Tom Thibodeau Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Vogel, Augustin, Wade, Jefferson

November 9th, 2016 at 8:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The revamped Magic have sputtered out of the gate, but new coach Frank Vogel isn’t ready to make lineup changes, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vogel has used the same starting five in each of Orlando’s games this season, including a blowout loss to the Bulls Monday that had him considering a shakeup. But Vogel decided to be patient with the group he has in place. “I’m not a knee-jerk coach,” Vogel said before tonight’s game. “If it’s needed, we’ll see it. I wouldn’t expect it anytime soon.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic are facing the Timberwolves and new coach/executive Tom Thibodeau tonight, which brings back fond memories for reserve point guard D.J. Augustin, Robbins notes in the same piece. Thibodeau was Augustin’s coach with the Bulls in 2013/14, and was an important influence on his career. “He gave me an opportunity to play and play a lot of big minutes,” Augustin said. “He gave me confidence. And that’s exactly what he’s probably doing with those young guys over there, and you could tell by the way they’re playing.”
Bulls guard Dwyane Wade reiterated to reporters tonight that he hasn’t had any contact with team president Pat Riley since leaving the Heat in free agency, relays Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Wade, who is preparing for his first game back in Miami on Thursday, said he’s not sure if he will try to contact Riley before the contest. “I know who Pat is,” Wade said. “It’s no secret to me. I was there 13 years, I’ve seen a lot of players come and go. I know how he is. If you’re not with him, you’re against him. That’s just the way he is. You got to understand that, man. And I’m cool with it. I’m fine, 100 percent. I was there 13 years so I’ve seen a lot of video tributes, seen a lot of players come in and go out. And I’ve seen the way he’s responded to them. And I know if you’re not with him, you’re against him.”
Center Al Jefferson may be gone from the Hornets, but coach Steve Clifford told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that his 2013 signing is still helping the franchise. Clifford said Jefferson, who joined the Pacers over the summer, gave Charlotte a sense of legitimacy around the league when he came to the city. “This league, in terms of things like that, is important, how you’re perceived by the players,” Clifford said. “The players talk, and the fact that he came here has opened the door” for other signings.

Western Notes: Goodwin, Motiejunas, Thibodeau

October 25th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the toughest decisions the Suns had to make when paring down their roster was to part ways with Archie Goodwin, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic notes. “We told Archie Goodwin and his agent at the end of last season that if there wasn’t going to be an opportunity for him to play going into the last year of his deal, that we would try to help him get to a good spot,” GM Ryan McDonough said. “We explored some trade scenarios throughout the summer and into the fall. We tried to help him get elsewhere in a trade.“

“It’s tough for us, for me personally,” McDonough added. “We had him for over three years. He’s improved as a player. He got a lot stronger. His shot has improved. He’s still got some work to do with the shooting. He’s really good in the open court. He’s excellent in transition in getting to the rim. Sometimes, a fresh start for a young guy can be a good thing, especially when he’s somewhat blocked like Archie was here. He’s still so young [22] so I hope that other teams keep that in mind.”

Here’s more from out West:

There are no updates on Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas at this time, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, who tweets that the NBA’s final restricted free agent of 2016 isn’t exploring overseas opportunities for now.
After opting for continuity a year ago, Pelicans GM Dell Demps brought in plenty of new talent this offseason, including Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, and Langston Galloway. As John Reid of The Times-Picayune details, Demps is optimistic that fans in New Orleans will appreciate the “gritty” and “tough” players on the team’s roster.
With Tom Thibodeau beginning his first campaign as coach/executive with the Timberwolves, Chris Mannix of The Vertical examines the challenges ahead and the impact Thibs will have on the franchise.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Several Teams Interested In Tyus Jones

October 22nd, 2016 at 4:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

4:52pm: Philly and Minnesota are getting closer on a Jones deal, Keith Smith of Real GM tweets. Smith hears that the Wolves are looking for a big man in return.

