NBA News: Minnesota Timberwolves fire Tom Thibodeau
The Coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tom Thibodeau was released of his duties on Sunday 6th January 2019.
First reported Sunday Evening EST, the Timberwolves confirmed this information through a press release. Temporary changes have been made in the structure until a new President is appointed.
Currently, Assistant Coach Ryan Sanders will take on all coaching duties, thus becoming the youngest ever head coach in the NBA at just 32 years old, and General Manager Scott Layden will take care of basketball operations.
Tom Thibodeau who was with the Chicago Bulls for a while, took over duties in Minnesota before the 2016 season began. Overall with the Timberwolves, he performed quite well finishing 19-21 this season and 97-107 overall. In statements made after he was fired he was thanked for his services, but this move was deemed necessary for the franchise to keep moving forward.
Currently, the Timberwolves seem to be taking it one game at a time and are still aiming to make it to the playoffs as they are halfway through the season with a decent score. However, Thibodeau was a driving force in bringing the Timberwolves back the playoffs after a 13-year dry spell.
The instance of Thibodeau trying to hang on to Butler seems to have backfired. The need to hold on to him while seemed unnecessary before he was gone was reinforced after the world saw how much better Robert Covington and Dario Saric have fit into the rotation.
While Thibodeau was reportedly not expecting this news at all, it is sad nonetheless as the Timberwolves have had to restart too many times and this adds on as one of those. Their potential is lost in the confusion and almost seems to be wasted.