DES MOINES – Two days before Golden State and Cleveland meet in an NBA Finals matchup that was nothing if not a foregone conclusion, the Timberwolves took what they call a small step to someday making themselves a championship contender.
They did so by unveiling their new D League team in Des Moines. It's one formerly known as the Iowa Energy, but now starting Tuesday rebranded the Iowa Wolves after Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor bought it in a transaction finalized earlier this month.
Buying the franchise's very own team in the D League — soon to be the G League (named after sponsor Gatorade) this coming season — was among Tom Thibodeau list of musts when he agreed 13 months ago that he'd coach Taylor's team.
He did so by telling Taylor he is driven to coach a championship team.
"This is a big day for us, this is part of who we are," Thibodeau said Tuesday at a convention center across the street from the 17,000-seat Wells Fargo Arena where both the Wolves and Wild minor league teams now will play. "Our goal is to win a championship. In order to do that, there are a number of things we felt we had to have. This was one of the things when Glen hired me that I felt we needed. He promised he would do it and he did it."
That list of things include a state-of-the-art practice facility opened in 2015 and a $140 million renovation of Target Center that will be completed by fall. There's also a roster rich with young talent, namely blossoming stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine and a head coach signed to a $40 million contract with four years left on it.
"We want to be the championship team," said Taylor, whose team has not made the playoffs since 2004. "It takes a lot of things you have to put together."
Coming rather late to the party, the Wolves now are one of 26 NBA teams who either operate or own their own D-League team. Soon all 30 teams are expected to do so.