Chicago Bulls: David Fizdale an emerging head coach candidate?

An opinion piece from Tom Ziller of Good Morning Basketball mentioned a potential list of Chicago Bulls head coaching candidates.

The Chicago Bulls made the much-needed move to reshape the look of their front office from the top-down in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced NBA season hiatus earlier this week. Former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas was hired by the Bulls to be their next executive vice president of basketball operations, to replace the likes of John Paxson.

Head coach Jim Boylen and his job status is one of the overarching storylines involved for the Bulls after the hiring of Karnisovas as the executive vice president of basketball operations. Karnisovas needs to make his mark and continue to shakeup this Bulls organization from the top-down. He was a good hire, but his job configuring the franchise is just beginning.

According to a piece from Tom Ziller of Good Morning Basketball (formerly of SB Nation), one of the interesting candidates for the Bulls to look into if they conduct an actual search to replace Boylen is former New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale. This piece also mentioned Stan Van Gundy, Ettore Messina, Mark Jackson, Tyronn Lue, Kenny Atkinson, Becky Hammon, Jerry Stackhouse, and Fizdale.

By far the most interesting name on that list is Fizdale. His ties back to his former employer, the Knicks, and how that ended could diminish his appeal on the free agent market for head coaches. He finished up with a record of 4-18 before the Knicks let him go earlier this season (replaced by interim head coach Mike Miller).

Here’s what this piece from Ziller had to say on the Bulls potential looming coaching search.

"There’s an opportunity here. The Bulls have just proven that you can make hiring decisions in a time of quarantine. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do, but for teams with plans to move on, clear targets on who they want to bring in and tough enough skin to take a little backlash from voices like Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Carlisle, this could be just the opening needed."

As a whole, Fizdale finished up with a very poor record of 21-83 over the course of a little under two seasons with the Knicks. His previous coaching gig came just under two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies too. He had a record of 50-51 in those two years with the Grizzlies.

Fizdale would be a volatile coaching hire for the Bulls, but he would likely be better than Boylen. There are some other intriguing candidates out there for the Bulls to look into, including Stackhouse, Atkinson, and Messina.

The Bulls finished up with a record of 22-43 through their first 65 games of the regular season prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic-induced NBA hiatus back on March 11. Boylen registered a record of 39-84 over the course of just under two seasons with the Bulls.