Timberwolves Notes: Thibodeau at Olympics, LaVine crossover
By Ben Beecken
Timberwolves boss Tom Thibodeau gave an interview to Sports Illustrated at the Olympics, plus Zach LaVine is crossing folks over at the Seattle ProAm.
Team U.S.A. remains undefeated at the Rio Olympics, although they’ve had a couple of single-possession victories that have been decidedly touch-and-go of late.
One of the assistants for head coach Mike Krzyzewski is Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau, and although his defense hasn’t exactly shined thus far in the Olympic tourney, he sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp to discuss a variety of topics.
Yes, there’s an obligatory “did you get your coat yet?” question in there (how could there not be?), as well as a Thibs-doesn’t-get-millennials-and-their-crazy-technology (in this case, Snapchat) bit, but it’s overall a solid read. Below are a few notable excerpts.
"SI: You almost wound up with [Jimmy Butler] on draft night. Going back and forth all with the Bulls of all people.Thibodeau: Well, we don’t speculate on trade rumors. That’s for you guys. But I’m excited about the guys we do have.SI: Do you look at Jimmy’s development on the wing as a blueprint for Wiggins and LaVine in Minnesota?Thibodeau: Every player is different. And you want them to play to their strengths, and cover up their weaknesses. But certainly the drive and the work ethic, and the way Jimmy approaches the game. All the great players are like that. Look around the gym, that’s the makeup of all the guys that are here. Not only talented, but incredible drive and intelligence. Each one of these guys comes back each year with something they’ve added to their game.…SI: You’ve been busy this summer, obviously with USA Basketball. How much time have you gotten to spend with them so far? Thibodeau: We spent a lot of time when I was there in April and May. And then July, a lot of them came out to summer league. It was a good opportunity to spend time with them there as well. And you know, we’re in communication with each other quite a bit. We’re trying to build a foundation right now.…SI: There’s been all kinds of hype about you guys coming into next season. Do you worry about guys getting ahead of themselves at all? Thibodeau: Yeah, and I think that’s a misstep you have to guard against. You don’t want to look behind. You don’t want to look ahead. You want to lock into what’s in front of you. If we’re doing the right things every day, the results are going to take care of themselves."
Not sure how much Thibodeau and his staff went over with the current roster in the spring, but it seems as though there has been pretty consistent communication — certainly a solid start.
Jamal Crawford‘s Seattle ProAm is underway once again, and once again, Zach LaVine is causing crowds (and the internet) to explode.
Yikes. A wet spot on the floor there, right? Had to have been.
At any rate, here’s hoping for some highlight dunks and a clean bill of health for the Timberwolves’ high-flyer throughout the event.
We’ll have some additional Olympics coverage throughout the week, as well as some throwback-type pieces regarding Wolves’ franchise history. After all, it is the dog days of August, right?