Tom Thibodeau got the last laugh in his battle with the Bulls
Tom Thibodeau is one of the best coaches in an NBA that's sorely lacking great coaches, and he's about to take over the league's best up-and-coming team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have a generational talent in Karl-Anthony Towns and one of the best young wings in the game, Andrew Wiggins.
Thibodeau is going to be paid handsomely for his new gig — reportedly $10 million a year for five years — and he's going to get something resembling complete control of the roster.
This is the same coach who was, less than a year ago, fired by the Chicago Bulls with gusto and without remorse, despite having guided the team to five playoff berths in his five years.
The contract with the Timberwolves is signed and the press conference has been scheduled. It's official: in the battle of the coach versus the Bulls, Thibs won.
Thibodeau worked in Chicago. Under his tutelage, Derrick Rose turned into the league MVP, and when Rose was hit by series of injuries, he helped turn Jimmy Butler, the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, into an MVP candidate too.
The Bulls were consistently one of the toughest teams in the NBA to beat. He squeezed every ounce of juice out of his roster. Players played hard for Thibs all the time.
That didn't endear him to the Bulls' front office, who wanted players like Rose and Joakim Noah to go on minutes restrictions.
Thib's relationship with Bulls brass — specifically Gar Forman and John Paxson — deteriorated at an astounding pace over the course of the 2014-15 season and there was no question that he and the Bulls were going to part ways at the end of that year.
The Bulls ended up firing him, reportedly having security escort him off the premises while they sent out a petulant press release that had this quote form owner Jerry Reinsdorf:
"When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture."
A year later, it's clear the Bulls fired the franchise's best asset. Fred Hoiberg, Foreman and Paxson's hand-picked successor to Thibodeau, coached the Bulls to their first lottery pick since 2008 this season.
Thibodeau, an unquestioned defensive genius, will take over a Minnesota roster with two young players that could turn into two-way elites with his tutelage. Wiggins is Jimmy Butler with a higher ceiling, and Towns, with his length and athleticism, has a chance to be one of the sport's all-time great big men.
No one gets more out of their players than Thibs, and for a team full of young talent with seemingly limitless ceilings, there couldn't be a better fit.
