What the Hell is Thibodeau Doing with the Timberwolves?

With the recent NBA news that Loul Deng was bought out by the Lakers and then signed by the Timberwolves, I just cannot help but wonder will happen, now that Joakim Noah is about to be released by the Knicks. I'm not the first person that has noticed that the Timberwolves team this coming season look a lot like the Bulls did in the early 2010's, when Tom Thibodeau was the head coach there. If he signs Joakim Noah, or even thinks about it, I will be all out on the Timberwolves.

Look, I have made it pretty clear that I have struggled to find an NBA team to root for since KD left the Thunder and signed with the Warriors. I eventually decided on the Suns, as I wrote awhile back, but for a moment, the team I was going to choose was going to be Minnesota. I had a history, what with Kevin Garnett being one of my all time favorite players while he was there, and I loved the young talent they had. They then let Ricky Rubio go. I know that they had to. He had run his course, and they needed to free up space for better, scoring point guards. They also traded Kevin Love, which I was also fine with because they got Andrew Wiggins and I felt like he was going to be a solid building block. Then they had the number one pick a few years back, and they took Karl AnthonTay-Towns, who I am a big, big fan of, and it just seemed like a good time to stick up for them. Even when they hired Thibodeau, which I wasn't a fan of, and then traded for Jimmy Butler, which I really liked, I was about to go fully on board with my fandom.

Then, they went out and signed Taj Gibson. I have nothing against Gibson, he seems to be a great team and locker room guy, but his best playing days are far behind him. He played his best when he was last coached by Thibodeau on the Bulls. That was about 5 years ago.

The Timberwolves then, after the Knicks dumped him, inexplicably signed Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose was once great. He won an MVP award. He had flashes where he looked like the next big star. But, he got derailed by two horrible knee injuries. He hen started to make wild claims in New York. He then disappeared for no reason while a Knick. He did the exact same thing when Cleveland signed him a year later. Derrick Rose is clearly not the athlete he once was, and there is certainly something mentally wrong with him. But Tom Thibodeau ignored all of the things we all see, and signed him anyway, and then kept him this offseason.

Now, he has decided to bring on Luol Deng. Deng is like Gibson. He was once a solid NBA bench contributor. He did things that helped the mid 2010 Bulls win games. But, he barely saw the floor last year. The Lakers did almost everything they could to get rid of him last year. His best days are clearly far, far behind him. But, Tom Thibodeau wanted to get the band back together as they say.

So, this whole meme and blog generation, and yes, that includes me, have started to call the "new look" Timberwolves, the Timberbulls. I mean, they now have Deng, Rose Gibson and Butler. Butler is the only one worth having, and he wants out. Go read some of his recent interviews, or just look at the fact that he opted to not sign a mega extension. But it doesn't seem like Thibodeau cares. And now, with Noah out there, I wouldn't be shocked if Thibs gets the itch to sign him. That would be horrible. How any of this fits, with Butler being the exception, with guys like Jeff Teague, Wiggins, KAT, is way beyond me. I feel like Thibodeau is a lesser version of Doc Rivers. He likes guys that used to be good on his teams, or against him, no matter how far past their primes they may be.

The only thing these signings, and the possibility of a Noah signing, does is push back the growth of their young stars. Wiggins hasn’t hit his stride, but he still can. Now though, he has to split time with Derrick Rose. Jeff Teague has proven himself a quality NBA point guard, but he also has to split time with Rose. KAT should be “the guy” for the Timberwolves, but Thibodeau is going to throw Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and, if he signs him, Joakim Noah out there to only stunt KAT’s growth. I wanted to like the Timberwolves. I wanted to be a fan. But, with what GM Thibs has done, I just cannot. He is signing over the hill has beens to play with budding stars. He is going to ruin the young players on this team, just so he can have some former Bulls around him.

