Wolves Announce Assistant Coaches

Although most have known about the assistant coaching staff for the greater part of the last week, today the Wolves will be announcing the staff publicly. As you have probably heard, the staff looks a lot like a former NBA bruiser get together with Kurt Rambis now having Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, and Dave Wohl.

It seems David Kahn had a few prerequisites for these assistant coaching spots, including former player and head coaching experience. I see that as a great choice when it comes to having guys back up a career assistant coach in Rambis. With all of this brainpower, it seems the staff is as good as it has ever been in Minnesota, maybe even better than the Flip “My point guards shoot 18 footers all day” Saunders era. Let me break down these three guys’ pasts and explain how they will individually help the team as a whole:

Dave Wohl
I’ll be the first to admit, when I heard his name along with the other two assistants, I basically shrugged him off as a 3rd contestant in a 2 man race. However, it seems Rambis has hired him to be his #1 man on the bench. Wohl was a 6’2 point guard who was moved around frequently in his 7 year basketball playing career, playing for six different NBA teams. After his stint as a player, Wohl had a few assistant coaching stints, including his role as an assistant on Pat Riley’s “Showtime” Lakers’ squad. Soon after, he acquired a head coaching stint with the New Jersey Nets, where he would reach the playoffs, and then be swept in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks. He then had two terrible seasons at the helm, ending with a career coaching record of 65-114. Most recently, Wohl was an assistant coach and an assistant GM of the Boston Celtics. So he knows what it is like to see a losing franchise turn around quickly. Wohl will bring a higher intelligence to the staff (he was an Ivy Leaguer), and will most likely be the guy who keeps emotions at bay, being an intermediary between all the large egos on the staff, as well as on the team. Known as a man who is a “stat man”, Wohl is the perfect choice for Rambis as his right hand man, since he won’t under-mind him.

Bill Laimbeer
Most know this man as a main piece of the “Bad Boys” in Detroit. A physical center that was a 4 time all star and 2 time NBA champion, Laimbeer was known as a “thug” for his style of play. He would commit hard fouls defensively, then hit 3’s on opponents on offense. After his great playing career, he started a coaching career that has been nearly as successful. In 2002 he became the head coach of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock, where he went on to win three WNBA titles. Laimbeer wass known as a great talent evaluator and great decision maker as a WNBA coach, and hopefully that carries over to his new position on the Wolves. I could see him helping Rambis out with making critical decisions in the games as well as giving Kahn a hand in talent evaluation in upcoming drafts. Laimbeer is definitely a guy the players will look up to the moment he hits the floor, and hopefully he will teach Big Al and KLove some things offensively and defensively.

Reggie Theus
Known for his most recent stint with the Kings, Theus showed his prowess at getting the best out of his players. As a player, Theus was a high energy guy who could score in bunches. After being drafted by the Chicago Bulls, Theus was the runner up for the NBA’s rookie of the year award while averaging 16 points a game. Two years later, he earned a spot on the All Star team while scoring 20 points a game as well as dishing out 6 assists a game. After playing, Theus brought the New Mexico Lobos to the NCAA tournament before being given a chance by the Maloof brothers in Sacramento. In his two year NBA coaching career, Theus went 44-62 with some very below average players on his teams. The only notable players were Ron Artest the first year, and Kevin Martin in both years. Theus is recognized for helping many players, including K-Mart reach their potential while playing under him in the Sacramento organization as well as when he was on the Lobo’s staff. While on the Wolves’ bench, hopefully he can help our young guys (especially the guards) reach their potentials. This year I would expect him to work mostly with Jonny Flynn Wayne Ellington and Corey Brewer, but hopefully he helps the big men mature as well.

Seeing these high profile names on the bench will be a great addition to the exciting players we have on the team this year. Most likely having guys that know what they are doing will help this team reach their potential, and help us get a few more W’s before the season is over. Maybe even improve our record over last year’s while getting the young guys experience. I am very excited about this coaching staff moving forward, and I hope they are ready to put their all into this franchise like they have with their previous clubs.

Go Wolves!