Tribune: Expect An Offer To Come This Weekend

[Lex L.]

Chicago Bulls coach search: Expect offer to Tom Thibodeau soon - chicagotribune.com

Expect Thibodeau to get offer to coach Bulls
Sources say club could reach a deal this weekend
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Looks like the Bulls have found their coach. How are you feeling?
Looks like the Bulls have found their coach -- and he was sitting on the Celtics' bench the entire time. How are you feeling?

Even without any head coaching experience, Tom Thibodeau is the right guy.
The Bulls just did this (hello, Vinny??). They need an established NBA coach.
If helps bring LeBron James to Chicago, I don't care if it's Tom Thibodeau or Pee-Wee Herman.

Topics
Basketball
Cleveland Cavaliers
Danny Ferry
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XVinny Del Negro
Boston Celtics
Danny Ainge
New Jersey Nets
Management Change
Monty Williams
NBA
Chicago Bulls
Mike Brown
LeBron James
Derrick Rose
Joakim Noah By K.C. Johnson, Tribune reporter

10:48 p.m. CDT, June 4, 2010
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Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf spent part of Friday at the Berto Center, where sources said positive discussions about Tom Thibodeau continued with executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman and that a formal offer is expected shortly.

The Celtics' associate head coach quickly emerged as the front-runner to succeed Vinny Del Negro as Bulls coach after Paxson and Forman flew to Los Angeles for a Wednesday night interview on the eve of the NBA Finals.

Two sources familiar with the Bulls' thinking continued to paint the situation as Thibodeau's job to lose and that an offer is expected to come this weekend.

Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank has been advised he's no longer a candidate.


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The Hornets, who offered Thibodeau their vacancy earlier this week, no longer are an option for him. League sources said Hornets management opened negotiations with Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams after Thibodeau let a Thursday deadline to accept its offer lapse.

Yahoo! Sports reported late Friday that Williams already has agreed to a three-year deal with the Hornets.

Multiple sources have said all along that Thibodeau, who also has been linked to the Nets' vacancy, prefers the Bulls' job.

"We hope he gets the job of his choice," Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Friday on Boston's WEEI Friday. "It's an opportunity he has been looking forward to for a long time, so I think Tom is being selective. He's a candidate in all three cities he's interviewed (for), and I think he feels like he has the luxury to explore all three."

Thibodeau, 50, impressed Bulls management with his ideas about offensive creativity and player development during his interview. League sources said Paxson and Forman have continued to perform background on Thibodeau since returning Thursday from Los Angeles, and it has been favorable.

Sources have said Reinsdorf has talked positively of Thibodeau to associates, and Thibodeau's strong defensive background fits well with the organization's longtime philosophy.

On a day when Thibodeau becoming Bulls coach moved closer to reality, the dream of landing LeBron James in free agency added an intriguing wrinkle when Danny Ferry resigned as Cavaliers general manager.

Though Ferry and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert both moved quickly to assert the split was mutual, Ferry's departure on the heels of Gilbert firing coach Mike Brown suggests an organization in upheaval on the brink of its most important summer in history.

Perhaps attempting to quell such an outward appearance, Gilbert immediately named former assistant general manager Chris Grant to succeed Ferry.

On a conference call with reporters, Gilbert said his organization has been in contact with James. The owner expressed confidence he will re-sign the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, who will become the biggest free agent in league history July 1 after seven seasons with the Cavaliers.

"We feel good about it," Gilbert said. "We feel like we have put the franchise in a great place for LeBron and all our players."

The Bulls remain poised to pursue James aggressively once the free-agent recruiting period begins July 1. Thibodeau and James share the same agency, which would add a small selling point beyond the opportunity to play with a young All-Star in Derrick Rose and another budding star in Joakim Noah.

James has talked favorably of the Bulls' roster in the past. Thibodeau has done the same, albeit privately to peers.

This is the summer for the Bulls to make their moves. One — the filling of its head coaching position — could be coming soon.

 

[Chi-Town Brahma]

Yezzir!

 

[JCM]

i like thibs, but only thing that worries me is that i wanted a established coach when all this bonanza began.

 

[Anytime23]

i like thibs, but only thing that worries me is that i wanted a established coach when all this bonanza began.

Same here. GarPax also said they wanted someone with HC experience. But this isnt official...yet.

 

[Lex L.]

i like thibs, but only thing that worries me is that i wanted a established coach when all this bonanza began.

Its great to say that in theory...but then when you look at the viable candidates that have experience, suddenly Thibodeau starts to look a lot better.

Any time you have a group of recycled coaches and then you have a guy who can be described as "architect of a world championship defense", the architect starts to look a lot better.

 

[JCM]

Its great to say that in theory...but then when you look at the viable candidates that have experience, suddenly Thibodeau starts to look a lot better.

Any time you have a group of recycled coaches and then you have a guy who can be described as "architect of a world championship defense", the architect starts to look a lot better.

agree, thats the reason why i want thibs, very good defensive minded coach that could teach rose some pointers defensively. at first i wanted Collins because of his experience, but nah.

plus thibs has ship under his belt, and might get another one this year.

 

[Lex L.]

agree, thats the reason why i want thibs, very good defensive minded coach that could teach rose some pointers defensively. at first i wanted Collins because of his experience, but nah.

plus thibs has ship under his belt, and might get another one this year.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see how he coaches Rose in all of this...whether he teaches him in a general sense to play team defense or whether he tries to make him a better on the ball defender. Its not like Rose cant play defense though. I remember in the NCAA tournament when Memphis played UCLA and Texas and both had really quick PGs in Collison and Augustin. Rose shut them down. He dominated them physically. He dominated on offense and defense. Rose taking over in the tournament is really why Memphis made it to the NC game.

So, I know Rose can play defense. I think its absolutely fair that the FO was critical of how Vinny coached defense. But when you look at the teams Vinny played for as a player, I guess you kind of invited that when you hired him.

 

[JCM]

UPDATE: Bulls offer Thibodeau three year deal

Sounds like the Bulls have an official three-year offer out to Tom Thibodeau and Thibodeau is ready to accept. Should be done soon.

Twitter / Sam Smith: Sounds like the Bulls have ...