Bulls finally end simmering dysfunction by firing Tom Thibodeau
In the battle between the Chicago Bulls and now former coach Tom Thibodeau, the leader of the free world has sided with the coach.
In a Twitter Q&A on Thursday, President Obama tweeted, "love thibs and think he did a great job. Sorry to see him go but expect he will be snatched up another team."
The only item missing from that tweet: #teamthibodeau.
The press release from the Bulls announcing Thibodeau's dismissal left tire tracks from the bus all over Thibodeau's back. That release, with statements from Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Gar Forman, should've ended #teambulls.
"The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court. These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals," Reinsdorf said in a statement.
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"While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone's ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private."
What next? Chicago will look for a new coach, and Forman said on Thursday the franchise is "going to be looking for the right fit. The right fit for our individual players, the right fit for our team, the right fit for our organization.
"We'll be looking for somebody who's a leader, who's got great communication skills, who's got excellent knowledge of the game of basketball, someone that's an open and creative learner. We're not going to address specific names today."
Forman won't name names, but Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg is a guy who is high on the list. Of the college coaches who attract NBA attention, Hoiberg, who played four seasons for the Bulls, is one of them, along with Connecticut's Kevin Ollie. Billy Donovan, the former Florida Gators coach, was another, and the Oklahoma City Thunder just hired him.
Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard recently said Hoiberg's lifelong goal is to coach in the NBA, and Hoiberg and Forman have a relationship. Forman was an assistant coach at Iowa State when Hoiberg played there, and a few years ago, Forman bought Hoiberg's Chicago-area home.
As for Thibodeau, he will get another head coaching job in the NBA. But when? Orlando is leaning toward Scott Skiles, and New Orleans has interest in Alvin Gentry and Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy's presence could make it difficult for Thibodeau to pursue that job because the two are close friends.
Since the Bulls are paying Thibodeau, he could sit out the 2015-16 season and return the following season when potentially more jobs are open.
The best part about Thursday's news is that drama between Thibodeau and Bulls management is over. The game of chicken and waiting to see who would blink first came to a conclusion before it dragged on through the NBA Finals and into the draft and free agency.
In a situation like this, there are no winners. This split has been more than months or a season in the making. The acrimony began early in Thibodeau's tenure, first over philosophical differences, whether it was the way Thibodeau conducted practice, the rigorous workouts he put players through, the minutes he played them and even his style of play.
Privately, Thibodeau bristled that management might interfere with the way he wanted to coach. But the Bulls were winning, and the two sides tried to coexist. In his first season, Thibodeau guided the Bulls to a 60-22 record in 2010-11 and was named Coach of the Year. The Bulls lost to the Miami Heat in the conference finals.
The next season (lockout-shortened), the Bulls were 50-16 and the No. 1 seed in the East. But Derrick Rose sustained his first significant knee injury in the playoffs, and the Bulls lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Rose missed the entire 2012-13 season and a majority of the 2013-14 season with another knee injury. He missed games this season with another knee injury.
Despite injuries to one of his best players, Thibodeau kept winning and leaves with the franchise's second-best winning percentage behind Phil Jackson. But he was never able to get back to the conference finals.
There is no doubt that his demanding style sometimes grated players. But it was also his job to bring the best out of a team, and Thibodeau did that.
The philosophical differences — including different thoughts on minutes restrictions for some Bulls players — led to personal differences, and the situation became untenable. A change was needed. But Thibodeau wasn't going to quit, and the Bulls are an organization that doesn't like to spend more money than necessary.
Ultimately, the Bulls did what they needed to do, putting an end to the dysfunction.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.