Searching for Positives If Chicago Bulls and Tom Thibodeau Part Ways
Head coach Tom Thibodeau and the Chicago Bulls are widely expected to go their separate ways this offseason. If such a divorce actually does take place, could the team benefit from his departure?
Everyone has heard the abundance of rumors pertaining to Thibodeau's ongoing feud with Bulls management over the years. Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote about this particular subject:
"The minutes issue (restrictions for Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose) drove a well-documented wedge between Thibodeau and the front office. There were playing time edicts, a mysterious yoga instructor who suddenly had a ton of say-so over playing time, the bitter firing of genius assistant Ron Adams, a contract extension that sat unsigned, and endless rumors of a cold war. Somehow, grown men who work at finding ways to put an orange sphere through a circle proved unable to have a prolonged civil dialogue over mundane basketball issues.
People close to Thibodeau are convinced the Bulls will fire him after this season, though the front office has always played down the tiff in terse public statements.
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The Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson reported that Thibodeau's relationship with the Bulls is beyond repair, and Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski stated that management "can't wait to rid itself" of the fifth-year coach.
Thibodeau has enjoyed a ton of success in the Windy City despite his reported issues with the Bulls' front office. During his debut season of 2010-11, he guided the team to the league's top record (62-20) and took home Coach of the Year honors as well.
Also that year, Chicago reached the Eastern Conference finals, although they lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games. It was the furthest the team had gotten, though, since their sixth title back in 1998.
Thibodeau has compiled a 255-139 regular-season record, which is impressive knowing that Rose missed a bunch of those games due to various injuries.
But unfortunately, Thibodeau has struggled during the postseason, posting a record of just 23-28. Bulls color commentator Stacey King spoke about this on SiriusXM NBA Radio:
"He has had great regular-season success. But he has not had the same success in the playoffs. And when you look at his record and you compare the two, what are you coaching for? Are you coaching for regular-season titles? Because the last time I checked, you’re not winning titles in the regular season. You win titles in the postseason after 82 games. And he struggles.
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The Bulls lost to James' Cleveland Cavaliers in six games during this year's Eastern Conference semifinals.
Change Can Be Good
Sometimes a coaching change can make a world of difference. Just look at the Golden State Warriors, who replaced Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr. Under Jackson last season, the team went 51-31 and were beaten by the Los Angeles Clippers during the first round of the playoffs.
Then with Kerr calling the shots this year, they racked up a league-best 67 victories and currently lead the Houston Rockets 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals. It's quite possible that Kerr's Warriors, who are led by MVP point guard Stephen Curry, will wind up hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy next month.
Perhaps a coaching change is exactly what the Bulls need. Whether it's Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg—who is widely considered the top choice to replace Thibodeau—or someone else, Chicago's next coach could choose to balance playing time.
As everyone knows, Thibodeau has a passion for giving his key players a boatload of minutes. For example, Bulls guard Jimmy Butler logged a franchise-high 60 minutes during a contest against the Orlando Magic last season. Yes, you read that correctly: 60 minutes.
That would've made sense if it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals versus the San Antonio Spurs. But it's flat-out insane to play that many minutes in a regular-season game against a rebuilding, lottery-bound squad.
Butler led the league with 38.7 minutes per game this season, and Pau Gasol ranked 14th in total minutes despite being 34 years old. When Luol Deng was with the Bulls, he led the league in minutes for two consecutive years, and Noah averaged 35 last season before needing offseason knee surgery.
With Thibdoeau gone, maybe players would get more time to rest and could possibly avoid injuries. Not running guys into the ground would certainly help the next coach form a harmonious relationship with the front office, which is never a bad thing.
The Cons
Getting rid of Thibodeau could turn out to be an excellent decision by Bulls management. Then again, it could prove to be an absolute disaster.
Thibs' reputation as a defensive guru is one of the main reasons the Bulls continue to stay relevant each and every year. This season was the only one in which the team finished worse than sixth in defensive rating since his arrival (they ranked 11th).
The Bulls just might've missed the playoffs a season ago if it wasn't for a stellar coaching job by Thibodeau. Rose sat out the majority of the campaign due to a meniscus tear, and Deng was traded for basically next to nothing.
Yet Chicago still managed to land the fourth seed in the East despite being the league's lowest-scoring team. Thibodeau got his club to play suffocating D, as opponents averaged a league-low 91.8 points per game.
Hounding defense has obviously been the team's calling card over the years. There's no guarantee, though, that the next coach would make a Thibodeau-type impact right away. If key guys like Rose, Butler and Noah miss a lot of time next season (knock on wood), not having a strong defense could mean a trip to the NBA lottery rather than another playoff appearance.
Bleacher Report's James Davis wrote about Thibodeau's knack for nurturing his players:
"Under Thibodeau’s tutelage, many of his players have ascended to levels that very few could have predicted. Joakim Noah was an MVP candidate back in 2013-14. Jimmy Butler has taken the whole league by storm with the exponential leap he has made. Don’t forget all of those reserve point guards who played well and went on to increase their earnings elsewhere.
Thibodeau is a master at getting the most out of his guys.
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That's true, especially when it comes to backup point guards. We've seen guys like Nate Robinson, D.J. Augustin and now Aaron Brooks get picked up off the scrapheap and instantly emerge as impact players in Thibodeau's system. It's unclear whether that would happen if another coach was around.
Should He Stay or Go?
Although Thibodeau has never guided the Bulls to a championship and his minute-balancing skills aren't the best, you can't deny that he's one of the league's top coaches.
However, it's best if he and the Bulls part ways. The team needs someone who can help fix the offense, which basically fell asleep during the playoffs against the Cavs. In the Game 6 loss, Chicago scored 31 first-quarter points but managed just 42 the rest of the way, including a measly 13 during the fourth.
According to Randy Sherman, owner of Radius Athletics, Hoiberg's offense seems like the perfect fit:
"For fans of free-flowing uptempo basketball (and really, who isn’t?), Fred Hoiberg’s offense is entertaining. There’s almost no “false action” in Hoiberg’s offense. In layman’s terms, his team gets right to the business of scoring. He runs a very efficient offense. Iowa State has ranked no lower than No. 11 (and as high as sixth) in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency per kenpom.com. An immediate upgrade in the watchability of the Bulls on the offensive end is imminent if Hoiberg is hired.
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Other than fixing the offense, the next coach should be someone who's willing to expand the rotation, utilize the Bulls' depth to the fullest and develop young players.
Again, Thibs is absolutely an elite coach, but it's time for a change in Chi-Town.
All stats are from Basketball-Reference.com and accurate as of May 22.
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