12.11.2008

Thibodeau a Goner?

Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau could be among the candidates to take over as head coach of the Washington Wizards next year. He may have been their head coach already if he hadn't changed his mind about accepting an assistant job under Eddie Jordan last season and joined Doc Rivers' staff in Boston instead.

The Wizards fired Jordan on Monday after a 1-10 start and hired director of player development Ed Tapscott as interim head coach. If Tapscott doesn't turn around the injury-riddled Wizards, they'll likely look elsewhere for a head coach. If Thibodeau had signed with Washington last season, the Wizards may have turned to him, not Tapscott, to replace Jordan.

Thibodeau can't complain how things turned out though. He devised the defense that propelled the Celtics to their 17th NBA championship last season and has them atop the Eastern Conference so far this year. The Celtics' title run lasted so long last spring, however, all the NBA head coaching jobs were filled so Thibodeau returned to Boston. Next spring, teams are expected to wait until the playoffs are over before passing on him.

--Worcester Telegram & Gazette

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We've been saying this, essentially, since Thibodeau arrived, and I personally have reached a level of comfort with it. His defense is responsible for the Championship, and with a lot of luck it'll get another one this year. You can't stand in the way of a great assistant's career. We're just lucky to have had him this long...