Best Move for Tom Thibodeau Is to Sit 2015-16 NBA Season Out
The irony of telling Tom Thibodeau to take a break is enough to knock you over, but sitting out a year is the best move for the hard-driving, recently deposed Chicago Bulls head coach.
The main reason is practical.
There's just nothing appealing out there for a coach of Thibs' taste and caliber.
The New Orleans Pelicans were an intriguing option, but they filled their head coaching vacancy with an easygoing, offensive-minded leader in Alvin Gentry. The allure of molding Anthony Davis and a promising roster would have been strong, but based on the makeup of the guy New Orleans picked, Thibodeau didn't fit the desired profile anyway.
The Orlando Magic inked a hard-line, no-nonsense coach in Scott Skiles, indicating that perhaps Thibodeau would have had a shot there. But Skiles' reputation is that of a coach who gets young rosters off the ground; Thibodeau is a win-now kind of guy.
It's probably best he didn't get that job either.
The only option available now is the Denver Nuggets, and that feels like a terrible fit for, well, every reason imaginable.
There's a legacy of pace in Denver, and some of the best teams in franchise history have succeeded on the strength of loosely structured, up-and-down attacks that take advantage of the fatigue-inducing altitude. Thibodeau is a controlling offensive coach who leans on structure over style.
Toss in Denver's location in the cutthroat West, a roster that lacks defensive talent and the fact that the Nuggets are nowhere near ready to compete for a title, and it's difficult to dream up a more incongruous fit for Thibodeau.
Thibs has never shied away from challenges, and he's made a career out of winning more than expected with limited rosters. But the Denver opening would be less like a challenge and more like torture.
Unless another job unexpectedly opens up, that's all there is.
The Benefits of Laying Low
Stepping away for a year should also help the less palatable aspects of Thibodeau's coaching reputation die down a bit.
As his tenure in Chicago wore on, it became increasingly clear that some of his methods weren't in step with broader NBA trends. His allocation of minutes was the most obvious example.
Despite a growing body of evidence that well-rested players perform better, Thibodeau bristled at minute limits and short practices, offering explanations like the one he gave K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune in January: "The only way you get repetition is you have to practice. … There's the school of thought that less minutes are better. There's also the school of thought that when you do less, you also become deconditioned."
The San Antonio Spurs have been giving their stars days off for years, and the Golden State Warriors won 67 games without a single player logging more than 33 minutes per contest in 2014-15.
Meanwhile, Thibodeau trotted out Jimmy Butler for an NBA-high 38.7 minutes per game. In each of the last four seasons, a Bulls player has led the league in that category.
In addition, Thibodeau's unwillingness to sacrifice defense for badly needed offense led to some curious rotation decisions. Kirk Hinrich saw 24.4 minutes per game during the regular season, despite a player efficiency rating of 6.8, per Basketball-Reference.com. And Nikola Mirotic, Chicago's only floor-spacing big man, could hardly get off the bench in the playoffs.
One need only refer to the Bulls' conference semifinal series against the Cavaliers—in which they averaged just 99.9 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com, and were done in by a handful of painful scoring droughts—to see the lack of offensive innovation that has plagued Thibodeau's teams.
Those negatives will fade from the NBA consciousness in time, and Thibodeau's many positives as a coach should come back into focus.
People and, more importantly, front offices looking to fill future coaching vacancies will remember he won 65 percent of his games with the Bulls. And they'll recognize the defensive innovation that spawned a league full of copycats and always assured Chicago was among the league's stingiest point preventers.
Executives in search of a coach will remember that Thibodeau's teams always played hard and were largely successful. They'll remember Butler, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and even Derrick Rose improved on his watch.
Hopefully, they'll forget the other stuff.
A Break Deserved
Thibs is entitled to a respite.
He is a notorious worker whose habits are the stuff of legend.
"Just about every player who has ever played for Thibodeau has a story about running into him late at night at the practice facility," ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne wrote. "We're talking 2 or 3 a.m., with nobody around but a security guard at the gym, and there's Thibs, breaking down film up in his office."
It's entirely possible that Thibodeau isn't wired in a way that permits relaxation, but a little distance from the game should at least allow for reflection.
Stepping away might give him a chance to evaluate himself in a way he never could in the thick of the fight. Maybe he'll grow a little, read up on the value of rest, notice the free-flowing offensive trends and come back a better coach.
And when he does return, the jobs will be there—much better ones, probably.
The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers could both be in the coaching market a year from now, and it's likely an even better team might be ready for someone to take it from good to great. Clubs around the league have shown an increased willingness to switch coaches after successful runs; Thibodeau's Bulls are a prime example, as are the Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and Pelicans.
Absence has a way of making front office hearts grow fonder, something we've seen play out with Thibodeau's mentor, Jeff Van Gundy, who has drawn consistent interest in the eight years since he last coached.
There's no danger of teams around the league forgetting about Thibs.
So, coach, how about taking some advice you've almost certainly never given: relax a little.
You've earned it.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @gt_hughes.
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