Thibodeau’s role with Wolves: ‘It’s about alignment, not power’

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tom Thibodeau came to Minnesota for the impressive young core of talent assembled.

He came to the Timberwolves for the shiny new facilities and the chance to take over a team that has been at the bottom of the NBA and bring it back into the playoffs.

And he came to work with a close friend in Scott Layden, forming a partnership with a man he has trusted for nearly two decades after he clashed with Bulls management in a messy exit from the Chicago last spring.

“For me personally, this is about alignment,” Thibodeau said on Tuesday in a press conference that introduced him as the new Timberwolves president of basketball operations and coach. “It’s not about power. It’s not about any of that stuff. I’ve known Scott a long time. We’ve shared philosophies with each other about certain things. He was the person that I really wanted. So I’m glad we had the opportunity to get him.”

Layden comes to Minnesota after four years as an assistant general manager in San Antonio. The two got to know each other when Layden was the GM of the New York Knicks and Thibodeau was an assistant on Jeff Van Gundy’s coaching staff back in 1999.

“I was an assistant coach at the time and he talked to me all the time about what do you see, what do you think,” Thibodeau said. “Those were important questions to me.”

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor broke the bank to bring these two in to reshape a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2004. He spent more than $10 million on the pair, with the bulk of the money going to Thibodeau, widely regarded to be the best coach available …

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