If it wasn’t for Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr would have won the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award unanimously in his first year. Could potential Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg do the same thing in 2015-16?
There were tons of questions that surrounded first-year head coach Steve Kerr after he accepted a huge five-year, $25 million contract to coach the Golden State Warriors before the 2014-15 season began.
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Kerr shunned former Chicago Bulls coach and current New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson and headed west to coach one of the brightest and youngest teams in the league.
The result?
Kerr’s Warriors went 67-15 during the regular season, his superstar point guard won the NBA MVP, and now, Golden State sits four wins from an NBA title.
Now, with a talented roster coming back without a coach in 2015-16 for the Bulls, could front office favorite Fred Hoiberg and the probable selection for the coaching vacancy take a similar path to a five-time NBA Champion?
Two weeks ago, I wrote that Fred Hoiberg isn’t the right man for the head coaching position in Chicago. Personally, I still believe that.
Hoiberg’s a great guy. He’s a calm and calculated coach who can really open things for the Bulls offensively moving forward. But, can his success from Iowa State transfer over to the big leagues?
Sure, Boston Celtics head coach (and former Butler Bulldogs head coach) Brad Stevens is starting to provide a solid argument that college guys can make the jump to the NBA and have success.
But of course, there’s those before Stevens that haven’t had the same success.
CBS Sports college hoops writer Matt Norlander wrote a piece on college coaches after Stevens made the NBA jump back in 2013 from Butler University, and the statistics are pretty bad.
| Coach | College to NBA Jump | Regular Season Record | Playoff Record | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Calipari | UMass to the New Jersey Nets (1996-99) | 72-112 | 0-3 (three-game sweep by Bulls in 1998) | .391 |
| P.J. Carlesimo | Seton Hall to the Portland Trail Blazers (1994-97) | 136-109 | 3-9 | .555 |
| Tim Floyd | Iowa State to the Chicago Bulls (1998-2002) | 49-190 | N/A | .205 |
| Leonard Hamilton | Miami (FL) to the Washington Wizards (2000-01) | 19-63 | N/A | .232 |
| Lon Kruger | Illinois to the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) | 69-122 | N/A | .361 |
| Mike Montgomery | Stanford to the Golden State Warriors (2004-06) | 68-96 | N/A | .417 |
| Rick Pitino | Kentucky to the Boston Celtics (1997-01) | 102-146 | N/A | .411 |
| Reggie Theus | New Mexico State to the Sacramento Kings (2007-09) | 44-62 | N/A | .415 |
Yeah, that whole Iowa State coach-to-the-Bulls thing totally worked before.
Eight total coaches with 15 total playoff games and just three wins isn’t exactly what Bulls fans want to see for who is possibly becoming the new head coach as early as this week, according to multiple ESPN sources, including college hoops insider Andy Katz.
Fred Hoiberg working on five-year deal to be Bulls coach, sources say http://t.co/I4Wc4hj2Xx
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) May 30, 2015
There’s no guarantee that Hoiberg will become the next Tim Floyd, but there’s no telling if Hoiberg will live up to his Kerr-like contract with a talented Bulls roster either.
Hoiberg is walking into a sticky situation after the Bulls’ toxic divorce from Tom Thibodeau, but his two biggest supporters — Bulls general manager Gar Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson — could help Hoiberg ease into this new scenario.
Along with a brilliant offensive mind, Hoiberg will have a roster capable of making a deep playoff run, along with a draft pick that will most likely pan out to be a viable option in the Bulls rotation. All you need to look at is Nikola Mirotic, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson and see how well the Bulls are at finding talent late in the draft.
Hoiberg Watch:
According to a source of CBS Sports national columnist Gary Parrish, Fred Hoiberg could become the Bulls head coach as soon as … today.
An NBA source told @CBSSports the Bulls would like to announce the hire today and hold a press conference tomorrow. That’s the plan.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) June 1, 2015
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Next: Bulls and Fred Hoiberg closing in on agreement for a five-year deal