What a waste.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is a great GM and has NBA 2K rosters to prove it. Call him up T’Wolves.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Bulls are Already Winning the NBA Offseason

The Knicks seem to be in the gift giving mood

I was going to do a greatest American band thing today, but I just got word on my phone that the Knicks and Bulls have agreed to what sounds like a pretty big trade just 2 days before the draft. The Bulls are going to ship Derrick Rose to the Knicks for Jerian Grant and Robin Lopez. I know, this sounds like it is a blockbuster trade for the Knicks. I'm sure Knicks fans know have visions of possibly being in the top four of the eastern conference next year. I'm sure the same Knicks fans are going to claim they have their own "big three" now with Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. It's all peaches and cream right now, but I do not see it that way.

I have been negative about a lot of NBA stuff recently, but I'm going to be both, positive and negative today. Let's get the negativity out of the way first. This trade would have been huge had it happened 6 years ago. Derrick Rose was coming off an MVP season, the Bulls were the top team in the east and they looked like they would be there for a long, long time. But, it's 2016. Derrick Rose has suffered multiple injuries, including two torn ACL's and has proven he is not the explosive player that he once was. He cannot go to the basket with reckless abandon anymore. And to make matters worse, he is not a very good jump shooter and he was never a very good passer. To team him up with Carmelo Anthony is going to be terrible. Anthony does not want to pass the ball either. He is coming off a few injuries. He cares more about his brand than winning basketball games. When Anthony was thinking of signing with the Bulls a few years ago, I was not a fan of that because that would have teamed him up with Derick Rose. I just don't think those two can coexist on a basketball court. Both Rose and Anthony are also on the back half, maybe back 3/4ths of their careers. Neither is as good as they were 5 or 6 years ago. They are both well into their 30's and their best playing days are long gone. Neither of these guys are in the shape that LeBron James is in. Neither can shoot the ball like Chris Paul or Dirk Nowitzki. Neither play defense like Richard Jefferson just did in the finals. And neither are as good a facilitator with the ball as Tony Parker or Andre Iguodala are. They both don't have the energy to play 65 games, let alone 82, plus some playoff games, if they make the playoffs.

Then there is the whole Porzingis thing. Yes, I think he is an okay player that could be a nightmare to guard if he develops his game a bit more, but he is incredibly young and he will not see a whole lot of touches playing alongside Rose and Anthony. He will have to rely a whole lot more on his rebounding game to get his points. It's going to be a few years before he becomes the focal point that the die hard Knicks fans want him to be.

Plus there is the rest of the Knicks roster, this is my last negative today. The roster is a joke of an NBA roster, with the exceptions being Rose, Anthony and Porzingis. They just traded away a very good center in Robin Lopez. And while Grant looked lost and maybe played a bit too fast last season, he is a slasher and he can create shots for himself, he just needs a few years. The guys they have left on that team are people like Sasha Vuvajic, Langston Galloway, Derrick Williams and Aaron Affalo. Those names don't strike fear in any opponents, except maybe the 76ers. Their starting five will be Rose, Anthony, Porzingis, Affalo and Derrick Williams, if I had to make a guess. That is a starting five that may only play 50 to 60 games together, and they'd be lucky to win 30 to 35 of those games, add on a few more victories, and the Knicks will be lucky to be a .500 team. I do not like this trade for New York one bit.

But, I LOVE this trade for the Bulls. They finally have the Derrick Rose problem off their back. The team doesn't have to cater to his ego anymore. They don't have to rely on the "hometown hero" nonsense that they've been holding onto since they drafted him. They don't need to worry about him missing games, or not going full speed when he does play games. But, and most importantly, if they keep Jimmy Butler, which I fully expect them to do now, they can finally turn the team over to him. Butler is ready, and more than able, to lead the Bulls back to being a perennial playoff team. I'm a humongous Jimmy Butler fan. The dude has a very good offensive game. He can play both inside and outside and he is a creator. The dude is an all star. He is also a ferocious defender. He gets after it on defense. If I was Jimmy Butler, I'd be ecstatic right now. Then, bringing in Robin Lopez gives them the relief of letting Pau Gasol walk in free agency. Sure, Lopez isn't the offensive player that Gasol is, but he is younger and a much better defender than Gasol has ever been in the NBA. This also makes it easier for them to try and keep Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson around. Both are exceptional defenders and rebounders that play like Bulls play. This also gives guys like Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic and E'Twaun Moore more chances to play and improve. I think this deal for the Bulls is an absolute slam dunk. I think this makes them a much, much better team. The Bulls will be a real threat in the east next year. This was a great trade that they made.

