Timberwolves coach and personnel boss Tom Thibodeau didn't have much to smile about during last year's 31-51 season. He was grinning a lot Thursday, though, at the introductory news conference for new Wolves forward Jimmy Butler, a player whom Thibodeau coached in Chicago. After the introduction — and before Friday's trade of Ricky Rubio to Utah — Thibodeau chatted with the Star Tribune's Michael Rand:
Q You look happy. Is this the happiest you've been since you got here?
A Well, I think "happy" would be a bad term for a coach. But I'd say that we're excited about having Jimmy. Obviously, it's big for our team with the type of player he is. I think whenever you can get a top-10, top-15 player in the league, it's great for the organization.
Q The NBA offseason doesn't leave much time for a victory lap. Does this accelerate the pressure on other moves you need to make?
A You're preparing for free agency as you're preparing for the draft, so that work has been done. But you don't know for sure that you're getting a player of Jimmy's caliber, so that changes things a little bit. It also puts us in the conversation with some players who maybe we wouldn't have been in the conversation with before. We're excited about that.
Q We've heard trade rumors involving Butler for a while. How does a deal like this evolve and come together?
A As you prepare for the draft, the first thing you do is evaluate the players you think will be coming out. Then you explore the possibility of either moving up or moving back. The third part of that is: Can you get involved with an elite player? We sensed that as we were getting closer and closer to the draft, more teams were calling about the seventh pick. That told us everyone felt it would be a strong draft and it might create some opportunities for us to get an elite player [in a trade].
Q Every coach embraces work, but I feel like you might more than others. Butler places a similar value on work. How do you describe your relationship with him?
