In the 1990-91 season, with 33-year-old Tom Thibodeau as an assistant to coach Bill Musselman, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished with a 29-53 record.

This season, 25 years later, the Wolves finished 29-53.

“How ’bout that — some irony,” Thibodeau told the Pioneer Press from his home in Chicago.

On Tuesday afternoon at Target Center, Thibodeau, now 58, will be introduced as the new coach of the Timberwolves.

“That’s the challenge of this league,” Thibodeau said.

“It’s a very hard league. You have to build and you need some good fortune. But there were some good years in (Minnesota), too, in between. Hopefully, we can get back to that. Hopefully, we want to be hard-playing, unselfish and we want to be smart. I know the fans will buy into that.”

Under Musselman, with Thibodeau, the Wolves played their inaugural season (1989-90) in the Metrodome and set an NBA attendance record with 1.07 million fans, including a turnout of 49,551 in their final home game of the season against the Denver Nuggets.

“What I remember about my first year at the Metrodome, I believe our last three games (attendance) was like 45,000, 47,000 and 49,000,” Thibodeau said. “So there are great fans there, and we’ve got to give them something to cheer about. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Surprisingly, the Chicago Bulls fired Thibodeau nearly a year ago after he compiled a 255-139 record with five straight playoff appearances. He was named the NBA’s coach of the year for the 2010-11 season.

Now he’ll coach the Timberwolves. Expectations?

“It doesn’t matter really where you are, whether you’re a team that’s just starting out or you’re in the middle or you’re at the top, you want to strive for daily improvement,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t want anyone wrapped up in the past and I don’t want anyone wrapped up in ‘down the road.’ I just want everyone concentrating on knowing what you’re job is, doing your job every day, putting everything you have into it.

“If we’re doing the right things each and every day, the results are going to take care of themselves.”

Thibodeau, who puts everything he has into his job, undoubtedly could have coached somewhere after the Bulls fired him a year ago, owing him $9 million over this year and next year. But he sat this season out, surprising to some for a coach as driven as Thibodeau.

“You know what, last year was a great year for me,” he said. “Everyone said, ‘You’re going to go crazy.’ I actually enjoyed it a lot because it allowed me to take a step back. It was a much broader view of everything. You don’t have a team, and you’re not worried about what you’re doing with your team, who your next game is, who the game is after that.

“It was a much broader perspective for me — it gave me a chance to not only reflect, but to recharge and learn. I had an opportunity to visit with a number of different teams, and it was great.”

Thibodeau used his sabbatical to prepare for his inevitable next coaching opportunity.

“I thought about the criteria I would be looking for in the next job,” he said.

So he traveled the NBA to become better educated about his craft, studying assorted teams to learn how they operated.

“I wanted to see how things worked within an organization with all aspects, from top to bottom,” he said.

He chose model franchises to study.

“You look at San Antonio with Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) and (general manager) R.C. (Buford), Golden State with (coach) Steve Kerr and (GM) Bob Myers, Boston with (coach) Brad (Stevens) and (president) Danny Ainge — you’re looking at those things and you’re trying to figure out, ‘what are the most important things in the next opportunity?’ ”

Then he determined his criteria for his next job.

“I didn’t know how it would go, but I wanted to have an open mind, and basically it came down to the strength of the roster, what’s the makeup, is there an opportunity to win big — not necessarily right off the bat, but to eventually get there — and then, secondly, who am I working with and who am I working for, and thirdly, was there the commitment to winning.”

The Timberwolves? Late president Flip Saunders was interested in Thibodeau coaching his team after Thibodeau was let go by Chicago.

“I had talked to Flip when he was laying out his plan of how he wanted to move this team forward, and that’s really come to fruition,” Thibodeau said. “He wanted to get some young, budding stars and create (salary) cap space while going forward. I knew that part was appealing.

“(Andrew) Wiggins, obviously, his rookie year was terrific. Then what Karl-Anthony Towns did (this season). I thought Zach (LaVine) really improved. Ricky (Rubio) looked like he was healthy. Gorgui (Dieng) was terrific. Shabazz (Muhammad) really came on as the season went along.

