Tom Thibodeau Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Adrian Griffin In Mix To Succeed Tom Thibodeau

May 14th, 2015 at 10:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bulls lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin is a contender to succeed Tom Thibodeau as Bulls head coach should Chicago and Thibs part ways now that the team’s season is over, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Stein makes it clear that Griffin would be a fallback option in case the team comes up short in its likely pursuit of Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg. However, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders recently heard from sources who questioned whether Hoiberg wants to make the jump to the NBA, given the condition of his heart, as the 42-year-old underwent open heart surgery last month to replace his aortic valve. Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry would also be among the front-runners if the Bulls job comes open, Kyler also reported.

Griffin and Thibodeau both came to the Bulls in the offseason of 2010, and Chicago promoted Griffin, who had simply been one of the team’s assistant coaches at the start, to lead assistant in 2013. The 40-year-old Griffin spent two years as a Bucks assistant between the end of his 10-year NBA playing career and the beginning of his time on Chicago’s bench. He’s been a prime head coaching candidate around the league the past few years, reportedly interviewing with the Blazers in 2012, the Pistons and twice with the Sixers in 2013, and the Jazz twice as well as the Cavs last year. USA Today’s Sam Amick identified Griffin among a few coaches believed to be likely candidates for the Nuggets job in the immediate wake of the team’s firing of Brian Shaw in March, though there’s been little to advance that notion since.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports used the term “inevitable” last week to describe a parting of ways between Thibodeau and the Bulls, and confidants of the coach had become convinced as of last month that the Bulls would fire him, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported then. However, the Bulls could reap compensation from Thibodeau’s suitors if they hang on to him and allow him to speak with other teams instead of simply firing him, and Kyler believes the compensation route is a more likely path for Chicago. Thibodeau’s contract runs through 2016/17.

For what it’s worth, Thibodeau told reporters this evening that he isn’t anticipating a departure. “Yeah, until they tell me I’m not [the Bulls coach], I expect be here, so that’s the way I’m approaching it,” Thibodeau said, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (on Twitter).

Mutual Interest Between Tom Thibodeau, Pelicans

May 14th, 2015 at 9:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Bulls’ season coming to its end at the hands of the Cavaliers tonight the speculation regarding where Tom Thibodeau will coach next season will now kick in full-throttle. The Pelicans, who recently parted ways with coach Monty Williams, are reportedly interested in Thibodeau should he become available. The interest in bringing the current Bulls coach and his career 255-139 record to New Orleans is apparently mutual, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). League sources have informed the ESPN scribe that Thibs is indeed interested in New Orleans’ vacancy should his tenure in Chicago end.

New Orleans has long regarded Thibodeau highly and the franchise made a play for him back in 2010 before hiring Williams. Thibodeau was named as a “clear and obvious candidate” for the Pelicans shortly after the firing of Williams was announced. But the Pelicans aren’t the only team who will be interested in the Bulls’ coach. The Magic have also been reported to be looking at Thibs to replace interim coach James Borrego.

Chicago is reportedly more likely to seek compensation for letting Thibodeau out of his contract than simply firing him, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The Magic would likely be willing to give up one or two second-round picks for the right to hire Thibodeau, Kyler noted, while Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times relayed that the Magic’s job would be Thibodeau’s to turn down. It’s believed that Thibodeau is also the front-runner for the Nuggets job, but Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post thinks that Thibodeau’s defense-first philosophy would clash with Denver’s desire to become a faster paced offensive team.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pelicans Await Clarity On Tom Thibodeau, Bulls

May 14th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans are waiting to see whether Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau becomes available as New Orleans approaches its coaching search, league sources tell John Reid of The Times-Picayune. That puts New Orleans in the same position as the Magic, who are also waiting on Thibodeau, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last week. Thibodeau “could possibly” become a contender for the Pelicans job if he shakes free, Reid writes, but New Orleans has long regarded Thibs highly and made a play for him in 2010 before hiring Monty Williams instead. Indeed, TNT’s David Aldridge identified Thibodeau as a “clear and obvious candidate” for the Pelicans soon after Tuesday’s firing of Williams.

