Thibs is secretive for a reason. A really good reason

Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden Portraits

So I was on Twitter last night, and I saw this tweet:

This morning, another Timberwolves blogger echoed the same sentiment:

https://twitter.com/kyletheige/status/874304145003388928

Mr. Wolfson, a seasoned veteran, feels the same way too:

The Timberwolves blogosphere on Twitter—media, if you will. whatever the proper nouns are—doesn’t seem to be happy with Thib’s secrecy.

For me, it’s not a matter of being happy, or whatever adjective you want to ascribe to Thibs.

Here’s what I think is going on: Thibs, aware that the NBA Finals will be over soon, is carefully implementing his plans for free agency.

He’s seen the agent changes:

He knows the headlines from the media—Ricky Rubio changing agents, for example—is a message that is directed towards him.

He also knows the media could be an outlet for players to indirectly speak their minds.

But you know what else Thibs knows? The agents.

Thibs knows the agents are looking after the player’s interests.

He knows he is competing with offers from other teams to attract players to Minnesota and, to a certain degree, retain the players on his roster.

Thibs knows the agents say one thing to his face, another thing to another team, and anything they want to the media.

Thibs knows the media headlines represent a fraction of the player’s true feelings and thoughts about the Timberwolves organization.

That said, I sound like I’m an insider, right?

Wrong. I say all of this with little to no certainty. I could be 100% wrong.

(If I’m wrong on anything Thibs, please correct me)

At the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if Thibs selectively utilizes the national outlets to speak his mind through his executives.

Thibs, like the other President of Basketball Operations, has a list of free agents that he wants for next year.

But Thibs, in my mind, knows that the player prices on the market correlates with the interest—the demand, if you will—that is generated by their agents.

That said, if I’m Thibs and I see agents drumming up their players, what will I do? I will create my own headlines:

Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Jeff TeagueDerrick Rose! I will throw names out there to put pressure on agents to set realistic prices for their players on the market.

You know what else I would do? I would use these headlines to hedge the prices for the pending free agents on the roster. (Think Omri Casspi or Shabazz Muhammad)

You get it now, right? The point is Thibs knows the politics behind free agency really well. The possibilities are endless, the negotiations: careful and thoughtful.

So for the Timberwolves outlets that are feeling frustrated about the lack of Timberwolves rumors, I say this: pay attention. Pay attention to what’s going on—what is being said and what is not being said—and put yourself in Thibs’ shoes.

Thibs is secretive for a reason.

A really good reason, when you think about it.

Go Timberwolves! Get your howl on.

Follow us on Twitter @howlintwolf & @Twolvesblog.

Last but not least, check out the latest Timberwolves news:

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