Chicago Bulls Must Strike Deal with Tom Thibodeau in New Round of Contract Talks

The Chicago Bulls and head coach Tom Thibodeau are once again discussing a contract extension (per ESPNChicago.com), and this time around, the Bulls must ink the defensive-minded coach before the 2012-13 season is upon us.

The Bulls and Thibodeau have not met eye-to-eye as of yet, but with the success Thibodeau has had in his first two seasons with the team, the Bulls can't afford to let the contract negotiations linger on into the season—as the Bulls already have enough on their plate to deal with (mainly the injured Derrick Rose).

The resume that Thibodeau has racked up over the past two years with the Bulls is as good as any coach in the league over that span, and one could wonder what the hold up on the Bulls part is.

Thibodeau has a record of 112-36 since taking over the Bulls before the 2010-11 season and won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2011, when he led the Bulls to a 62-20 record and playoff run that ended in a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat.

The tension that could build up if a new deal isn't made before the start of the season could come from more than just Bulls brass and Thibodeau. The Bulls players themselves could also add to the tension, as the players are said to be behind Thibodeau and his push for a contract extension, according to the ESPNChicago.com report..

With the flurry of roster changes the Bulls made over the summer, the last thing they need is a rift between Thibodeau and the Bulls executives. The Bulls team will need to gel in the preseason, and a conflict over a contract extension could very easily interrupt the new-look Bulls' bonding time.

This upcoming season will be Thibodeau's biggest test in his tenure as Bulls head coach, as his coaching will be center stage with Rose expected to be out for much of the regular season.

If the Bulls front office want to salvage as much of this season as they can with Rose sidelined nursing his surgical repaired knee, the Bulls executives will get a deal done as soon as they can to avoid unnecessary issues that will hold the organization back from front office all the way to the court.