Interview with Joe Smith: Former No. 1 pick talks Timberwolves
By Trey Flynn
Joe Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and was a huge factor for past Timberwolves’ playoff teams. We sat down and had a wide-ranging discussion about the Wolves and the NBA as a whole.
Joe Smith completed a heralded 16-year NBA career in 2011. His career included stints with 12 different franchises and gave him a unique outlook on the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise.
When you look up the word “resiliency” in the dictionary, Joe Smith’s face may pop up.
Joe Smith, was the epitome of a grind it out veteran that warranted nothing but respect in the NBA at-large. Unfortunately, being the No. 1 draft pick is a doubled-edged sword and Smith didn’t necessarily get the credit he deserved as a solid NBA contributor.
Dunking with Wolves hasn’t been alone in writing about the Timberwolves’ playoff woes for a very long time; the Wolves have missed the playoffs in each of the past 13 seasons. We felt it necessary to contact one of the last players involved in the Wolves playoff runs, and it happened to be one of their best contributors.
Let’s get into it.
Dunking With Wolves: Do you see any similarities or contrast between this upcoming playoff (hopeful) Timberwolves team and any of those four Wolves playoff teams you were apart of? Whether its the players like – Kevin Garnett, Anthony Peeler, Gary Trent, and Malik Sealy – or just the vibe in general?
Joe Smith: Yeah, I mean first of all, the chemistry of the team and how they enjoy playing with eachother; that’s the type of chemistry we had when I was playing with the Timberwolves and that’s why I always tell people that was my favorite team to play with. Obviously with great players like Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT) in the middle being able to hold down the paint and do what he does inside and out, and the additions they made in the off-season with their veteran guys, they’ve done some great things to deepen their squad, which is what our Wolves team did in the past.
DWW: I agree, especially with the Jimmy Butler addition. But what are your thoughts with the coaching aspect, aside from the players? Do you see any similarities with current head coach, Tom Thibedeux, and your ex-head coach, the late Flip Saunders?
JS: That’s where the difference comes in for me, because Flip Saunders was so offensive-minded with all of his sets and screens, there is a big difference with Thibs, due to his defensive mind and defensive oriented teams. Flip had the thickest playbook I’ve ever seen in my career – laughs – offensively we had to really study. He had plays and counters for every moment, we had to REALLY study.
DWW: I can definitely see that, Flip really knew what he was doing. What are your thoughts on Thibs being the head coach and being the president of basketball operations? It’s odd to have a coach have control of you on the court in a sense, while in the same vein, controlling your paycheck?
JS: Well I never got involved in the front office issues, my main thing was to go out there and trying to play well, helping the team be successful. But I mean coaches nowadays want more control, they want to build the type of team they feel comfortable with and coaches have different ideas with their front office about players and bump heads about things. So to have that type of power for Thibs is great because he’s been around the block and he know’s what he doing, so to have that type of power and position, I don’t see anything wrong with it.
DWW: Yeah, I totally agree, I think a lot of media and fans give Thibs a lot of flack, but it would be helpful as a player to have a guy – as you said – that’s been around the block in charge of the team as a whole, which we’ve seen Doc Rivers do in the past and players seem to thrive around guys like that.