Why the Timberwolves paid top dollar for Tom Thibodeau

The Minnesota Timberwolves chased their man for months before finally scooping up the hoarse-throated Tom Thibodeau on Wednesday with a dream deal.

Not only will Thibodeau earn $40 million over the next five years - a rate on par with the likes of Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers - he'll also have final say over basketball decisions, while a former San Antonio Spurs assistant handles day-to-day duties.

Another perk of the job: Thibodeau will have the chance to mold two future superstars in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.

After being booted out the door by the Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau was rewarded with as comfortable a landing as there could be in the league. And for good reason: Thibodeau has proven to be an elite coach and is the perfect candidate to head up a potential championship contender in the making.

A track record of developing talent

When the Bulls drafted Jimmy Butler with the 30th pick in 2011, they had no idea he would blossom into an elite two-way player.

Butler always had the size to sustain and the drive to dominate, but it was Thibodeau who molded his skillset. At first, it was Butler's defense that endeared him to his coach. But as the years went on, Butler was given more and more opportunities to round out his game. He steadily grew from being a spot-up shooter who stood in the corner, into a pick-and-roll operator who could dictate the game with both his shooting, driving, and passing.

In four years under Thibodeau, Butler grew from a rookie who averaged 2.6 points into an All-Star posting 20 points a game.

Butler's story isn't unique. Thibodeau's reign also saw the emergence of Derrick Rose as an MVP, Joakim Noah morphing into a Defensive Player of the Year, and Taj Gibson becoming a perpetual Sixth Man candidate.

Granted, Thibodeau didn't always cater to his prospects. They earned minutes under one condition: if they played their hearts out defense.

Whether it was as an assistant with the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and the New York Knicks, or when he took over in Chicago, Thibodeau's defenses consistently ranked among the NBA elite because he's nothing short of a defensive genius. He drills that into every one of his players.

Thibodeau will take that mindset with him as he goes to work on Minnesota's young stars. Watch for the likes of Wiggins, Towns, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, and Gorgui Dieng to take major strides in their development into two-way players.

Overblown injury concern

Thibodeau will always wear the scarlet letter of Chicago's disastrous injury history, but that's an unfair attribution. He rode his players for heavy minutes, but that wasn't the sole reason for the Bulls' wounds.

Namely, under Fred Hoiberg's watch, the Bulls have suffered more injuries this season than any year under Thibodeau. Evidently, the problem ran deeper than hard practices and extra minutes in the fourth quarter.

Look at them case by case. Rose suffered a freak knee injury. Beyond that, it was a series of knee and ankle ailments for Noah and Gibson, but they were cleared to play. Thibodeau could have eased up on their workload, but if they weren't healthy, the shouldn't have received clearance.

Judging by the reports that leaked out in the wake of Thibodeau's firing, there were warring factions in Chicago's management hierarchy. And while Thibodeau overruled minute restrictions, he was ultimately sacrificed as a scapegoat in a political war.

Timberwolves fans are right to be concerned about the injuries, but keep the big picture in mind. It's an overblown flaw.