Chicago Bulls Will Regret Dragging Their Feet on Tom Thibodeau's Firing
When Tom Thibodeau took the podium after the Chicago Bulls’ season-ending loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 14, everybody in the room—including the coach—knew that he had coached his last game with the Bulls. Still, he made it clear where he stood in the increasingly ugly and protracted staring contest with management.
“Until they tell me I’m not,” Thibodeau told reporters, “I expect to be here.”
The divorce, while inevitable, won’t be initiated by Thibodeau. He has no reason to force things. He’s got two years and around $9 million left on his contract with the Bulls. If he resigns or agrees to some kind of “mutual decision to part ways,” he walks away from that guaranteed money.
And so, it’s on general manager Gar Forman and John Paxson, the Bulls' vice president of basketball operations, to make the call. The sooner they make the call everyone knows is coming, the sooner they’ll be able to move forward and determine the future direction of the team.
The Bulls are holding out for some kind of compensation from a team that wants to hire Thibodeau, likely in the form of a draft pick, like the one the Boston Celtics received when Doc Rivers joined the Los Angeles Clippers. But as the weeks pass and the coaching carousel spins, it’s becoming more likely they won’t be able to extract a pick for Thibodeau.
The coaching market is settling down, and demand for Thibodeau simply isn’t there.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have already hired Billy Donovan to replace Scott Brooks. The Orlando Magic have been linked to Thibodeau in the past, but recent reports have pegged Scott Skiles as the front-runner in their search. The Denver Nuggets have started their own coaching search but shown no interest in hiring Thibodeau as a long-term replacement for Brian Shaw.
That leaves the New Orleans Pelicans as the logical Thibodeau destination if he wants to coach next season. The fit is obvious, given Thibodeau’s relationship with Anthony Davis from Team USA and the organization's previous interest in him—they offered him their head coaching job in 2010 before he ultimately joined the Bulls.
But the Pelicans have already interviewed Golden State Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry, who they can have without giving up any picks and for less money than the $7 to $9 million annual salary Thibodeau is said to want. After all, why would the Pelicans (or any team) give up something of value to hire a coach they know is going to be on the market soon enough anyway?
A report from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein suggests that the Bulls are waiting to fire Thibodeau until all three of the open coaching jobs are filled.
That doesn’t accomplish much from the Bulls’ end, other than fulfilling a petty desire to make Thibodeau sit out a year. On the contrary, dragging out the inevitable hurts the Bulls. If they’re waiting for all of the coaching openings to be filled, they may be waiting a while.
If Gentry is New Orleans’ pick, he wouldn’t be able to take the Pelicans job until the Warriors’ season is over, and with Golden State one win away from reaching the Finals, that could be another month. The same goes for Jeff Van Gundy, who has reportedly shown interest in the job but is currently committed to calling the Finals for ESPN.
Not firing Thibodeau also means the Bulls risk losing out on Gentry, who Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported would be a strong candidate for the job. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg is the Bulls’ first choice, but there’s question as to whether the timing is right for him to jump to the NBA, especially given his heart condition. (He had surgery in April and has been dealing with heart problems for several years.)
If the Bulls wait, it’s more likely that Gentry takes the Pelicans job. And if Hoiberg decides he isn’t physically up to the grind of an NBA coaching schedule, Paxson and Forman are back to square one. All in the name of making Thibodeau twist in the wind before handing down a fate everybody has seen coming for months.
Ideally, the Bulls would like to have a new coach in place by the night of the NBA draft, and certainly by the start of free agency on July 1. That way, they can target players who fit that coach’s style and personality.
The front office’s feud with Thibodeau has already played out in public, which isn’t a great look for the organization. But if there’s still a question as to who will be coaching in July, that could make the Bulls a tough sell to potential free agents.
Forcing Thibodeau to wait a year to get another job would also be detrimental to the financial interests of notoriously frugal Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
As CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger pointed out recently, most NBA coaching contracts have a dollar-for-dollar offset clause, which means that if another team hires Thibodeau for a salary at least equal to the $4.5 million the Bulls owe him, the Bulls are off the hook for that money.
And given Thibodeau’s reputation and the direction NBA coaching salaries have gone over the past few years, it’s a lock that his next contract would be for at least that amount. The Pelicans would take a much harder look at Thibodeau if getting him didn’t involve giving up a pick, and another team that hasn’t yet entered the coaching search could decide to make a change if he’s suddenly available.
Making Thibodeau sit out a season isn’t the worst proposition in the world for him, either. He’s getting his money regardless, and he’ll have his pick of the jobs that are potentially opening up next season, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets.
That’s why he’s refusing to step down now, even though everybody knows he’s never going to coach another game in Chicago. There’s zero upside for him in walking away when he can force the Bulls’ hands in firing him, keep the money owed to him and immediately become the most in-demand coach on the open market.
In other words, whatever leverage the Bulls once had to get something for Thibodeau is gone. If the relationship is over in their eyes, it would be best for everybody involved for Paxson and Forman to stop delaying the inevitable and start thinking about the next steps. This black cloud of uncertainty has been hanging over the organization for too long. It’s in their hands to make it go away.
Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @highkin.
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