INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Karl-Anthony Towns Is The Big Winner In The Tom Thibodeau Hire

By Ernest Shepard
Published on: 10:07 PST, Apr 23, 2016

The Tom Thibodeau effect is quickly going to take shape with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And it will start with his young center, Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns is perhaps the biggest beneficiary to the hiring of Thibodeau.

Karl-Anthony Towns has to be a happy young man these days. While waiting for the official notification that he will be the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award, he gets a new boss. His new boss is a defensive tactician who has the knowledge that can not only help Towns improve, but the rest of the team as well. If Thibodeau and Towns can coexist, the possibilities are endless. The young center will not only continue his ascension as one of the premier young bigs in basketball, but he can have a career that rivals his T’Wolves teammate, Kevin Garnett.

Heading into the season, the prediction was that Karl-Anthony Towns would win the best rookie honors. There was the expectation that he was already a good defensive player. On offense was where he had to develop. No one saw him being a complete player on offense. He was not the best offensive player when he was at Kentucky. That distinction went to the Harrison twins, Aaron and Andrew. It was not until the NBA’s annual Summer League before everyone saw what kind of force Towns could be on offense.

Competition in the Summer League and the actual NBA is night and day. Basketball hopefuls and rookies participate in the Summer League. The best-of-the-best play in the Association. Despite Karl-Anthony Towns having success during the summer, it was dismissed as summer basketball. How he would fare against a defensive stalwart like Draymond Green or Anthony Davis would determine his readiness.

Towns’ smooth shooting touch and deft passing was present and accounted for night in and night out.

Anyone who doubted Karl-Anthony Towns before he went on to win (courtesy of NBA.com) the NBA Skills Competition during All-Star weekend, no longer doubt him. Armed with a new head coach can only further his growth as a player.

Tom Thibodeau
New Minnesota Timberwolves President and Coach Tom Thibodeau has a chance to build a roster in his image. His effect on Karl-Anthony Towns will go a long way when he puts together a competitive team. [Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]
Tom Thibodeau is in a great position, not only as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but as the team president. According to the Star Tribune, he sees, “a lot of assets” on his new team.

Since the Timberwolves are full of youth, Thibodeau can build them up and mold them to his image.

“When you look at the young guys, when you look at the cap space, when you look at the draft pick that’s coming, there’s great flexibility there. There are a lot of assets there. If you formulate a really good plan that studies and organizes everything, I think this situation is positioned great to go forward.”

Thibodeau must first identify his nucleus.

Karl-Anthony Towns is the first piece that has to be in line with want Thibodeau wants to do. The other pieces are forwards Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng, and guards Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine. That is a young starting five potentially. It is actually a better nucleus than the one Tom Thibodeau had to work with in Chicago when he coached the Chicago Bulls.

Besides Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, no other player had a large upside on the Bulls. Neither player has the upside of a Karl-Anthony Towns. With the proper coaching and development, Towns and the other four Timberwolves’ players all have a chance to be NBA All-Stars at some point.

The only problem that the Minnesota Timberwolves will face with is the fact that they play in the Western Conference. Although the teams in the West are beginning to be less competitive near the middle of the pack, the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are not going anywhere soon. The Timberwolves will have some competition in the New Orleans Pelicans for the up-and-coming team to watch out for. Coaching will make the biggest difference.

When he coached the Bulls, Tom Thibodeau was regarded as a top-five-level head coach. He had a veteran team with the Bulls, but still no players that have a semblance of the skill set of Karl-Anthony Towns.

Karl-Anthony Towns will get to learn from a great defensive coach. What teachings he will receive is help with his footwork and the understanding of certain positioning. There will be some basic fundamentals, along with some trade secrets that Towns will pick up as long as he is willing to learn. And with as much criticism as Tom Thibodeau received as the Bulls’ coach, he made Joakim Noah an advanced passer and great defender. And with that, came two NBA All-Star selections and votes as one of the MVP runner-ups. Noah does not come close to possessing Towns’ scoring ability, or natural skills. It was all about him wanting to be great.

Thankfully, all signs point to Karl-Anthony Towns becoming an incredible player. With new head coach and president Tom Thibodeau now guiding his career, the sky is the limit for Towns and the rest of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[Featured Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]

Share this article: Karl-Anthony Towns Is The Big Winner In The Tom Thibodeau Hire
More from Inquisitr