Pippen Ain't Easy
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Tom Thibodeau Era Mercifully Comes to End: Now What For Thibs and Chicago Bulls?

By Dave Daniels

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With a truly disrespectful public statement, the Chicago Bulls have moved on from the Tom Thibodeau era after months of privately dragging the head coach through the mud. Let’s all thank the basketball gods this finally got done, because it was a truly toxic situation to cover.

That being said, it is not a great time to be a Bulls fan.

This should vault Thibodeau to the top of two different team’s coaching wish list. The New Orleans Pelicans remain an interesting option for him due to Anthony Davis and the defensive improvements Thibs could bring to bear on that team, and the Orlando Magic could be an excellent fit as well.

Meanwhile the Bulls seem hell bent on adding Fred Hoiberg as head coach. Whether that is a wise course of action or not remains to be seen, because he does not have any NBA head coaching experience.

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Broadcaster and former head coach Stan Van Gundy would also be a good choice for the Pelicans, but he has not been in the game for quite some time and could take a while to get acclimated back to the head coaching grind. I think we will see Thibs in New Orleans next season, and the Bulls should count their lucky stars that the Pels are in the Western Conference. The only way that Thibodeau might hold off on taking an interview with the Pelicans is if he gets a text from LeBron James in the next week telling him to wait on his coaching search for a bit. I don’t doubt that LeBron will be fully focused on winning an NBA championship in the coming month, but it must also be admitted that he has not always seen eye to eye with David Blatt. Thibs, on the other hand, has engineered defenses that have frustrated the former MVP in many different playoff series. I guarantee you that has not gone beyond LeBron’s notice, and the prospect of the Cleveland Cavaliers adding Thibs should be truly terrifying to Bulls fans.

Does James wield that type of power in the NBA currently? Yes, he does. LeBron is actually similar to Thibodeau in that he is worth most of the headaches which come with having him on your side due to all the positives he brings to the table.

Up next for the Bulls will likely be a disappointing campaign. Some of our staff writers believe that Chicago will take a Golden State Warriors-like leap next year under new leadership, but I am a bit more pessimistic about the situation. “The grass is always greener on the other side” is a maxim that fans will have to endure a lot of in the 2015-2016 season. Maybe Hoiberg will instantly come in and revamp the Bulls’ offense while keeping the defensive intensity at a high level; however, the track record of college head coaches having success in the NBA is mixed to say the least.

Next: Why Hoiberg Is Wrong Man for Bulls Job

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