SATURDAY, 3:08pm: The Sixers and Wolves are still involved in discussions regarding Jones, Wojnarowski tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 7:59pm: Several teams, including the Sixers and Pelicans, have expressed interest in Tyus Jones, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Wojnarowski notes that the 20-year-old’s performance in summer league improved his stock with teams interested in him as a point guard off the bench.

The Wolves are more open to moving Jones than they are to moving Ricky Rubio in the short-term, sources tell Wojnarowski. The team is reluctant to move Rubio until rookie Kris Dunn is ready to take over the starting point guard spot.

Coach/executive Tom Thibodeau wants to immediately win games and contend for a playoff berth, as evidenced by his rotation choices during the preseason. Thibs has used 33-year-old veteran John Lucas in the guard rotation rather than relying solely on the team’s young talent. Lucas is on a non-guaranteed deal and his chances of making the team likely hinge on another point guard being traded.

Jones had a ho-hum rookie season for the Wolves, averaging 4.2 points and 2.9 assists in 15.5 minutes per game. He shot 30.2% from behind the arc and sported a 11.2 player efficiency rating.

Wolves Keeping Ricky Rubio For Now

October 19th, 2016 at 7:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves are turning away trade offers for Ricky Rubio until they see how Kris Dunn performs, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reports. Coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t anticipate Dunn taking over as the starting point guard position until approximately 20 games into the season, Wojnarowski adds. Until then, Rubio will be the team’s starter and remain on the roster, barring a substantial offer.

Several teams have expressed interest in Rubio, with the Kings being the most determined to land the 25-year-old. Sacramento has been looking to acquire a young point guard to lead the team for some time. It’s not clear what the Kings are willing to offer, but the team was engaged in serious trade talks with the Thunder on a deal that would have sent Rudy Gay to Oklahoma City in exchange for Cameron Payne. Those talks broke down after Payne injured his foot last month, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Thibodeau is determined to win games and make the playoffs this season. Such thinking could factor into what transactions the franchise makes this year.

Rubio, who has three years and slightly under $43MM left on his contract, has been solid during his time in Minnesota. Yet, Dunn has a much higher upside and it’s only a matter of time before Rubio takes a backseat to the rookie, as I discussed in Minnesota’s Offseason In Review.

NBA GMs Weigh In On 2016/17 Season

October 18th, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, asking each of the league’s 30 GMs an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com details in his piece announcing the results, it comes as little surprise that NBA GMs are just as bullish on the Cavaliers‘ and Warriors‘ chances in 2016/17 as the rest of us are — those are the only two teams GMs predicted to become this season’s NBA champion, with Golden State getting 69% of the vote and Cleveland getting 31%.

While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more interesting ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…

LeBron James led the way in votes for 2016/17’s MVP award, but Karl-Anthony Towns was the clear choice for the player most GMs would want to start a franchise with today.
The Warriors were the only team to receive more than two votes for which team made the best offseason moves — Golden State was the runaway winner at 83.3%, largely due to the signing of Kevin Durant. The addition of Durant was easily voted the move most likely to make the biggest impact this season, and it was also viewed as the most surprising move of the summer, just ahead of Dwyane Wade joining the Bulls.
The Jazz‘s trade for George Hill received at least one vote for the move likely to have the biggest impact, and it was the winner for the most underrated player acquisition of the offseason.
Dejounte Murray (Spurs), Kris Dunn (Timberwolves), and Patrick McCaw (Warriors) were considered the biggest steals of the draft by GMs, who voted Milos Teodosic and Sergio Llull as the top international players not currently in the NBA.
NBA general managers view Tom Thibodeau as the new coach most likely to make an immediate positive impact on his new team, and think Chris Paul is the player most likely to become a future NBA head coach.
The rules that GMs wants to see changed or modified include the draft lottery system, the number of timeouts per game, and intentional fouling.

