After leading the Chicago Bulls to the playoffs five times over his tenure as coach, Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties on Thursday, after months of speculation. The rumors had been that Thibodeau and GM Gar Forman no longer saw eye-to-eye about a number of things within the organization, which led to the split. Yet, with a coach as successful as Thibodeau, it leaves me wondering why it was necessary to make this move.
First, Thibodeau is one of the best coaches in the NBA, and no one can really argue that. He brought a brand of tenacious defense that has helped carry Chicago to the playoffs five times, especially when they were without oft-injured G Derrick Rose. So, without a star player, Thibodeau was able to navigate through a largely LeBron-dominated Eastern Conference for the last several seasons, and stay competitive. That doesn’t sound like a guy who deserves to be fired to me.
Next, there are already potential suitors lining up for Thibodeau’s services. Most prominently, the New Orleans Pelicans are looking to match Thibodeau with young star F Anthony Davis, in hopes of building towards a championship run in the future. If Thibodeau was such a bad coach, why would a team with a bright future, like the Pelicans, be interested in him? It is because despite whatever front office power struggle was going on in Chicago, other teams know that Thibodeau is and can be successful as an NBA coach.
Ultimately, I don’t see how this move works out in the Bulls favor. The team’s current roster all backed Thibodeau, both publicly and privately, with Derrick Rose even saying that he would be upset if Thibodeau was removed as coach. So now, you have a roster full of unhappy players, and now you must bring in a new coach, who must be just as successful if not more than Thibodeau. If I’m the Bulls, my shortlist includes former Warriors’ coach Mark Jackson, former Sixers’ coach Doug Collins, and current SMU coach Larry Brown.
Jackson is the type of dynamic personality that could grip the Bulls’ locker room without too much turmoil. He also has won as recently as last year in the NBA with Golden State, so the players know that he could lead them. Collins is highly respected in NBA circles, and is known for his work with guards, so he could continue to develop G Jimmy Butler, and maybe help Rose improve on a few areas of his game as well. Finally, Brown would be the big name coach that would instantly grab the respect of any player, fan, or front office executive. While that move is a long shot, Brown has quite the list of experiences, including coaching former Sixers’ G Allen Iverson, so he knows how to handle personalities.
Despite having alternatives to Thibodeau, I still believe that he would have been the best option as coach for the Chicago Bulls for the ’15-’16 season. Now, he gets to move on and teach his defensive style of play to a new team, where I’m sure he will find success for many seasons to come.