It’s “inevitable” that the Bulls and Thibodeau will part ways after the season, Wojnarowski wrote last week, while people close to the coach have been convinced Chicago will fire him, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported last month. Still, it seems more likely that the Bulls would seek compensation for letting Thibodeau out of his contract than that they would simply fire him, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The Magic would likely be willing to give up one or two second-round picks for the right to hire Thibodeau, Kyler wrote, while Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times heard that the Magic’s job would be Thibodeau’s to turn down. It’s believed Thibodeau is also the front-runner for the Nuggets job, according to Kyler, though Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post has found it hard to envision Thibodeau on the sidelines in Denver, given the split between the coach’s defense-first philosophy and the Nuggets’ desire to run.

Still, the Pelicans are the only team with a coaching vacancy that possesses a star of the caliber of Anthony Davis, and New Orleans would be at the front of the line to hire Thibodeau if he becomes available, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Pelicans GM Dell Demps, who’s conducting the team’s coaching search, said Tuesday that the effort would begin immediately and that the team hadn’t established a short list yet, Reid notes. However, it appears New Orleans wants to hold off to gauge the circumstances surrounding the coach who would be perhaps the most sought-after on the market.

Fallout From/Reaction To Monty Williams Firing

May 12th, 2015 at 4:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

New Orleans faces its first turning point this summer with Anthony Davis, who becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in July. So, the decision the Pelicans made to fire coach Monty Williams, one that GM Dell Demps reportedly pushed for, runs through the prism of significant negotiations with the team’s superstar on the horizon. Here’s the latest in the wake of the coaching change, with any new updates added to the top:

Williams released a statement regarding his termination (hat tip to David Aldridge of NBA.com via TwitLonger). In his statement, Williams wrote, “I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Benson and Mickey for this unique opportunity I’ve had. My focus today is to appreciate the great journey over the last few years to be the head coach of this team. New Orleans is a special city with very special fans. I appreciate all the support that my family has received from all the great people and organizations we have been affiliated with throughout the area over the years. I need to thank my coaches and players because we take pride in our accomplishments as a group in progressing in the right direction and making the playoffs through the challenges of a long season. I’ll always be grateful for the relationships and thankful that our players always gave everything we asked of them on the court. I only wish the best for this team to continue taking strides forward and providing success to this special city.”

2:38pm updates:

Williams isn’t expected to become a candidate for the Nuggets vacancy, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
If the Pelicans lure Thibodeau and the Bulls replace him with Fred Hoiberg, there’s a growing belief that the Cyclones would go after Suns coach Jeff Hornacek, who played at the school and whose contract calls for a lower annual salary than Hoiberg’s, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. However, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders heard that Hoiberg, who underwent open heart surgery last month, might not jump to the NBA because of his health.

2:18pm updates:

The Pelicans will be at the front of the line of suitors for Tom Thibodeau if indeed New Orleans decides to go after the Bulls coach, given the presence of Davis, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Those close to Thibodeau have long seen the Pelicans and the Magic as the teams he’d most likely end up with after his time with the Bulls, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.
John Reid of The Times-Picayune wouldn’t be surprised if the Pelicans made a run at former Thunder coach Scott Brooks (Twitter link), but for what it’s worth, the Pelicans didn’t reach out to Brooks before firing Williams, a person with knowledge of Brooks’ situation told Amick.
There was an obvious disconnect between Williams and Demps from the very start of their working relationship in 2010, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune, who argues that if the Pelicans wanted change, they should have looked at the front office instead.

Pelicans Fire Monty Williams

May 12th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:00pm: The Pelicans were expected to pick up their team option for 2016/17 on Williams when they met with him this morning, sources told Wojnarowski for an updated version of his full story. Of course, that’s not how it turned out.

