Thibodeau's Future?

[slam]

The Timberwolves coaching position isn't finalized, but it does indeed look like Tibs is back.  I'd love to keep him around until Doc is ready to step down, so Tibs can then take over.

[RAcker]

I briefly got to say hello and shake hands with Thibs once and as nice as he was, I didn't get the "wow" factor from him.  He's intense in practice and on the sideline during games for sure...but I can't imagine the first Thibs post-game presser.

[BCelts]

Thibs is an idiot -- he's definitely coming back -- to the detriment of his own career.

Why is he an idiot?  The Kings were jerking him around, and it was clear that he was their third choice.  If he didn't withdraw, it's doubtful he would have gotten the job anyway.

Thibodeau is an idiot for staying with Boston. Just like he was an idiot for staying with Jeff Van Gundy all those years in NYC and Houston. He's the one who's doing all the harm to his coaching career. Nobody else.

This is the reason why he'll continue to be unlikely to receive a head coaching offer. He needs to move to a new club ... as an assistant if he can't get a head coaching gig.

Thibodeau is killing his own chances at advancement. That's why he's an idiot.

Why move to a new team?  I'm assuming that you're suggesting Thibs would be closer to a head coaching position if there was a coaching change.  However, if the team he moved to was poor enough to warrant a coaching change next season, there's also a strong possibility that Thibodeau's star would lose some luster.

The guy has a level of comfort here.  He'd leave for a better opportunity, but I don't see why he'd make a lateral move.

In addition, why move to a new team that is going to be awful?  This is a player's league.  If Thibs wants to be sucessful as a head coach, he should wait for an opportunity here or elsewhere where he can take over a reasonable team.  Red Auerbach himself could not will the current Kings roster to have a winning season.  Taking over those types of jobs are only for the truly desperate.  Thibs, as heir apparent and one of the most discussed assistant coaches, should not be desperate.

[nickagneta]

Coach Thibs hasn't had a head coaching position since 1984 and that was for one year at Salem State College. He's now into his 25th straight year as an assistant while being interviewed for head coaching positions for years and never getting one.

I think it's pretty easy to see that Thomas Thibodeau probably just doesn't have what most GMs are looking for in an NBA head coaching position. There's no shame in that. Not every NBA player is a star and not every NBA coach gets to become a head coach.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

check out the front page.

I kind of think Thibs has a semi deal in place that if doc steps down to spend time with the family at the end of this window in a year or two and he's still on the bench, then he gets the head coaching job.

I have no proof of the above, it's just a feeling.

I would love that. A defensive guru at the head coaching spot!

Then again, when Kevin O'neil coached the Raptors it was a disaster.

[paintitgreen]

I think it's very valuable for GM's to have a past relationship with first time head coaches, especially guys who are assistants. It allows them the opportunity to have seen how hard the coach works, how he relates to the players, and how good his game plan and understanding of the game is.

I think the certainty of that knowledge is better than the knowledge you gain from someone trying to impress you in an interview.

I think Tom Thibodeau would stand a much better chance at getting a Head Coaching job if there were some GM's in the league who had a first hand knowledge of his coaching abilities -- and there isn't. Despite all his years of coaching in the NBA, he does not have that. He needs to develop that.

I agree with you, but let's see some practical advice. If you're going to go so far as to brand him an "idiot" by staying here because he's not giving himself access to future GMs, I think you need to back that up with a better plan. We've seen a lot of talk that he's gone out, last year and this year, and interviewed at all the open jobs each summer. That hasn't worked. If it's because Boston doesn't give him access to enough GMs, or future GMs, then I feel you need to explain where he should go.

What team is a pipeline to future GM jobs? San Antonio has been, but a lot of their guys have already left. You mentioned Morey already as a guy coming from Boston - isn't it possible Ainge is surrounding himself with guys who are future GM material, and who believe in Thibs? The Celtics have a good front office, isn't it just as likely there are future GMs in Boston as in any other front office? If Boston doesn't have any such guys, where is that happening? Where should Thibs go to be an assistant coach that will give him access to GMs who will hire him in the future? Don't just call him an idiot for doing what he's doing, say what he should do.

[Brickowski]

I suspect that the Celtics pay him very good money, better than most other teams would.