If I'm a Knicks fan, I'm bummed. But, if I'm a Bulls fan, I'm thrilled. We will have to wait until next season to see if I'm right or wrong. But mainly, I'm so thrilled for Jimmy Butler right now. His stardom is going to explode next season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What did Ty think of the NBA Finals, come on in for a listen. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty tells you how each NBA team can win the title: Bulls, Grizzlies, & Pelicans

I love watching the NBA, I especially love watching really high quality competition.

Now we are getting to the elite teams in my NBA countdown. We are officially in the top ten and every team from here on out has a legitimate shot to win the NBA title this year. They all need some breaks to go their way and health is of the utmost importance, but these teams are the cream of the crop in the NBA. On with the countdown.

Coming in at number 9 we have the Chicago Bulls. This team is the epitome of a team needing health and everything to break in their favor to win the title, but , that could happen. Let's start with the bad news about the Bulls. First, they fired Tom Thibadeau for being too tough on his players. Never mind the fact that they improved every year under him and they played some of the best team defense in all of the NBA, management felt that a hard nosed coach wasn't the right fit. So, to replace Thibadeau, they reached into the college ranks and hired former Iowa State head coach and former Chicago Bull, Fred Hoiberg to take over. I don't know if this will work, but the Bulls seem to think it will. Another bit of bad news for Chicago is all the off the court and new injury to Derrick Rose. First, he was accused of sexual assault in the offseason and I don't know if that case has been closed yet. Next, he said at the preseason meetings that he was in a contract year, and claimed that if the Bulls don't pay up, he'd think about leaving. Now, I can't think of a franchise that's been this patient with a star player, waiting for injury after injury to heal, hoping that he'd be back at full strength. They've given him all the time in the world, letting him miss seasons and multiple games during "healthy" seasons, just to get back to full strength. Now, he is out for all of the preseason and may miss opening night due to an orbital fracture. Since his MVP year, he can't stay healthy and he doesn't play like he used to. I think it's time for the Bulls to move on from Derrick Rose. This brings me to the good news, Jimmy Butler is on this team. He's the unquestioned leader of this team now, in my opinion. He's an All Star, a 20 point per game player, a lockdown defender and has a tireless work effort. Jimmy Butler is a legitimate MVP candidate. They have Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. Gasol is a great post player and fits in with what the Bulls want to do on both ends of the court perfectly. Noah, when healthy, is one of the better rebounders in the league and plays some of the best defense in all of basketball. Younger players like Doug McDermott and Tony Snell are going to get more of a chance to play with the new coaching staff. One of the knocks on Thibadeau was, he didn't like playing younger guys, well, this staff will play whoever is playing best, regardless of age. McDermott looks to be a good three point shooter, but has to work on every other aspect of his game before he's a legitimate NBA player. Snell on the other hand, he's got a quick first step, can shoot the mid range jumper, is long and lanky and plays good defense. Given more playing time, he'll continue to get better and better. Another younger player that did get critical playing time last year, Nikola Mirotic, is back and looks like a better, in shape basketball player. He's good. Aaron Brooks, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and E'Twaun Moore all come off the bench. Brooks is a good back up point guard, Taj Gibson was, at one time, one of the better low post players in basketball, and while injuries have hampered his development, he's still pretty good. Hinrich is fine off the bench, but his best days are behind him. E'Twaun Moore is an interesting piece on this team, providing instant offense, but he's very inconsistent. Bobby Portis, the rookie from Arkansas, was a good pick by them, and I see him playing a pivotal role off the bench for the Bulls this season. The Bulls will be one of the top three seeds in the East and win 52 or 53 games this year.

How the Bulls can win it all.

