To understand the sequence of events that led to the departure of Tom Thibodeau and to sort out what we might expect from interim head coach Ryan Saunders, we need to look at the organization's big picture. Here are five things about the change, including some tidbits from Monday's media availability with Saunders and key players:
1 Multiple people in the organization have said Thibodeau was notoriously bad at delegating tasks to assistant coaches and seldom took a collaborative approach to problem-solving. He had an idea of how he wanted things done, and he was very much in control of the decisions.
It was interesting, then, to hear Saunders say Monday when asked what changes he wants to make, "I'm looking forward to getting more with our staff. I want to be collaborative on things." I don't interpret that as a rebuke of the way Thibodeau ran things, but it does signal a change whereby more people — including players — will have a voice in decisions.
2 Basketball-wise, the biggest critique I have of Thibodeau's time here is that young players did not improve enough. You can make the case that Karl-Anthony Towns is a more well-rounded player now than he was as a rookie before Thibodeau arrived, but his rookie and fourth-year numbers are very similar.
Andrew Wiggins? He's regressed. Gorgui Dieng is pretty much the same player he's always been, but he's been buried since the Taj Gibson signing. Tyus Jones? Thibodeau undervalued his contributions.
The Wolves improved when they added veteran players last season instead of growing organically.
It will be interesting to see if Saunders, 32, can unlock more of the potential stored in Towns and particularly Wiggins — both of whom have great personal relationships with the young coach, who has been here since both players were rookies.
3 There is little doubt that the decision was made, at least in part, with optics and business in mind — and that this move has been brewing for a while, hence the seemingly strange timing when it finally happened after a win over the Lakers.