- The Spurs‘ success has made their personnel in high demand around the league, and while the team is happy for the success of its personnel, it does create more offseason work since the franchise needs to replace those it has lost, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “Like right now we have a couple of guys we have got to replace,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “[GM] R.C. [Buford] and I will think about that at the end of the season. But it does cause some disruption and work to try to get it back.” San Antonio has lost front office staffers Sean Marks to the Nets and Scott Layden to the Wolves since February, with both men being named GM of their respective teams.
- The Timberwolves have never enjoyed more reason for optimism in the franchise’s history than now, opines Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. They have hired a top-level coach in Tom Thibodeau, possess a wealth of young talent and practice in a new, state-of-the-art facility, Souhan points out. All those factors provide real hope that the team will soon be a powerhouse in the Western Conference, Souhan concludes.
N.C. State power forward Abdul Malik-Abu has a predraft workout scheduled for May 7th with the Timberwolves, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The 20-year-old is a potential second-round pick this June, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him as the No. 26 sophomore overall. Malik-Abu appeared in 33 games for the Wolfpack and averaged 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .490/.000/.630.
- The idea that the Timberwolves considered Dave Joerger for the coaching job that’s since gone to Tom Thibodeau simply wasn’t true, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Any would-be path to Minnesota for Joerger vanished when former coach/executive Flip Saunders died, Tillery writes. The Commercial Appeal scribe expects Joerger to seek an extension with the Grizzlies as he heads into next season, the last one that’s guaranteed on his existing deal.
- Layden chose to accept his post with the Wolves because of Taylor’s high level of commitment and the presence of Thibodeau, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. The executive isn’t concerned with what his title is or his level of power, but is instead focused on results, Youngblood notes. “I think if you’re looking for credit, you’re in the wrong place,” Layden said. The GM also echoed Thibs’ sentiments that decision-making would be a group process, telling reporters, “In the end, [Taylor] will probably make the decision, because it’s his money. And we’re going to try to convince him, together, why we need to spend it. … I feel good about this. We’re aligned in how we think. And that’s important.”
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, coach/executive Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden have all made it clear that the team will make its basketball decisions mostly by consensus rather than concentrating power in Thibodeau, despite his title as president of basketball operations, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “For me personally, this is about alignment,” Thibodeau said. “It’s not about power, it’s not about any of that stuff. I’ve known Scott a long time. We’ve shared our philosophies with each other. We feel strongly about certain things. He was the person I really wanted.”
- A close friendship with new GM Scott Layden, the potential of Minnesota’s roster and a belief that Glen Taylor is committed to winning are reasons Tom Thibodeau cited to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune as he spoke about his decision to become coach and president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves. Thibodeau said that having the dual coach/executive title the Wolves gave him wasn’t a make-or-break element to the deal. “It wasn’t an absolute must, but I’m glad it has worked out that way,” Thibodeau said. “I just wanted to make sure I had a voice. The person I’m with, I trust Scott. He has great integrity. He’s a great worker and he has great experience.”
Glen Taylor has brought two minority-share investors into the Timberwolves ownership group, according to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link), but the 75-year-old Taylor said today that he’s committed to remaining in charge of the team for at least the next five years, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. That aligns with the length of the contracts for new coach/executive Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden. Taylor has been in talks to sell 30% of the team to Grizzlies minority-share owner Steve Kaplan, and they were reportedly discussing a plan to have Kaplan eventually succeed Taylor as primary owner. Presumably, no such plan exists for new Wolves part-owners Meyer Orbach, a New York real estate mogul, and John Jiang, who, according to Walters, is believed to be the first NBA investor from China.
- New Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau would have accepted a coaching job without player personnel control on the Knicks, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears. However, the Knicks got the impression the opposite was true, and team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills didn’t feel they’d get along with Thibs, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Owner James Dolan was nonetheless intrigued with the former Coach of the Year, league sources told Begley. Jackson is still leaning toward removing the interim tag from the head coaching title of Kurt Rambis, Berman writes in the same piece.
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor moved quickly to get the leaders he wanted, notes Jerry Zgoda of The Star-Tribune. A week after announcing the jobs were open, Minnesota brought in Tom Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations and Scott Layden as GM. “I liked his answer to one of the first questions I asked: What are the things most important to you?” Taylor said of Thibodeau. “The first thing he said was, ‘I want to be the coach of an NBA championship team. That’s my goal in life.’” Taylor said Thibodeau will make the final decisions on some matters and Layden will do so on others, adding that the protocol is spelled out clearly.
Kevin Garnett, who still has one year and $8MM remaining on his deal with the Wolves, is waiting to see how the hiring of Tom Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations will affect his future with the franchise, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays. “I pride myself on being loyal,” Garnett told Stein. “I think I’ve proven that by coming back home to finish my career. I need to see how the next few weeks turn out to truly understand if everyone has that same loyalty. Then I will know what my future holds.” Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier this week that Garnett intends to hold off on retiring and play in 2016/17.
Talks between team owner Glen Taylor and Grizzlies part-owner Steve Kaplan about a would-be deal for 30% of the Minnesota franchise are ongoing, Stein notes. If a deal between Kaplan and Taylor is struck, it would be with the understanding that Kaplan would eventually succeed Taylor as the Wolves’ controlling owner, with the timing of that change up to Taylor, Stein adds. Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press had reported in early March that talks between the pair had “hit a wall.”