Zach LaVine on Tom Thibodeau: “He is really strict and he’s ready to go”

It’s one of the interesting questions heading into the NBA season: How much will the presence and drive of Tom Thibodeau push an already on-the-rise team in Minnesota? Just how good will the Timberwolves be, and how fast?

For the past few weeks, Thibodeau has been yelling at Team USA players about their defense (with varied results), but soon he will be in Minnesota ready to yell at Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and the rest of the Timberwolves.

What are LaVine’s impressions of Thibodeau? Here it is, from a Sports Illustrated interview.

“Yeah I worked out with coach a couple of times now. He is really strict and he’s ready to go, so I like that. He’s going to push you and he’s very aggressive and he tells you how it is. It’s been a long summer, so were ready to get into the season.”

Maybe more interesting, LaVine has worked out a little with first-round draft pick Kris Dunn and threw this in almost unsolicited.

“Kris Dunn is a very athletic point guard. I met him twice I think, worked out with him once. He’s a going to be a great player, we saw what he can do in Summer League, so it’s going to be fun.”

Minnesota is a team to watch the next few years — in two or three seasons it could be the biggest threat to Golden State at the top of the West.