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It is no secret that the Chicago Bulls no longer want Tom Thibodeau as their head coach, so preventing him from going elsewhere would be bush league.
Throughout the 2014-15 NBA season, reports surfaced that due to a strained relationship between both parties, the Bulls were likely to part ways with Thibodeau after the season no matter how far he took the team in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Well, after losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bulls’ season is now officially over, yet Thibodeau still remains the team’s head coach.
Over the past few months, many candidates have been linked to the Bulls as future replacements for Thibodeau, including former Bulls player and current Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg and head coaching veteran Mike D’Antoni – who the Bulls were interested in five years ago before they hired Thibodeau.
While the Bulls may have interest in these two candidates, it appears as though outside of the Denver Nuggets – who have been linked to D’Antoni – no other NBA team is interested in either Hoiberg or D’Antoni. This means that the Bulls do not have to be in any hurry to part ways with their current head coach who still has two years remaining on his current contract. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Bulls may actually hold onto Thibodeau for as long as they can in order to control his market.
More and more you hear Thibs admirers around NBA say they fear Bulls determined to let all three open jobs get filled and then let Thibs go
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 25, 2015
By holding onto him, the Bulls can accomplish one of two things. They can either prevent him from accepting one of the three current head coaching vacancies — the Orlando Magic, Nuggets or New Orleans Pelicans — or they can force another franchise — possibly the Los Angeles Lakers — to trade for him similar to how the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Doc Rivers from the Boston Celtics two years ago. However, if the Bulls do decide to go this route their reputation would surely take a hit, as the decision would be viewed as ridiculous and extremely petty.
Everyone knows that Thibodeau would likely have immediate success with any of the three teams that are currently looking for a new head coach – especially with the Magic and Pelicans. In Orlando, Thibodeau would remain in a struggling Eastern Conference and inherit a well-constructed young core of players. In New Orleans, he would be in charge of the league’s next superstar in Anthony Davis and a team that made it to the playoffs this past season.
With a strained relationship at the center of this issue, holding onto him until the other three head coaching vacancies are filled could be the Bulls’ one last parting shot for Thibodeau. Yes, they are in no way required to let him out of his contract today, but purposely denying the man who brought your franchise back from the dead a chance to work again is nothing short of bush league.
Greg Sacidor is a Feature Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.