“So there were a lot of really good pieces. And the way everything is set up — cap space is important, having another high (draft) pick this year, there’s great flexibility to move forward.”

Still, Thibodeau said, it will be challenging.

“Because we’re going to have to improve significantly on the defensive end, and rebounding, and offensively we’ve got to get our turnovers down,” Thibodeau said. “The challenge is for guys to be as strong on both sides of the ball.”

Saunders’ son, Ryan, was a bright, young Wolves assistant this season. It’s unclear whether he’ll be asked to join Thibodeau’s staff.

“I have some (assistants) who were with me before (in Chicago), so I have to see who’s available, and I’d rather keep it open right now,” Thibodeau said. “But I certainly have a lot of respect for (Ryan) — he’s built a great reputation in the league.”

Among Thibodeau’s Bulls assistants were ex-Wolves assistant Ed Pinckney, Andy Greer, Ron Adams, Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilhelm.

Thibodeau still lives in Chicago and for a few weeks will commute from there, then move to Minneapolis permanently. He’ll be an assistant for Mike Krzyzewski and Team USA men’s basketball in the Olympics in August in Rio de Janeiro. Other Olympics assistants are Jim Boeheim and Monty Williams.

The Korn Ferry search firm that Wolves owner Glen Taylor hired to recommend a coach provided Taylor with 25 resumes that included former NBA head coaches, NBA assistants and college coaches. Thibodeau ended up on top of the pile even before Taylor interviewed him.

Also, Taylor and Flip Saunders had extensively discussed Thibodeau after he was fired by Chicago, so Taylor had that background to consider.

Thibodeau also will be president of basketball operations for the Wolves, and Taylor told Thibodeau during his interview that he was concerned about the dual roles, that he was being hired to coach and that Taylor wanted him to concentrate on coaching.

So Taylor also hired Scott Layden from the San Antonio Spurs as the Wolves’ GM. Taylor had asked Thibodeau to provide a list of GM candidates, and Layden, whom Thibodeau trusts implicitly, was on top of that list. Taylor subsequently was impressed with Layden after flying to San Antonio to interview him.

Taylor had Thibodeau and Layden discuss their potential partnership with each other before committing to Taylor, who then hired both the same day on five-year contracts.

Thibodeau’s deal is for a reported $8 million annually, Layden’s for $2 million a year. Both asked for five-year deals.

“I can afford it — I want to win,” said Taylor, who is a double billionaire and last week turned 75 years old.

Layden will have traditional GM responsibilities, but Thibodeau will have control of his roster and the final word on players.

Both Thibodeau and Layden asked Taylor if there were certain expectations with the jobs, for instance a specific number of victories. Taylor told them he expected to see constant improvement.

I didn’t have to remind Taylor that his Wolves finished 29-53 this season, but did mention that the Wolves, under other ownership 25 years ago, had finished the same 29-53 with coach Musselman and Thibodeau as an assistant.

“Now (Thibodeau) has to build upon his old record,” Taylor said with a laugh.

Taylor, by the way, the other day added two more team investors, bringing his total to 10. Interestingly, one is from China, 34-year-old John Jiang, who operates a sports marketing company there. Jiang approached Taylor through some U.S. contacts, and after visiting with Taylor, purchased 5 percent of the Wolves.

Jiang is believed to be the first investor in a NBA team from China, which has made connections with the NBA in recent years.

The other new limited partner is Meyer Orbach, a New York real estate investor who is in his 40s. Orbach bought 9.5 percent of the Wolves.

Orbach’s and Jiang’s interest in the Wolves isn’t as much about basketball as it is about business. Neither has an option to eventually succeed Taylor as majority owner, and Taylor is resolute about continuing as majority owner and for the Wolves to remain in Minnesota.

Taylor recently called Flip Saunders’ widow, Debbie, and asked her if she wanted to retain Flip’s limited partnership with the Wolves. She told him she did, and will.