Wolves Notes: Thibodeau, Muhammad, Rubio

October 5th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to make too many personnel moves during his first offseason with the team, instead, he wanted a chance to evaluate Minnesota’s talent during the preseason to determine which pieces of the core were going to be in his plans moving forward, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.”

Here’s more from Minnesota:

Thibodeau named Peter Patton the team’s shooting coach in part because he was highly recommended by Chip Engelland, the legendary shooting coach of the Spurs, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune passes along. “He’s had an opportunity to work with a number of our players already. I like his background. I like that he’s worked with Chip before and that’s important to us,” Thibodeau.
Shabazz Muhammad spent his summer working defense and he believes the arrival of Thibodeau will help me become a more complete player, Youngblood writes in a seperate piece. “It’s crazy,” Muhammad said. “I already feel like I’ve gotten way smarter on defense with just the things Coach has been explaining to us. Just attention to detail, his defensive scheme. This is my fourth year and I’m getting the terms down.” The UCLA product is currently eligible for an extension.
There have been Ricky Rubio trade rumors all offseason and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com believes it’s the right time for the Wolves to sell the 25-year-old. Doolittle argues that the team should trade Rubio for some shooting on the wing if rookie Kris Dunn is ready to start at the point.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Pinckney Joins Timberwolves’ Coaching Staff

October 2nd, 2016 at 7:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have added Ed Pinckney to their coaching staff, the team announced today (Twitter link). Pinckney had served as an assistant under new Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau during his five seasons as head coach in Chicago.

Pinckney spent last season as a lead assistant to Michael Malone in Denver, but resigned from that position in July. Pinckney started his coaching career in Minnesota, serving as an assistant to Randy Wittman and Kevin McHale from 2007 to 2009.

Pinckney had been a guest at the Wolves camp this week, so his addition to Thibodeau’s staff was expected.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Abrines, Lucas, Butler

October 2nd, 2016 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenneth Faried has the inside track to remain the Nuggets’ starting power forward when the season starts, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone wanted to have a competition at that spot, but no one appears to be a serious threat to Faried. Darrell Arthur is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and will be phased in slowly. Denver sometimes uses Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at power forward, but usually just in short bursts to speed up the game. It’s possible that Malone will decide to start Jusuf Nurkic at center and slide Nikola Jokic over to the four spot, but Dempsey believes the most likely outcome is Faried starting on opening night.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets may get their own D-League team again, possibly by next season, Dempsey writes in a separate story. Denver last had a direct affiliate in 2009 with the Colorado 14ers, who moved to Texas and hooked up with the Dallas Mavericks.
Alex Abrines waited to make the leap to the Thunder until he saw an opportunity for playing time, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That chance came when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State and created a huge opening on the wing. OKC has owned Abrines’ rights since 2013, when it took him 32nd in the draft. The 23-year-old shooting guard has been playing in Spain ever since, but now he believes there’s a chance to make an impact with the Thunder. “Once KD left, I think there was a spot at the three position,” Abrines said. “Also I can play the two. I thought I had a chance to come here and grab some minutes. I don’t want to be here and just practice.”
Two veterans fighting for spots on the Timberwolves‘ roster, John Lucas III and Rasual Butler, know what to expect from coach Tom Thibodeau because they’ve played for him before, notes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. Both players are 37 and have non-guaranteed contracts, but they came into camp with a decent shot to make the team. Minnesota has 17 players in camp, including Nikola Pekovic, who will be kept on the roster but won’t play this season because of injuries. Butler played for Thibodeau in Chicago briefly in 2010/11, and Lucas and Thibodeau teamed up with both the Rockets and Bulls.

