And the Timberwolves continue to reinvent themselves

SCOTT JACOBS

Bill Laimbeer is coming back to the NBA, but his second stint in the league (this time as a coach) will not be coming with the team that made him a household name, and one of the most rugged defensive forces in the sport.

Instead, the former Notre Dame star has agreed to coach in Minnesota, under Kirk Rambis’ staff.  Apparently no stars want to go to ‘Sota, but coaching prospects are more than eager.  Laimbeer has never coached in the NBA, but his success as head coach of the WNBA’s Shock, a team he led to three WNBA titles opened eyes leaguewide, and made him a very nice looking prospect as an NBA coach.

So now he gets his shot.  Whether he gets to coach up Ricky Rubio is anyone’s guess, but there will be no buy out clause with Laimbeer. That’s because Laimbeer resigned as Shock head coach and GM back in June.  I had the chance to interview him over the phone in May, before the NCAA tournament started, and Laimbeer sounds quite content with his Shock gig.

“I don’t know,” he told me at the time, in regards to how much longer he planned on coaching.  “There is no timetable, and I enjoy what I’m doing.”  I never specifically asked him if that meant the Shock or just in general, but apparently he felt that he needed to move on from the WNBA and onto bigger things, hence his June resignation.

The T-Wolves may not be very good this year, but their coaching staff will be fun to watch.  Rambis, once considered the coach in waiting in L.A. for when Phil Jackson eventually retired decided to instead take the Wolves gig.  Reggie Theus, a bust as Kings head coach joined his staff, and with the addition of Laimbeer, well, the coaches might be more intriguing to watch than the players themselves.

But is that really a bad thing for a team coming off another poor post-KG era season, in which they finished 24-58, a tidy 30 games out of first place?

The Wolves need all the good attention they can get, and the Rubio saga hasn’t helped their image.  Nor their standing as a free agent ghost-town.

With Al Jefferson and a host of other young players including second year stud Kevin Love and rookie point guard Johnny Flynn, the Wolves appear to be heading in the right direction.  With Kevin McHale completely out of the fold, a new era of T-Wolves basketball is officially underway.

For Timberwolves fans starving for good news, its a step in the right direction.

Photo: AP

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