Knowingly or not, Tom Thibodeau issued the first salvo late Thursday in what promises to be an intriguing, sometimes messy game of chicken.
“Until they tell me I’m not, I expect to be here,” Thibodeau said after the Bulls’ season-ending loss to the Cavaliers. “That’s the way I approach it.”
The executives, coaches and agents at Quest Multisport Complex for the NBA draft combine Friday who weighed in on the subject were in nearly unanimous agreement that the Bulls and Thibodeau are headed for divorce. How that is achieved is where things could get complicated.
With two years remaining on Thibodeau’s deal, management views him as an asset. It will seek compensation for him, although with the rest of the league mindful of how badly the relationship has deteriorated, leverage for high — if any — compensation would seem to be minimal.
The other option is to fire him over philosophical differences, assume he lands a job in which the offset in his Bulls contract would be utilized and try to lure Fred Hoiberg from Iowa State. That’s no lock given Hoiberg’s happiness coaching his alma mater in his hometown, according to sources.
Websites Bleacher Report and Basketball Insiders reported Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry also is a strong candidate, though the Tribune couldn’t confirm that.
Thibodeau said late Thursday he hasn’t “even thought about” how he would handle interest from other teams. But that’s the difference between this summer and last, when reports of the Lakers and Warriors asking for permission to interview Thibodeau never materialized.
This time, Thibodeau will have a say in his future. Sources said the Pelicans and Magic have done background on him and are expected to either ask for permission to interview him or wait to see if he’s fired.
One league source said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who has maintained strong ties with Magic power brokers from his coaching stint in Orlando, has called several times to tout Thibodeau’s strengths.
Nevertheless, several league sources peg the Pelicans as a more likely landing spot should the divorce occur and Thibodeau doesn’t take a year off. The Pelicans offered Thibodeau their job in 2010 when he chose the Bulls.
Some league officials read Thibodeau’s postgame comment, basically daring the Bulls to fire him, as him being content taking a year off, collecting his $4 million-plus from the Bulls and waiting for 2016 openings. The Lakers are a high-profile team whose coach, Byron Scott, has a contract up then, and Thibodeau long has had a strong relationship with Kobe Bryant.
Management could try to flip that and force changes on Thibodeau it has suggested in the past, such as adding an offensive-minded assistant, to force him to leave.
Last summer, Thibodeau’s relationship with management, while not perfect, hadn’t deteriorated to the point it is now. A season of clashing over philosophy — not to mention a high-profile incident in which broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy criticized Bulls management for historically undermining coaches — soured the relationship beyond repair.
Though Van Gundy has made similar comments about Bulls management before, his remarks during a Jan. 25 game in Dallas bothered the organization enough that general manager Gar Forman confronted Van Gundy that night. Executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson followed suit two days later, telling the Tribune that Van Gundy owed team Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf an apology.
The Bulls viewed Van Gundy, who hired Thibodeau for his coaching staffs in New York and Houston, as serving as Thibodeau’s mouthpiece. Reached by the Tribune that day, Van Gundy said he stood by his comments and had made similar points before the Bulls hired Thibodeau.
Multiple sources said the Van Gundy incident upset Reinsdorf, who had served as an occasional oasis for Thibodeau in his stormy relationship with management. Reinsdorf, the sources said, discussed the incident with Thibodeau.
With Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah coming off knee surgeries, management imposed minutes limitations on both players and a consecutive-minutes limitation on Kirk Hinrich. Thibodeau, who often says championship habits are built through practice and repetition, bristled over the policy from the start.
Speaking to the distrust that has existed between Thibodeau and management since Thibodeau took months in 2013 to sign his extension, one source said management told players Thibodeau’s hard-driving style didn’t put their best interests in mind, while a different source insisted players welcomed the protection because they viewed Thibodeau’s manner as self-serving.
Thibodeau enjoys living in Chicago and coaching the Bulls. He had input in designing his office in the new practice facility, even having a shower installed for his long hours there. The Bulls’ 255 regular-season victories in his five seasons trail only the Spurs, Thunder and Heat despite Rose missing most or all of three seasons.
In a sign of how badly the relationship between Thibodeau and management had frayed, when the Lakers and Warriors interviews never transpired last summer, each side felt the other leaked the information.
Pro sports are littered with clashes over power and philosophy. This one fits neatly in line, headed to an unknown conclusion that promises to be anything but neat.
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