Northwest Notes: Exum, Oladipo, Wolters, Garnett

September 25th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz point guard Dante Exum proclaims himself fully healed from the ACL injury that wiped out last season, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Exum suffered the injury in August of 2015 while playing for the Australian national team and says the mental anguish was worse than the physical pain. “There were plenty of times where I wondered, why me,” Exum told The Tribune. “I wondered if I would be the guy I was before the injury. I was supposed to go home to Australia the next day, and I hadn’t been home in a year. I wondered, what’s going to happen with the Jazz? That was the pain I was going through.” With Utah’s training camp opening this week, Exum says his knee feels stronger than ever and his speed, leaping ability and explosive first step have all returned. Exum, who started 41 games during his rookie season, will ease back into the NBA in a reserve role after the Jazz made an offseason deal for George Hill.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

For several years, the Thunder have tried to surround their stars with “3-and-D” players, but Victor Oladipo tells Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that he wants to be more than that. Oladipo, who came to Oklahoma City in a draft-day trade involving Serge Ibaka, is expected to start alongside MVP candidate Russell Westbrook in the OKC backcourt, but he doesn’t see himself as just a complementary player. “I don’t just want to be a three-point shooter. I don’t just want to be a defensive stopper,” Oladipo said. “I want to be one of the best players in this league, and in order to do that, you have to affect the game on both ends and do multiple things.”
Coming off an impressive season in Turkey, Nate Wolters is hoping to work his way back into the NBA with the Nuggets, relays Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. The 38th pick in the 2013 draft, Wolters spent two seasons with the Bucks and Pelicans before heading overseas last year. He is projected as the fourth point guard on Denver’s roster, but is hoping to make an impression at training camp. “When you’re trying to make a team, there is kind of a fine line between trying to do too much and proving yourself,” Wolters said. “But still, at the same time, you want to be aggressive so they notice you a little bit. [I’ll] just try to run the team and then kind of pick my spots when I feel like I can be aggressive and try to make plays.”
Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has issued a statement honoring Kevin Garnett upon his retirement, relays The Star-Tribune. “Kevin will always be remembered for the way in which he played the game,” Thibodeau said. “His fierce competitiveness, his unequaled passion for the game and the many ways in which he cared about this team was truly special. KG is without question the all-time best player to wear a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey, and he is also one of the best ever to play this game.’’

Thibodeau Discusses Fresh Start In Minnesota

September 25th, 2016 at 9:51am CST by Arthur Hill

After a year away from the game, Tom Thibodeau is back as coach and president of basketball operations with the Timberwolves, who have one of the most intriguing collections of young talent in the NBA. Minnesota added point guard Kris Dunn through the draft this summer and improved its bench by signing free agents Jordan Hill, Cole Aldrich and Brandon Rush.

Kent Youngblood of The Star-Tribune talked with Thibodeau about his return to the game, his reputation as a defensive coach, his expectations for the young Wolves and Ricky Rubio‘s role now that Dunn is in town. Here are some highlights of the interview:

On Rubio’s role in Thibodeau’s offense:

“I think he’ll fit in very well. He’s a good player. He practices hard. He can really pass the ball. Passing and defense are two things that help build your team, brings the best out of people. I think Ricky has the ability to make other people better.”

On Rubio and Dunn as a possible starting backcourt:

“We’re going to get a lot of those questions answered in the preseason as we go forward. You want to go step by step. You don’t want to skip over things. I like guys who can play multiple positions, I like different combinations. There are times when you play two point guards together. I did that a lot in Chicago, just the speed of the game changes.”

On possible improvement from Nemanja Bjelica:

“I’m excited about him. He’s had a great summer. He’s in really good shape. He has a very unique skill set: He can shoot the three, he can put it on the floor. The one thing that is probably overlooked is his playmaking ability. You can run pick-and-roll with him. He’s got great vision, he can pass over people.”

On the additions of Aldrich and Hill:

“The way Cole played the second half of last year, I think he’s figured out who he is. The last two years have been very good for him. He fits in well, plays to his strengths, covers up his weaknesses, makes the team function well. And Jordan has been a very good player in this league. That gives us quality depth up front.”

On playoff expectations:

“I don’t want to put a lid on what we can do, but I want us doing the right things. Concentrate on that improvement and how fast we get there, I don’t know. We’re young and we’re going to improve. I think we’ll be a different team at the end of the year than what we were at the beginning of the year.”