Tom Thibodeau was the hottest free agent coach on the market, and the Minnesota Timberwolves wasted no time in scooping him up.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports announced that the Timberwolves were finalizing a five-year deal with Thibodeau to become president of basketball of operations and head coach in one of his classic Woj bombs. Thibodeau flamed out with the Chicago Bulls because of problems with management, so it makes sense that he would take a Doc Rivers deal, with complete control over personnel decisions.

His firing in Chicago certainly had nothing to do with basketball, as his teams were in the playoffs in each of his five seasons at the helm while he led one of the best defenses in the NBA. Thibodeau’s teams were noted for their defense, routinely finishing in the top five in defensive rating, and the Timberwolves could use some help on that end.

Minnesota finished 28th in defensive rating in 2015-16, 29th in opponent’s effective field goal percentage and 23rd in defensive rebound percentage. Thibs will have an uphill battle and will likely make significant roster changes before the start of next season, but adding an elite defensive coach to the Timberwolves’ talented young core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio makes them an instant playoff contender.

Thibs helped morph Jimmy Butler into one of the league’s best defenders at just 25 years old. Towns is already on his way and Rubio is already incredible. But if Wiggins commits to Thibodeau’s help, this can be a truly special team.

Thibodeau won 62 games his first year in Chicago. Don’t count on that in Minnesota, but what you can count on is incredible progress. You can count on Thibodeau getting the most out of this Timberwolves roster and for this team to compete hard every night.