12:33pm: Benson told those close to him of his affection for Williams during the playoffs, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets, calling Thibodeau a “clear and obvious candidate” for the freshly opened Pelicans job in a second tweet. The future of Benson’s control of the Pelicans is in some doubt as his family puts up a legal fight for the team.

12:26pm: Demps pushed out Williams, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The GM has been angling for more control and Williams’ coaching staff sensed decreasing support from management, feeling as though there were “unnecessary obstacles” in their way, league sources told Wojnarowski.

Mar 19, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Monty Williams reacts against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Pelicans 74-72. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports Images

11:56am: The Pelicans have parted ways with coach Monty Williams, the team announced via press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported minutes earlier that the team had fired him (Twitter link). Williams was under contract through next season. The futures of Williams and GM Dell Demps have been shrouded in uncertainty of late, though Wojnarowski seems to imply that Demps is safe, saying that the GM “has his way now” (Twitter link).

“Making a decision like this is never easy and is never done hastily, especially when you are dealing with a person of Monty Williams’ character. We thanked Monty for the tremendous work and commitment he made to our organization and the development of our young players, specifically Anthony Davis,” executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis said in the team’s statement. “While we continue to work towards improving our roster, we decided that now was the time to make this decision. We wish nothing but the best for Monty in the future.”

Demps and owner Tom Benson were also quoted in the statement. Benson sent Williams, Demps and their staffs a letter of congratulations following the end of the team’s season, one in which the franchise made the playoffs for the first time since 2011. The timing of the firing is curious, coming more than two weeks after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The sense around the NBA was that the playoff berth, clinched on the final night of the regular season, had saved Williams’ job, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). John Reid of The Times-Picayune reported that the team planned evaluations of Demps and Williams at season’s end. Demps refuted another report that the organization had given him and Williams playoffs-or-else mandates before the season.

The job would appear to be attractive to potential replacements based on the presence of Davis alone. The Pelicans hold Tom Thibodeau in high regard, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote earlier today, and the team has pursued Thibodeau in the past, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who also notes the close relationship between Davis and Thibodeau from their time working with Team USA. Of course, there’s the matter of Thibodeau’s contract with the Bulls, which runs for two more seasons. Turmoil has marked the coach’s relationship with the front office, but Chicago may prefer to seek compensation from another team for the right to hire him rather than simply letting him go after the season, as Kyler wrote.

New Orleans hired Williams before the 2010/11 season, the last one before the team traded Chris Paul to the Clippers. The then-Hornets made the playoffs in Williams’ first season but bottomed out the next year. New Orleans won the draft lottery in 2012, enabling the franchise to take Davis with the No. 1 overall pick, but even this year, the team has yet to finish outside of last place in the competitive Southwest Division since trading Paul. Williams went 173-221 with the Pelicans in his only NBA head coaching gig to date, compiling a playoff record of 2-8.

Woelfel On Thibodeau, Carter-Williams, Middleton

May 12th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic‘s coaching job would be Tom Thibodeau‘s if he wants it, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears. Others nonetheless speculate that Thibodeau would prefer to coach the Pelicans, Woelfel notes. Thibodeau still has two years left on his contract with the Bulls, the team he’s coaching in the conference semifinals, though there have been no shortage of rumors indicating that his time left in Chicago is short. The Magic have made little progress in their coaching search so far and haven’t begun formal interviews, while Monty Williams remains the coach in New Orleans. As we wait to see just how Thibodeau’s future plays out, Woelfel has more Bucks-centric rumors to go along with his news linking Brook Lopez to Milwaukee. We’ll pass along some highlights, though Woelfel’s entire piece is a must-read, especially for Bucks fans:

