Don't Go, Tom Thibodeau

Hoopdeedoo wrote:It would be a shame to lose Tibbs and then Doc a short while later. I think DA has had to have conversations with Doc about that but I could be wrong.

I don't like the distraction either. It doesn't work for anyone, fans, players, and other coaches. What ever happened to waiting until the playoffs end?

Hoop

hoop,

I think it's a combination of a couple of things.

1. I think Sam has a point. It's the management version of the fast break. Take advantage of the other team when they're not ready.

2. The draft is coming up. I don't blame a GM for wanting next year's coach to be on board come draft day so he can provide his input into the team's selection process.

bob

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5/29/10

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Tom Thibodeaux is waiting for an offer from New Orleans, but prefers Chicago.

Sounds like he's expecting to move on, which means he must know something about Doc's future.

bummer.

bob

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This on 5/31/10, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtC.w90nZYrcASQLY68z1a28vLYF?slug=ys-thibodeauhornets053010

Also, this from the Boston Herald on Doc Rivers and how Danny wants him to stay.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20100531doc_rivers_answers_call_to_duty_seasons_work_may_be_best_yet/

bob
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Update from Hoopsworld, by way of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6/2/10:


The New Orleans Hornets could have a new coach in place perhaps by the end of this week, according to sources familiar with the search.

New Orleans is negotiating with Boston Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau to fill its head-coaching vacancy and hopes to receive an answer from him before the NBA Finals commence Thursday, when Boston begins their seven-game series with the Los Angeles Lakers.


LOUSY f-in timing.

They are trying to force Thibodeau's hand here and make him make a decision before the finals. Does that mean that he no longer can be on the bench?
He is still under contract with the Celtics, right? I assume all of this interviewing stuff is being allowed because they are being good to him. Could they stop him before the playoffs are over from signing with anyone?

I heard on TV that McHale is going to be interviewed for the Chicago job. Isn't that the one that Thib's wants?

It could be that the challenge of taking on a new team and setting up the great defense he is known for is what is driving him. There are some guys who remain assistant coaches for their whole careers, and then there are others who look for a new challenge every few years. He has done everything here, now he might feel that it is time to move on.

it will be disappointing to see him take another job and then have Doc Rivers leave. He could just have moved up into the lead position right away. I guess we will have to wait until the playoffs are over to find the answers.

According to this article, Thib turned down the Hornets job but "is almost guaranteed to end up with the Bulls".

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/nets/thibodeau_nixes_hornets_MZOGoHEnHUPrjyVCUdh9lK#ixzz0pmyImx4J

bob

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This tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski, of Yahoo Sports:

Says coaching friend of Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau, "This is typical Thib. He can't make a decision about anything." Doesn't bode well.

Uh, it's boding well for us, Adrian.

bob

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This excerpt from an article by the Chicago Sun-Times:

Multiple media sources have reported that the Bulls are Thibodeau's top choice. A member of the Finals traveling party corrected that thought Wednesday night, noting: ''Tibbs' first choice is the Celtics if Doc leaves or if he is given a guarantee that he will succeed Doc after next season. Anything after that is mere conjecture by media chasing media with core facts blending into imaginative projections.''


bob

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It makes sense that he would want to be considered the top choice here in Boston. I just don't know if the Celtics would make that kind of a guarantee. Yesterday I heard that Kevin McHale said he is going to be interviewed for the Chicago job. That is interesting also, because many times the rumor has been that if Doc does decide to leave, McHale would be the successor. All conjecture as far as I can tell. Until the playoffs are over and Rivers makes his decision, I don't see anything happening. It is so obvious that Thibodeau would want to stay here and take over.

babyskyhook wrote:With the Bulls gunning for LBJ, I don't see Tom T ending up there. He's obviously incredibly talented and deserves to be a head coach, and I have no doubt he'll have a new gig in a couple of weeks. But if I'm LBJ or his advisors, there's no way I agree to go to a team that doesn't have a proven head coach. so I think for the BUlls they're looking at Thibs as a low-cost potentially high-reward candidate that they would hire if LBJ or Wade doesn't come. But that process is at least a month from playing out.

New Orleans is being smart, and is putting the screws to Thibs to give them an answer this week. That's good business. Offer him the sure thing but put a short fuse on the process to limit the competition. I'm assuming they'll make a deal b/c a bird in the hand..., and it's a good situation for Thibs to prove himself as the top guy.

