Rose-Thibodeau partnership an important one

The best way for an NBA coach to secure his job is to forge a partnership with the team's best player, as precarious as it might be.

That theory was mentioned to Bulls point guard Derrick Rose on Monday in the Berto Center.

“Definitely,” he said.

Rose didn't mean it like he's evaluating Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. He's too humble and perhaps too naive to think in those terms.

Anyway, reports are that the coach-superstar relationship shattered in Utah to the point Jerry Sloan felt compelled to resign last week after 23 years.

“It was surprising,” Thibodeau said. “The guy's been a great coach in the league for such a long time.”

Swirling around were allegations that Sloan and Deron Williams couldn't coexist any longer and Jazz management was faced with a him-or-him proposition.

Who knows how much of that is true? Most credible about the chatter, however, is that players do get coaches fired in the players' league.

This probably goes back even further than Lakers superstar Magic Johnson being responsible for Lakers coach Paul Westhead being ousted three decades ago.

Phil Jackson was more fortunate here. He stayed around long enough to win six NBA titles with the Bulls because Michael Jordan liked and respected him.

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf insisted back then that Jordan wouldn't be permitted to decide who the coach would be.

Reinsdorf continues to run the Bulls, so it might not matter whether Rose ever would be bold enough to want to run out Thibodeau.

Still, as humble as Rose is, a player can change as a person in the process of the person growing as a player.

There's no telling how Rose will be after completing the journey from star to all-star to superstar. He'll have much equity in the league by then and the free-agency card that so many current superstars have played to get their way.

Rose already has joined Williams among the NBA's best point guards. Meanwhile, if Scott Skiles isn't replacing Sloan as the NBA's most demanding and intense coach, Thibodeau might be.

That can wear on an elite player, like Sloan's presumably did on Williams in Utah.

“I think that's what makes us successful,” Rose said of him and Thibodeau. “Both of us work hard at what we do.”

Rose and Thibodeau still are learning about each other, but the player does like the coach, especially that he allows him to play through mistakes.

It'll be interesting to see how the Bulls' coach-superstar dynamic plays out over time. For now it's playing out just dandy.

“He's faced with a tough challenge each and every night,” Thibodeau said of Rose. “He's gotten himself ready to play each and every night.”

When asked about coaching great players, Thibodeau makes sure to also mention Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah even though Rose clearly stands above them.

Thibodeau does express appreciation that Rose confronts other great point guards as a team challenge rather than an individual challenge.

“I've been fortunate to be with really good teams,” Thibodeau said. “You can go only as far as your best players commit to take you.”

To paraphrase a famous movie line, this Bulls' pairing could be the start of a beautiful partnership.

The challenge is to keep it that way for at least a decade.

mimrem@dailyherald.com