Minnesota Timberwolves: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Storyline 3: What’s up with Thibodeau (and all his ex-Bulls)?

The poorly built roster is all thanks to president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau. Not counting Jimmy Butler, Thibodeau has brought in three of his former Bulls players — Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose and Luol Deng — to inject a toughness and a willingness to play excessive minutes night after night.

Gibson and Deng are 33 years old and Rose is 30 years old. For a roster constructed around Jimmy Butler, one that is ready to battle (deep) into the playoffs, having those three guys makes sense. With the focus now on Towns and Wiggins, the presence of the “Timberbulls” sticks out like a sore thumb. Yes, they will help the team compete night after night, but they are not on the same timetable as Minnesota’s future.

All three of the “Timberbulls” have just one year left on their deals, essentially making them expiring contracts.

On the other hand, Derrick Rose has followed up a surprisingly strong series against the Houston Rockets last April by looking good in preseason action thus far:

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1047680305706852353

Gibson actually posted maybe the best season of his career in 2017-18 as well, putting up 12.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game along with solid defense over 82 games. Deng is routinely lauded for his professionalism and his locker room presence (who knows how much he’ll actually play). Having those three around for the start of the season isn’t a bad thing, per se.

Still, giving them prominent roles over the entire 2018-19 season may prove to be counterproductive to the Timberwolves’ long-term future.

With Tom Thibodeau’s job clearly in jeopardy this year, the fate of the Timberbulls is tied directly to how long he is in Minnesota. If Thibs is fired at any point during the year, Rose, Gibson and Deng may turn into trade or buyout candidates.

Whether Thibodeau gets fired is a storyline in and of itself, but the shockwaves that would have loom large after he made such painstaking efforts to shape the roster in his image. His 2016-19 reign in Minnesota won’t go down as the worst period in the franchise’s history if he again fails to make the playoffs (and loses his job as a result), but it certainly has been the most tumultuous.