Kevin Garnett, who turns 40 next month and is signed for a guaranteed $8 million next season, still hasn’t told Taylor whether he intends to play again. Garnett, who played in just 38 games and averaged 3.2 points for $8 million this season, told Taylor he would like to return because he expects the Wolves will make the playoffs, but doesn’t know how his tender knees will hold up.

How much have the Wild been affected by not having injured Zach Parise (back) against Dallas in the playoffs? “Well, take (star) Jamie Benn off the other side,” Larry Robinson said.

Robinson, the nine-time Stanley Cup winner and Hockey hall of famer, was in St. Paul evaluating the Wild and Dallas Stars on behalf of the San Jose Sharks.

Pssst: Don’t count Parise out of the playoffs depending how far the Wild get.

Those were former Gophers football players Ray Hawes, Jim Carter and Jim Brunzell meeting with Mark Dayton at the Governor’s Residence the other day to express their frustration with the University of Minnesota’s lengthy search for an athletics director. Gov. Dayton got an earful.

The Gophers men’s basketball team last week offered a tender to quick, strong incoming senior point guard McKinley Wright. So did Xavier.

Legendary hockey coach Willard Ikola from Edina makes the “Let’s Play Hockey” call at Sunday afternoon’s Wild-Dallas game.

DON’T PRINT THAT

While the NFL has primarily become a passing league, the Vikings are still trying to win with the run. So it will be interesting when the draft begins Thursday if the Vikings, who most observers feel will take a wide receiver with their No. 23 overall pick, consider running back Derrick Henry, the Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama, with their second pick, No. 54 overall.

The Vikings have eight picks in the draft. General manager Rick Spielman, who likes to have at least 10 picks, might have to move out of character and trade up to get Henry rather than trade down for more picks.

There seems little doubt that next season will be Adrian Peterson’s last as a Viking. His contract for 2017 ($18 million) at age 32 is prohibitive. If Peterson were to get injured, the Vikings currently have Jerick McKinnon as backup. McKinnon is a nice running back, but not an every-down back. And there is nothing special about the Vikings’ No. 3 back, Matt Asiata.

Unless the Vikings transition to a passing team, their ship would seem to be sunk if Peterson were to go down with injury. Henry, 6-foot-3, 244 pounds, could run between the tackles if Peterson were to get hurt. If he’s not available for the Vikings, though, it’s still a good bet that Minnesota will take another running back with a high draft pick.

With Peterson missing most of the 2014 season, the Vikings finished 7-9. With Peterson back last season, the Vikings were 11-5.

Once the draft is finished, it’s very possible that the Vikings will release offensive lineman Phil Loadholt and his $3.8 million contract.

Since the end of last season, the Vikings have lost just three players — receiver Mike Wallace, who signed with Baltimore; cornerback Josh Robinson, who went to Tampa Bay; and safety Robert Blanton, who went to Buffalo — from their roster. As mentioned, Spielman’s record has been to trade down in the draft for more picks.

But with the Vikings having lost so few players from last season, there probably wouldn’t be much opportunity for young draft picks to make the roster this year. So Spielman might have to trade up and give up picks if he figures there’s a player the team covets.

Spielman has built a solid, young defense with first-round picks Sharrif Floyd, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes. So defense isn’t a priority in the draft except for finding a linebacker to replace Chad Greenway, 33, who will play his final season.

Regarding Vikings center John Sullivan’s history of back surgeries, Ryan Kelly from Alabama has first-round talent. But there will be other good centers available after the first round.

Vikings free safety Harrison Smith, 27, by August is expected to get a contract increase from $5.3 million to about $9 million for the coming season.

One reason the Vikings might draft Will Fuller from Notre Dame instead of Laquon Treadwell from Mississippi with their top pick Thursday is that Treadwell’s 40-yard dash can be timed with a sundial.

OVERHEARD

Intense new Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, asked if he has any interests or hobbies other than basketball: “I’m very well balanced — between offense and defense. I’m a regular guy. I like to go out and have a good meal, read a good book and go to a movie. I trade rare stamps, oil paintings and listen to Mozart.”