Look for Bulls to begin interview process next week
The Bulls' coaching search should pick up steam in the coming days. The team is planning to use next week's predraft camp in Chicago as a chance to interview several candidates.
Not much has changed as far as the names involved. Maurice Cheeks and Lawrence Frank appear to be the front-runners.
Kevin McHale might have slipped a little based on his limited coaching experience. Dwane Casey, the 2008 runner-up to Vinny Del Negro, remains in the mix.
Cheeks, 53, would be an interesting mentor to Derrick Rose. He's a Chicago native who became a standout NBA point guard, playing in four All-Star Games.
The big difference is Rose was the No. 1 overall draft pick who faced high expectations starting in high school. Cheeks, meanwhile, was a second-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 1978 after a low-key college career at West Texas State.
As head coach in Portland and Philadelphia, Cheeks went 0-4 in playoff series, but his team was never the higher seed.
If the Bulls are focused on finding a coach well-versed in game strategy, Frank might be their guy. He's the former Indiana University student manager who shockingly became head coach in New Jersey at age 33.
Now 39, Frank was fired by the Nets after an 0-18 start last season. He did win three playoff series during his first four years with New Jersey. Frank reportedly interviewed for the New Orleans Hornets' coaching vacancy Tuesday.
McHale and Casey are likely on the interview list. McHale went 39-55 in two stints as interim coach in Minnesota.
As general manager of the Timberwolves, McHale hired and fired Casey, who went 53-69 with Minnesota from 2005-07. Casey has been an assistant in Dallas the past two years and is also a candidate for the New Orleans job.
Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau is someone who could join the interview list, but he will be busy if the Celtics upset Cleveland in the second round of the playoffs.
Jeff Van Gundy is currently not in the mix. If he's interested in the Bulls' job, it might help his cause if brother Stan kept quiet. Stan Van Gundy, the head coach in Orlando, told espn.com this week he thinks the Bulls never should have fired Del Negro.
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