The relationship between Tom Thibodeau and the Chicago Bulls front office is not functional, which is why Thibodeau has one foot out the door after leading the team to the postseason each year since he was hired in 2010. Despite that, one would hope the Bulls would part ways with Thibodeau in a professional manner.
That might not happen.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, there is a belief around the NBA that the Bulls could wait for other coaching vacancies to fill before firing or trading Thibodeau.
More and more you hear Thibs admirers around NBA say they fear Bulls determined to let all three open jobs get filled and then let Thibs go
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 25, 2015
Come on, really?
The Bulls have been in a holding pattern with Thibodeau in recent days, mostly because they are trying to get compensation from any team that is interested in him. The problem is everyone knows Chicago has no intention of keeping Thibs, so teams would rather wait for him to be fired than give up assets.
If the Bulls tried to screw Thibodeau in a childish manner, they’d also be taking themselves out of the running for any candidates that the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets are considering. The Magic are one team that reportedly has interest in Thibodeau, though they do not want to give up a draft pick to hire him.
Unless the Bulls are set on someone like Fred Hoiberg, who is not getting interest from other teams, it makes little sense for them to wait. Even if they do, Thibodeau still might be able to land a job with a certain team that could give its coach the boot. We’d like to think they aren’t that petty.