If head coaching were the only thing on his mind, I suppose what he ought to do is get the lead assistant's job with the terrible head coach of a terrible team who is likely to be fired midseason.  Then he takes the interim job and does well.

But that is never the only thing on one's mind.  There's the money, the job security, the hassle of relocating your family and all the rest. 

[Who]

What team is a pipeline to future GM jobs? San Antonio has been, but a lot of their guys have already left. You mentioned Morey already as a guy coming from Boston - isn't it possible Ainge is surrounding himself with guys who are future GM material, and who believe in Thibs?

The Celtics have a good front office, isn't it just as likely there are future GMs in Boston as in any other front office? If Boston doesn't have any such guys, where is that happening? Where should Thibs go to be an assistant coach that will give him access to GMs who will hire him in the future? Don't just call him an idiot for doing what he's doing, say what he should do.

If the Celtics have guys who are likely to be given front office jobs in the near future, then I have no problem. I just don't think that's likely -- They've already lost a lot of their brain trust with Morey and Wallace ... and I haven't seen any of the remaining guys linked to GM jobs around the league.

Teams with assistant GMs that could be given an opportunity to run a team sometime in the near future -- Cleveland have two guys in Lance Banks and Chris Grant. Houston has one in Sam Hinkie. Indiana has David Morway. Portland has Tom Penn. San Antonio has Dennis Lindsey, but that's the one guy who Thibs may already have a relationship with because they were at Houston together, so no gain there (Thibs has either already impressed him, or he's failed to impress him). Phoenix with David Griffin. NJ with Kiki Vandeweghe -- They'd be the names that come to mind first.

I agree with you, but let's see some practical advice. If you're going to go so far as to brand him an "idiot" by staying here because he's not giving himself access to future GMs, I think you need to back that up with a better plan.

We've seen a lot of talk that he's gone out, last year and this year, and interviewed at all the open jobs each summer. That hasn't worked. If it's because Boston doesn't give him access to enough GMs, or future GMs, then I feel you need to explain where he should go.

Honestly, I think any other team outside of Boston would suffice. A new team offers him the chance to expand his reputation. Not the paper talk type of reputation, but first hand experience of seeing Thibs work.

Boston can't give the type of access I'm talking about to other teams. It's not about an interview .... It's about seeing Thibodeau on a daily basis and what he provides as a coach, and how he is around the players. For that type of information, a current GM or a future GM, has to be part of the team he's working with.

Right now, there's only one GM in this league that has been around Tom Thibodeau in the last 10 years. That's Danny Ainge. That's not enough. The more GM's that see him work, and talk positively about his abilities and what he can bring as a head coach, the better his chances of becoming a Head Coach are.

If Thibodeau is serious about becoming a head coach, that should be his goal. He has to show more GMs what he is capable of.

[paintitgreen]

Fair enough. I'm just curious as to whose names are being bandied about as future GM material. That's a lot of names. Some of the teams are not so surprising to me - San Antonio, despite the recent exodus of other young up and comers, Cleveland, Portland and New Jersey - others, like Indiana, I'm a little surprised by.

I do think you make a valid point not only in the need for a coach to build a network (it's not what you know...) but also in pointing out that it's detrimental to stay as an assistant in one spot for too long. That gives you the risk of becoming too pigeon-holed and thought of only as a defensive expert rather than head coach material (unless you've already been a head coach - i.e., Carlesimo was an assistant for a while, but had already been a head coach, so regardless, his name stayed near the forefront for coaching vacancies). For example, Dick Harter (who had one brief head coaching stint).

While Boston is a good situation for Thibodeay, particularly if there was a chance he could take over the head job in the not too distant future, there's little reason to believe (despite Doc's frequent mention of wanting to spend more time with family) that Doc would leave the Celtics in the midst of a title contention run after years of coaching also-ran teams. So, yeah, I would tend to agree that while being an assistant in Boston isn't bad for Thibs, it might not be the most helpful path toward a head coaching job. Turning around yet another team's defense - Indiana, New Jersey and Portland seem like strong possibilities in that regard - might be a better opportunity. He's already proven what he can in Boston - he can't do much more than he did last year by building the best defense in the league in one season. While I love having him here, I think you've convinced me, Who.