Some higher-ups around the league tell Woelfel that the Bucks aren’t totally convinced Michael Carter-Williams is their guy at point guard, just as the team had its doubts about Brandon Knight before trading him in February as part of the deal that netted Carter-Williams. Still, there isn’t as much financial urgency with last year’s Rookie of the Year, who has two more seasons left on his rookie scale contract, as there was with Knight, who’s set for restricted free agency this summer.
The Bucks had significant interest in University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl before he became the highest-profile prospect in this year’s draft to decide against entering, sources tell Woelfel. The 7-footer will be a sophomore next season.
A front office official for an Eastern Conference team who spoke with Woelfel estimated that Bucks soon-to-be restricted free agent Khris Middleton would make salaries of around $9MM on his next deal, as Woelfel relays on the “Sports Junkies” video segment. The executive expressed doubt about the offer of a $15MM annual salary that another executive recently told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Middleton was in line to draw.

Latest On Tom Thibodeau, Bulls, Magic

May 5th, 2015 at 3:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:43pm: Bulls GM Gar Forman once more dismissed the idea of a rift between the coach and management, telling Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com that, “We’re in total agreement with Tom that it’s all just noise.” Thibodeau had made a similar comment in Wojnarowski’s report.

11:31am: A parting of ways between the Bulls and coach Tom Thibodeau is “inevitable,” as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes, though “maybe — just maybe” it will prove tougher to oust the coach from his job than to knock the Bulls out of the playoffs, Wojnarowski adds at the end of his column. Regardless, Bulls management is eager to be rid of Thibodeau, and its choice to replace him is Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, according to Wojnarowski. That largely falls in line with two reports from late last month, when Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard that people close to Thibodeau were convinced the Bulls would fire him at season’s end and Tim Bontemps of the New York Post wrote that many view Hoiberg as his likely replacement.

The Magic are waiting to see how the dynamic between Thibodeau and the Bulls plays out, Wojnarowski reports, just as many have been speculating, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel recently noted. It’s believed that the Bulls will seek some sort of compensation for letting Thibodeau out of his contract, which runs through 2016/17, to coach elsewhere, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. Kyler suggests that the Bulls wouldn’t demand as much as other teams have sought for coaches lately, given Chicago’s apparent eagerness to move on from Thibodeau, though the Basketball Insiders scribe also suggests the need to pony up compensation might dissuade Orlando from pursuing the coach. The Clippers relinquished this year’s first-round pick for the right to hire Doc Rivers, and the Bucks gave up two second-round picks for Jason Kidd. Thibodeau is close with former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, whom Orlando fired in 2012, Lowe points out, speculating that the dynamic could pose another hurdle to Thibodeau ending up with the Magic.

Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks is second behind Thibodeau on the Magic’s list of preferred candidates, sources tell Kyler, and the team is considering Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry, too, Kyler adds. Kyler hears the Magic, like the Nuggets, the other team with a coaching vacancy, have had “small informal talks” but that neither team is expected to begin formal interviews soon.

Thibodeau’s future with Chicago is in serious doubt in spite of support from Bulls star Derrick Rose, as Wojnarowski details. That backing has helped prolong Thibodeau’s stay in Chicago to this point, but it wouldn’t forestall the end for the coach this summer, Wojnarowski writes. Rose is also under contract through 2016/17.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Vucevic, Hornets

