Thibs keeps working, Bulls still waiting

The Bulls should be feeling optimistic about their future.

In the first year with a revamped lineup, they got halfway to beating LeBron James in a playoff series, a much better showing than the other teams that faced Cleveland in the playoffs.

But instead of thinking ahead to next season, the players are wondering who will coach the team and if the tension inside the Advocate Center will end.

For the time being, Tom Thibodeau is still reporting to his office every day and doing the usual video review of the season. Thibodeau is under contract with the Bulls for two more years, but there have been rumblings since the middle of last season that management wants to make a change, despite his .647 winning percentage in five seasons.

The Bulls were hoping to find a new team for Thibodeau and work out compensation in the form of a draft pick. But after the Bulls telegraphed their intentions, no team has taken the bait.

Orlando is expected to hire former Bulls coach Scott Skiles later this week. New Orleans reportedly has spoken to Golden State assistant Alvin Gentry and ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy about its opening. Denver, the third team with a vacancy, is not expected to be an option for Thibodeau.

The Bulls could just fire Thibodeau and be prepared to pay the remaining $9 million on his deal. If he took a new job, though, the Bulls would only be on the hook for any difference in salary.

If Thibodeau was hired in New Orleans, he'd likely be paid at least as much as he's getting with the Bulls, so that wouldn't cost the Bulls anything.

Why haven't they fired him, then? That's a good question. There was one report the Bulls planned to wait until all the vacancies were filled, so Thibodeau couldn't be a head coach next season. But going that route would cost the team millions.

There's always a chance Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf could enter the conversation and insist that Thibodeau remain as head coach. Reinsdorf has a history of playing the role of last-minute fixer.

According to a source, Thibodeau's first choice is to coach the Bulls next season.

The presumed first choice to become next coach of the Bulls is Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg, who played for the Bulls from 1999-2003. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard has been telling people recently Hoiberg's always talked about a desire to coach in the NBA.

So if the Bulls offered the job, there's an assumption Hoiberg would say yes. Then again, he had surgery to replace an aortic valve just more than a month ago and most predictions for next season have Iowa State ranked in the top five in the country.

It's possible Hoiberg could decide to wait. The Bulls' backup candidate likely would be assistant coach Adrian Griffin.

Bulls players always have had mixed feelings about Thibodeau. There are times when they can't stand him, but overall they seem to respect his knowledge and work ethic.

A common excuse after a coaching change is the players tuned out the coach and a change was necessary, but that doesn't appear to be the case with the Bulls and Thibodeau. The players are clearly tired of the drama inside the Advocate Center and being pushed to pick sides between the coaching staff and management.

After the Bulls' season ended with a blowout loss in Game 6 to Cleveland on May 14, Thibodeau spent time with Van Gundy, who broadcast the game for ESPN. Thibodeau worked for Van Gundy in New York and Houston, and the two remain close.

It's possible Van Gundy has shown interest in the New Orleans job with the thought of Thibodeau joining him there and maybe taking over.

If Thibodeau is fired by the Bulls, another option would be joining another former boss, Doc Rivers, as a volunteer consultant with the Los Angeles Clippers while collecting his Bulls salary.

This much is clear, the entire NBA world expects the Bulls to replace Thibodeau with Hoiberg. The longer the management team of John Paxson and Gar Forman waits to make the move, the worse the Bulls are going to look to the rest of the league.

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