http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/stor...o-bulls-fire-tom-thibodeau-coach-five-seasons Tom Thibodeau out in Chicago The Chicago Bulls have dismissed head coach Tom Thibodeau, the team said Thursday. Thibodeau just finished his fifth season leading the Bulls, who were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals earlier this month. He had two years and nearly $9 million remaining on his contract. The 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year had a .647 win percentage in the regular season (255-139) for Chicago, and that's with star point guard Derrick Rose playing only 181 of 394 games because of injuries. His teams excelled defensively, ranking first in the league in points per game (92.6) and field goal percentage (43.2) since the 2010-11 season, his first. But sources say the Bulls' dissatisfaction with their coach, beyond the well-chronicled tension between Thibodeau and management, had risen in the wake of Chicago's inability to beat the injury-plagued Cavaliers in the playoffs and a lack of offensive flow to match that usual defensive tenacity. Overall, the Bulls struggled in the postseason under Thibodeau, going 23-28 in five appearances, none of which resulted in a trip to the NBA Finals. The furthest they went was the East finals in 2010-11, losing toLeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games. And Chicago's offense fluctuated under the 57-year-old Thibodeau. The team's offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) ranked 24th in 2012-13 and 28th in 2013-14 before improving to 10th this season. It didn't help that Rose dealt with knee injuries much of the time. Thibodeau was 132-49 (.729) with the 2010-11 league MVP during the regular season and 123-90 (.577) without him. Now, the Bulls will be searching for their 22nd head coach in franchise history (including interim).
2nd most successful Chicago Bulls head coach of all time. An unparalleled work ethic and a true NBA innovator when it comes to defense. Without Thibodeau at the reigns, the Chicago Bulls have either been a joke or a mediocrity since MJ, Pip and Phil Jackson left. Let's hope Paxson and his next choice can keep the Bulls from sliding back to the miserable NBA middle that we Bulls fans are so accustomed to under Paxson. If this really does improve the team, the Bulls will be one of the odds on to win the title next season.
If Thibs really is so difficult to work with, what a dumb decision to resign him to a 4 year deal. They should have let him walk, if they really did feel that way. Now that the word is out on this Thibs guy, I'm sure he'll have a hard time finding work. GarPax and Uncle Jerry have really done the entire NBA a service in bringing this to light. Great leadership.
Uncle Jerry seems quite bitter and vindictive in his press release. Really throwing Thibs under the bus there. Totally unprofessional. The Bulls national standing took a hit today with this final smear kill-stroke. It will be largely ignored by other teams I imagine, as the opinions of GarPax and Uncle Jerry league wide are next to worthless. The Bulls are considered to be the issue in those circles. Uncle Jerry just can't stand media reports that are not under his local media influence. He can't really influence the national media though. Should not affect profit too much though.
I would love to see Thibs sign a $1 contract with his next team. I think the Bulls are assuming he'll make more than he's owed by the Bulls' contract so their profit won't be hurt. But I bet Thibs is too classy to show the kind of spite in return for the spite he was shown.
Welcome to the jungle, Mr Mayor. Given the MAX deal that Butler is about to sign and the Rose smears that are already starting, I think we can see how this will play out.
Interesting that this is also a story at the Spiegel RSS: http://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/n...-trainer-tom-thibodeau-a-1036093.html#ref=rss
