Even though the Chicago Bulls have been winning games at a nice clip in the Eastern Conference, trouble is still lurking within the organization, as things are about to get ugly between the front office and head coach Tom Thibodeau.
At least, according to multiple reports coming out of the NBA in the past week, they are. It has been known knowledge that the Bulls and Thibodeau haven’t always been on the same page with a few things, primarily how he handles the players’ minutes and his intense practices. However, it appears that Thibodeau’s job may in fact be on the line, according to NBA reporter Chris Sheridan.
Sheridan reported about a week ago that Thibodeau was “on the hot seat” within the organization, and now a new report has come out that says that league sources believe that the Bulls and Thibodeau will come to a mutual parting of ways after this season, and that their relationship is “beyond repair.”
As much as I would love to trust the Bulls’ upper management, I can’t help but think how much of a mistake this could be if all of the reports are true.
Ever since Thibodeau arrived in Chicago, he has had that team playing at an elite level defensively. Before he got there, the team was a .500 ball club at best ever since Michael Jordan was done playing basketball in the Windy City.
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Any contending team needs to have consistency and an identity. Thibodeau believed heavily that defense wins championships and that he had the guys in the locker room necessary to compete night in and night out. Never has Thibodeau questioned whether or not any player on the roster could step up and perform if called upon, as his teams still won games despite major injuries to key players such as Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah over the years.
The one area where Thibodeau has been a little less than average despite his handling of the players’ minutes is offensive execution, but in retrospect he hasn’t exactly had great personnel to work with in that department either. This season, Thibodeau has his most complete team yet, with a healthy Rose in addition to an emerging Jimmy Butler, a resurgent Pau Gasol, and impressive firepower off of the bench such as Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Aaron Brooks.
There may not be a deeper and more complete team in the East than the Bulls when everyone is healthy, and credit Thibodeau and the front office for being patient and not making any panic trades over the years that have disrupted real chemistry. Even though Thibodeau didn’t like the Luol Deng trade, it appears to have worked out for the best.
Every move has really been calculated through and through, something that should be respected by anyone looking to root for a model organization. The Bulls may not be the San Antonio Spurs, but they sure haven’t been out of the spotlight for too long, and a lot of that has been thanks to Thibodeau since he’s been the head coach.
In each of his years as the head coach for the Bulls, he’s had them in the playoffs, something that is considered to be an impressive accomplishment for any head coach. At the end of the day, the NBA is still the premier basketball league in the entire world, so making the playoffs is no cakewalk.
The Bulls are still going up against professionals night after night, so you can’t expect to just walk into games and get wins for showing up, no matter how poorly the other team may have been playing beforehand.
Thibodeau has given this team consistency and a defensive identity, two things that plenty of coaches have failed to establish during their times with teams in the league. He has been successful, and the players have responded to him in a positive way, playing hard each and every night looking to get wins and make a run in the postseason.
Sure, the Bulls have had their ups and downs this season, but keep in mind the number of new parts Thibodeau has had to work with. Players don’t magically establish chemistry and cohesion with one another without practicing and playing through games. The Bulls seem to be clicking now, after recently beating the Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks, three of the best teams the Western Conference has to offer.
Letting go of Thibodeau would be an absolute mistake. There is no other coach on the market that can even come close to doing the job he has done for the city of Chicago.