I'm assuming from his name he might have Louisiana roots, as it's a Creole/ Cajun name. Am I right to assume that ?

bsh,

It is a French-Canadien name. It's roots are in Acadia, which is kind-of my area of the globe. Maine has Acadian National Park over by Bar Harbor. Cajuns are the result of the Great Upheaval, not the source. I thought that Thibs was from the greater Boston area, which makes sense.

History of Acadians:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Acadians

Evangeline, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/books/longfellow/evangeline00.html

After some of the Acadians were allowed back to Canada, they found that the best land was taken by the Brits, so many of them moved down into New England to work in the mills. Many areas still are populated by "Francophiles", as Sam refered to them in another thread.

The guy that installed a couple of my floors in my house is a Thibideau. My wife's family all have roots in Canada. I worked in an office where most of one entire department spoke French (the Canadian version) as a second language. Many of them had parents that still could not (or would not) speak English.

Those guys were funny, they said things like:

Half of you three guys, come with me...
Throw me down the stairs my shoes...
I went home to see my wife and there she was, gone...

Anyway, I hope that explains his name and it's origin.

gyso

gyso wrote:

babyskyhook wrote:With the Bulls gunning for LBJ, I don't see Tom T ending up there. He's obviously incredibly talented and deserves to be a head coach, and I have no doubt he'll have a new gig in a couple of weeks. But if I'm LBJ or his advisors, there's no way I agree to go to a team that doesn't have a proven head coach. so I think for the BUlls they're looking at Thibs as a low-cost potentially high-reward candidate that they would hire if LBJ or Wade doesn't come. But that process is at least a month from playing out.

New Orleans is being smart, and is putting the screws to Thibs to give them an answer this week. That's good business. Offer him the sure thing but put a short fuse on the process to limit the competition. I'm assuming they'll make a deal b/c a bird in the hand..., and it's a good situation for Thibs to prove himself as the top guy.

I'm assuming from his name he might have Louisiana roots, as it's a Creole/ Cajun name. Am I right to assume that ?

bsh,

It is a French-Canadien name. It's roots are in Acadia, which is kind-of my area of the globe. Maine has Acadian National Park over by Bar Harbor. Cajuns are the result of the Great Upheaval, not the source. I thought that Thibs was from the greater Boston area, which makes sense.

History of Acadians:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Acadians

Evangeline, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/books/longfellow/evangeline00.html

After some of the Acadians were allowed back to Canada, they found that the best land was taken by the Brits, so many of them moved down into New England to work in the mills. Many areas still are populated by "Francophiles", as Sam refered to them in another thread.

The guy that installed a couple of my floors in my house is a Thibideau. My wife's family all have roots in Canada. I worked in an office where most of one entire department spoke French (the Canadian version) as a second language. Many of them had parents that still could not (or would not) speak English.

Those guys were funny, they said things like:

Half of you three guys, come with me...
Throw me down the stairs my shoes...
I went home to see my wife and there she was, gone...

Anyway, I hope that explains his name and it's origin.

gyso

gyso,

They're practically "Yogi-isms".

bob

.

Bob,

My favorite is the first one,

Half of you three guys, come with me

I say it to a small (3) group of people and watch them try to figure it out.

gyso

This from today's Globe:

Four teams have approached the Celtics about interviewing Thibodeau: the Hornets, Nets, Bulls, and Clippers. Thibodeau interviewed with the first three and has an offer from the Hornets. He apparently wants to wait until the Finals are over to make a decision, but the Hornets want one soon or will offer the job to Portland assistant Monty Williams.

Thibodeau has assured the Celtics that the process will not be a distraction during the Finals, and Ainge is not bothered by Thibodeau’s popularity.

“I think he would be a good choice and I don’t know where the negotiations stand,’’ Ainge said. “I do not think it’s a distraction at all. I think the players are focused and Tibs is focused. He wants to win a championship, and it obviously gives him a lot of credibility to whatever job he goes to next year with another championship ring.’’

Ainge said Thibodeau is likely in his final days as a Celtics coach.

“I think he’s gone,’’ Ainge said. “I guess he’ll be somewhere next year because he will get his chance.