The Bulls win will the title is all their pieces buys into the new coaching staff's philosophy on offense and continues to play suffocating defense. They also need a healthy, focused solely on basketball Derrick Rose to compete for the title. The Bulls will be good, it's just a matter of how good and how healthy everyone can be all season long.

Coming in at number 8 is the Memphis Grizzlies. This team is good, plays old fashioned basketball and are a tough team to face in the playoffs, but they are also getting very old and may have missed their window to win a title. They gave Marc Gasol the big contract he deserved this offseason. Gasol is probably, right now, the best center in basketball. He has great low post moves, a decent jumper, he's a good rebounder and plays good defense. Gasol is great. Mike Conley is a great point guard. He shoots the ball very well, finds the open man every time, plays good defense and runs this offense perfectly. When he needs to score, he scores, when he needs to get players involved, he gets them involved, he's the best example of how a point guard should play their position. The only problem with Conley, he gets hurt at the most inopportune times. Take last year for example, the Grizzlies are cruising in the playoffs, take a game from the Warriors in Oakland and then boom, Conley basically breaks his face. The Warriors cruised after that. Jeff Green joins Conley in the back court, and while he's extremely athletic, he's also extremely inconsistent. One night he'll go for 20 and 10, the next night, he'll foul out in 12 minutes. Zach Randolph is still there and still averaging double figures in points and rebounds and still getting on other teams nerves. He's the definitive player of how Memphis wants to play basketball. He's the inventor of their motto, "Grit and Grind". Tony Allen is exactly the same type of player as Randolph, he just happens to play guard and he's not as good a scorer. Allen is a pest on defense and that's exactly what Memphis needs from him. Coming off the bench you have guys like Beno Udrih, he's fine, but not great, Vince Carter, bless his heart that he's still playing, but he's not the same player, Courtney Lee, who's a good scorer off the bench and they signed Matt Barnes. I can't stand him, but I can't think of a better place for him to play than Memphis, he'll fit in there great. The Grizzlies will be good, and win 45 to 48 games, but, as I said before, their chance to win the title probably passed. Too many other teams in the West have gotten better and a younger than Memphis.

How the Grizzlies will win it all.

The Grizzlies will win the title if they "Grit and Grind" every team to death in the playoffs, making the games very low scoring. That's how they win in the regular season, and they'll have to do that in the playoffs to win the title, that's their only chance.

My number 7 team is the New Orleans Pelicans. They have the best young player, and future best player in the NBA in Anthony Davis. He's the best all around center in the NBA. He's a fantastic rim protector and rebounder, can fly through the air for alley oops, can shoot mid range jumpers and is now working on his three point shooting. He's already unstoppable, but add in three point shooting, he'll go down as one of the greats. I love the way Anthony Davis plays. If anyone one single player can lead his team to a title, it's him, he's that good. The problem with the Pelicans is the rest of their roster. It's a good roster, but needs to be great. Guys like Jrue Holiday, Omer Asik, Tyreke Evans, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon have the potential, they just haven't lived up to it yet. Jrue Holiday is a really good point gurad, he just needs to get other players involved more often. If Asik can stay on the court, it would be impossible for most teams to score on him and Davis. Tyreke Evans has all the tools, he just needs to put it all together. Ryan Anderson is a great three point shooter, but he's not so good on defense, and he has a hard time staying healthy. And Eric Gordon was at one time, the next big thing. Now, he's a bench player, but he can still light up a scoreboard, if he's interested in focusing on the game. The Pelicans took a huge step forward last year, making the playoffs, and they'll continue to get better. Anthony Davis is one of the top three players in the NBA right now and he will single handily make this a 48 or 49 win team.

How the Pelicans will win it all.

The Pelicans will win the title is Anthony Davis goes on a Michael Jordanesque run in the playoffs and wins every game, making every critical play in every critical moment. It's a tall task, but he's that good.

There you have it, teams 9, 8 and 7. Come back tomorrow for 6, 5 and 4. We are truly getting to the elite of the NBA.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is still troubled by the time the editor had Tom Chambers go for 100 on him in a Playstation game. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.