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Time to address Del Negro's job status

CLEVELAND - Now that their season is over, the first order of business for the Bulls is to settle their coaching situation.

Vinny Del Negro is widely expected to be replaced after two seasons on the job, but it's not an absolute certainty, according to league insiders.

The final decision will be made by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and the team wants to make a fair assessment of Del Negro, who took the Bulls to the playoffs twice and gained plenty of knowledge along the way.

Del Negro was an unexpected choice in the summer of 2008 because he had no official coaching experience of any kind. The Bulls turned to the long time NBA point guard after being turned down by former Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni.

The process of deciding Del Negro's future is expected to be completed quickly, within a few days, according to a source.

After the Game 5 loss, Del Negro talked about the decision ahead.

"I enjoy the experience, I enjoy the competitiveness," he said. "It's about the players, to me. I'm proud of the guys. I'm proud of the way they stuck together. All those things will be dealt with after the season and decisions will be made.

"I can't worry about that. I don't worry about that, to be honest with you. How anybody wants to judge that, they'll judge it and we'll move on. I've been too fortunate in my career and my life and everything to worry about those things."

Bulls on Vinny: Some of the Bulls players stood up for coach Vinny Del Negro after Tuesday's game, led by guard Derrick Rose, who was asked what he would say if he had a vote on keeping his coach.

"I'll vote yes," Rose said. "That's a guy where we both came in, he let me have my freedom, but still coached me, let me make my mistakes. I watched film with him almost every day. He taught me a lot. The decision really isn't up to me, it's up to the front office. I'm going to let them worry about that and just deal with it."

Added Joakim Noah: "To be honest with you, I have no idea. But I have to give Coach a lot of credit. I just want to say I appreciate everything he's done for me as a player. He gave me my opportunity to play. He's always been on my side, supporting me through hard times and good times. Whatever happens, I can't control that as a player."

Shaq draws fouls: The Bulls had a frustrating stretch early in the fourth quarter when they were called for three straight fouls trying to guard Shaquille O'Neal in the post. Brad Miller got two of the fouls and ended up fouling out in less than 10 minutes.

"It was frustrating, because they were calling our bumps," Joakim Noah said. "I mean, the guy's 400 pounds. What do you mean, you're calling a bump on a guy who's 400 pounds trying to dunk on me every time?

"But you know what, it's part of the game and if anything, I've got to learn from it. I've got to get stronger. If we want to be a championship team one day, we've got to beat these guys."

O'Neal saw it this way: "When I take it, you either have to foul me or let me go. It was a fair call. I haven't got that call in a while, so it was nice to get that."

LeBron the lefty: With 7.8 seconds left, LeBron James shot the second of 2 free throws left-handed because his right elbow was bothering him.

"It's almost like you hit your funny bone," he said. "It numbed up a little bit."