There’s a lengthy list of candidates that the Chicago Bulls should be considering to find their next answer for head coach.
One of the biggest ongoing storylines in the NBA sphere this offseason away from the court and outside of all of the activism efforts is the volatile head coaching market. The Chicago Bulls are one of more than four teams around the NBA landscape that have a head coaching vacancy. Other teams that are now without a head coach includes the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and New Orleans Pelicans.
More head coaching openings could be on the way this offseason as the first round of the playoffs moves along. The Pelicans already parted ways with Alvin Gentry after they missed the playoffs entirely. The Sixers and Pacers fired their head coaches after first round playoff sweeps at the hands of the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, respectively.
In the Bulls case, they parted ways with now former head coach Jim Boylen back on Aug. 14. They pretty much fired Boylen on the exact day after the regular season concluded. It appeared that was the plan all along for recently hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
But the candidates that could potentially replace Boylen form a long list at this point. One name that keeps surfacing in NBA head coaching searches for teams like the Bulls, Pelicans, and Nets, among others, is the Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue. The former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach is one of the hotter names on the market right now.
And according to a report from Keith Pomprey of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug. 28, Lue is the leader to land the Sixers head coaching job. He is also reportedly a candidate for the Nets and Pelicans head coach openings. Lue is “monitoring” the vacancy that the Bulls have for head coach to replace Boylen.
During his run as the Cavaliers head coach for a little under four seasons, Lue finished up with a career regular season record of 128-83. He also had a career playoff record of 41-20, including one NBA Championship with the Cavs.
Lue might not be the top candidate for the Bulls at the moment, but he should at least be considered for the job. He does have a lot of success on his resume as an NBA head and assistant coach. He could be in contention for another title as an assistant or head coach this year with the Clippers.