May 2nd, 2015 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The slow pace of the Magic’s coaching search may be tied to the Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando hasn’t interviewed anyone for the opening since the season ended, and Robbins notes that many speculate the Magic are waiting to see if Chicago fires Thibodeau after its playoff run ends. The Nuggets are the only other NBA team with a coaching vacancy, and many league insiders say the Magic’s job is considered more attractive in coaching circles. So there is little pressure to fill the job right away, but that could change soon if Dwane Casey is fired in Toronto.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The four-year extension Nikola Vucevic agreed to in October should be a bargain for the Magic once the new television deal takes effect, Robbins contends in a separate story. Vucevic’s contract can be worth up to $53MM, which could be cheap for a productive center with the expected jump in the salary cap. The deal could eventually make Vucevic, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, an attractive trade piece, but Robbins said he’s definitely in Orlando’s immediate plans. “They signed me here for the future, and that’s a responsibility I wanted: to be one of these leaders on the team,” Vucevic said.
An early-season ankle sprain was a bad omen for the Magic’s Kyle O’Quinn, writes Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida. The third-year player missed nearly a month with the ankle and was limited to just 51 games for the season. He will become a restricted free agent in July after making slightly more than $900K this year. “I don’t think that’s the biggest thing I have to worry about right now,” he said about free agency. “My biggest thing is being a better player, becoming more of a student of a game, getting back to where I need to be.”
The Hornets would like to own and operate their own D-League franchise, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Eight teams currently have that arrangement with their D-League affiliates, while eight others fund the franchise and handle the basketball — but not the business — side of the operation. Charlotte officials have targeted seven cities in the Carolinas: Asheville, Charleston, Columbia, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville (S.C.) and Raleigh. “We think this is a great opportunity for our basketball people to have complete autonomy and control of how that part of the business is run,” said team president Fred Whitfield.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Thibodeau, Donovan

April 30th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The questions that face the Blazers after a disappointing stretch run that threatens to shake the foundation of the roster are as profound as any the team has faced in the last 15 years, The Oregonian’s Jason Quick argues. The emergence of C.J. McCollum and Meyers Leonard, the disappointing play of Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez, and the rumors surrounding LaMarcus Aldridge‘s willingness to keep playing in Portland provide challenge and opportunity for GM Neil Olshey, Quick contends. Still, few options other than returning to the Blazers would give Aldridge the chance to play a lead role on a true contender, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller opines. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post doesn’t envision Tom Thibodeau emerging as the top candidate for the Nuggets job given the conflict of his defense-first philosophy and Denver’s desire for a fast-paced game, as Dempsey writes in a mailbag column.
The decision to leave Florida for the Thunder that Billy Donovan reportedly made should have been an easy one, as Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel argues. He’ll have an “exponentially better chance” at a title in Oklahoma City than he would with the Gators the next two years, and if he fails and the Thunder fire him, he’d have his pick of top college jobs, Thamel believes.
The numbers suggest that Donovan was no better down the stretch in close games at Florida than the oft-criticized Scott Brooks was for the Thunder, The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson writes.

Tom Thibodeau Confidants Believe He’ll Be Fired

April 24th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

People close to Tom Thibodeau are convinced that the Bulls will fire him after the season is over, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who notes that the Bulls front office has continually batted down persistent rumors of a rift with the coach. The Bulls are in as strong a position as they’ve been in some time with a 3-0 series lead on the Bucks and a presumptive matchup with LeBron James and the Cavs looming, as Lowe examines. Still, few around the NBA expect the former Coach of the Year to be back in Chicago next season, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, who notes that many view Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg as the likely replacement for Thibodeau.

The news jibes with several reports from the past few months. Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote earlier this month that the Bulls and Thibodeau were “widely expected” to part ways and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune in January described the relationship between Thibodeau and the front office as “beyond repair,” which drew a denial from GM Gar Forman. In any case, it would appear the onus to cut ties would be on the team, as Johnson recently surmised that the coach probably wouldn’t walk away from the job if it were entirely up to him.

The Magic have interest in Thibodeau should he become available, as several league sources suggested to Chris Mannix of SI.com and as Stein later confirmed. People connected to Thibodeau have explored the Magic, among other teams, as a possible landing spot should he no longer be coaching the Bulls, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. It’s unclear if Thibodeau would emerge as a serious candidate for the Nuggets or Thunder openings, but given his resume, it wouldn’t be surprising. Thibodeau has compiled a record of 255-139 in five seasons with the Bulls, guiding them to the playoffs each year in spite of a multitude of injuries to Derrick Rose and others, and before that he spent two decades as an NBA assistant, winning a title with the Celtics in 2008.