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Report: Bulls will hire Hoiberg as coach

The Bulls will officially introduce Fred Hoiberg as their new head coach on Tuesday or Wednesday, the Des Moines Register reported, citing numerous sources.

Hoiberg is widely believed to be the Bulls' first choice to replace Tom Thibodeau, who was fired Thursday after five seasons on the job.

Hoiberg, 42, has spent the past five years coaching his alma mater, Iowa State. He's posted a 115-56 record and led the Cyclones to four straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history.

Before that, Hoiberg spent 10 years in the NBA, playing for the Bulls from 1999-2003, and also worked in basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He's very familiar with the Bulls management team of Gar Forman and John Paxson - not only from his years with the Bulls, but Forman was an assistant coach during Hoiberg's senior year at Iowa State in 1994-95.

What kind of style should Bulls fans expect from Hoiberg? His Iowa State teams ranked 15th in the nation in points scored, at 77.8 per game, according to basketball-reference.com. The Cyclones averaged 21 shot attempts from 3-point range last season, which was 46th out of 351 Division I teams.

Forman and Paxson have been trying to steer the Bulls into more of an offensive style, with an increased emphasis on outside shooting. The top five teams in 3-pointers made during the NBA regular season were the last five teams still alive in the playoffs - Houston, Golden State, Cleveland, Atlanta and the L.A. Clippers. Last season, the Bulls ranked 15th in made 3-pointers per game and 15th in points.

If Hoiberg's hiring becomes official, the Bulls will set out to find at least one experienced assistant coach who can help on the bench and not ruffle feathers in the front office.

Paxson is a fan of former Nets and Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank. Frank worked with Doc Rivers on the Clippers bench last season, so it's not clear if he's available.

A team source suggested respected assistant Adrian Griffin is open to staying with the Bulls and working with Hoiberg. Ed Pinckney and Mike Wilhelm are the other assistants still on the Bulls' staff. Wilhelm joined the Bulls in 2002, just before Hoiberg's last year with the team.

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