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Lakers Nation > Blog > NBA News > Lakers News: Luke Walton ‘Surprised’ Tom Thibodeau Was Fired By Timberwolves
NBA News

Lakers News: Luke Walton ‘Surprised’ Tom Thibodeau Was Fired By Timberwolves

Ron Gutterman
Published: 01/09/2019
3 Min Read
Lakers, Luke Walton, Tom Thibodeau
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
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The Minnesota Timberwolves surprised the NBA world on Sunday night by firing president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau. The firing itself was not surprising, as his handling of the Jimmy Butler all but sealed his fate, but the timing is what caught most off guard.

It came hours after the Timberwolves completed a 108-86 thrashing of the Los Angeles Lakers. The loss was so bad, that it caused Lakers head coach Luke Walton to openly criticize the passion of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram.

Of course, Ball and Ingram responded with great individual performances the following night a win against the Dallas Mavericks, but whenever a three-game losing streak happens with a playoff-level roster, the coach is often who critics focus on.

While the Lakers were working on moving forward, Walton expressed some shock over the Timberwolves electing to part with Thibodeau, via Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group:

Luke Walton on Tom Thibodeau’s firing: “I was a little surprised. You never want to see that happen to anyone.”

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) January 8, 2019

Besides the coaches that have already been relieved of their duties this season, Walton’s name has come up by far the most in terms of the next coach likely to be fired.

While Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson has intimated Walton is safe, there have been conflicting reports about his long-term vision of the Lakers’ coach. Earlier this season, it was reported that Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have a preference to replace Walton with a head coach of their choosing at some point.

As for Thibodeau, his time with the Timberwolves came to an end after two-plus seasons and a 98-107 record. Minnesota reached the playoffs last season but were eliminated in the first round by the Houston Rockets.

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TAGGED:Los Angeles LakersLuke WaltonTom Thibodeau
ByRon Gutterman
Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com
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