SALT LAKE CITY – Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau visited Utah during his year's coaching sabbatical a season ago, studying a Jazz franchise that's a model for his team.
At 37-24, the Jazz is fourth in the Western Conference and headed toward the playoffs for the first time since 2012. It has done so by adding veterans George Hill, Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson last summer to a youthful core built around Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.
"They've built their foundation, they've gone step-by-step," Thibodeau said. "Their young guys have really grown, and I think they've added the right veterans. So I'm not surprised by how well they've played. They've done it the right way."
The Wolves have set their foundation with young stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. Now they must add the right veterans — a defensive-minded power forward, for starters? — around this summer and going forth from there.
"Yeah, you're hoping," Thibodeau said. "That's the big thing, continued growth. Then as you move forward, you want to add the right pieces. They've gone to the next level. Hopefully, that's something we can do also."
Big men beware
Wiggins rarely expresses his emotions, except when he imposes his dunkadelics on opposing big men. That list includes Denver's Nikola Jokic, Orlando's Nikola Vucevic, Golden State's JaVale McGee as well as Utah's Rudy Gobert, whom Wiggins faced again Wednesday.
His posterizing dunk over Gobert late in Wiggins' rookie season probably remains his favorite, perhaps because the "Stifle Tower" stands 7-2.
"It's always good competing against competitors," Wiggins said. "If I see a bigger guy, I'm going to attack him. It just happens. If I get a chance to dunk over him, I try it. If I get a chance for a layup, I do that. It just comes in the flow of the game."
