups as either GM or head coach. There was also mention that former New Orleans Pelicans head coach and current Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams could also be in the mix as well. 

Hoiberg told ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe that he prefers to coach whether that be at the NBA level or the collegiate level rather than take a position in the front office, which he did before with the T’Wolves saying, “My passion is in coaching.” 

The Minnesota Timberwolves finished last season as a team in turmoil. Things got even messier during the off-season with the Jimmy Butler fiasco. It carried over to the start of training camp this season and even though they have played better since trading him, they are still below the playoff line in the rugged West. 

The T’Wolves right now as a franchise are in shambles and whether they can get things fixed this season remains to be scene. At least for this season if they plan on making it back to the playoffs, it will be up to Karl-Anthony Towns, whose averaged 28.3 points, 17.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks on 54 percent from the field since Christmas Day heading into Tuesday contest at the Thunder and Andrew Wiggins to raise their games and really earn those contracts extensions they received. 

As far as the person who leads them from the bench, we will find out if Ryan Saunders is the guy moving forward or if the team will look elsewhere for their next head coach. 

One suggestion that ESPN’s “The Undefeated” Marc Spears said on Monday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump” of bringing Garnett back into the fold. 

“Get KG back in there. Tell him to help this team out,” Spears said. “He was supposed to be part owner anyway. It’s time to make him part owner.”

No matter what happens, this team will not reach its potential until they get on the same page and figure out the direction they want to go as a franchise. 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 10/11/17 https://www.si.com story “Andrew Wiggins Signs Extension with Timberwolves, Reportedly for Five-Years, $148 Million,” by Chris Chavez; 9/20/18 www.startribune.com story, “Jimmy Butler’s Trade Request Adds Uncertainty On Several Levels for Wolves,” by Chris Hine; 9/23/18 www.espn.com story, “Sources: Karl-Anthony Towns Agrees to $190M Super-Max Deal with Wolves,” by Adrian Wojnarowski; 11/20/18 www.nba.com story, “Report: Jimmy Butler Requests Trade from Minnesota Timberwolves,” from NBA Twitter and media reports; 1/6/19 www.nba.com story from the Minnesota Timberwolves site by Timberwolves PR, “Timberwolves Relieve Tom Thibodeau of His Duties;” www.nba.com/games/20190106/LALMIN#/boxscore/recap;  1/7/19 3 p.m. edition of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump,” with Jorge Sedano, Marc J. Spears and Chiney Ogwumike; 1/7/19 www.nba.com story, “Timberwolves Fire Thibodeau,” from NBA Twitter and media reports; and 1/8/19 www.nba.com/games/20190108/MINOKC#/boxscore/recap.