Former Chicago Bulls Hall-of-Fame forward Scottie Pippen does have the championship pedigree that could make him appealing as a coaching candidate.
As one of the bigger coaching searches around the NBA right now trumps on, with the Chicago Bulls, an increasingly long list of candidates mentioned in connection with the job continues to develop. But there’s a few names that could be mentioned for the Bulls head coaching job that won’t be realistic candidates to get hired this time around at least.
Given the recent hiring of former star two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash to be the next Brooklyn Nets head coach, the conversation is starting to come about more often as to how that type of candidate could work out.
According to a piece from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on Sep. 3, there are a few former Bulls players that could soon make that type of a leap that Nash to be an NBA head coach. Johnson mentions specifically that he doesn’t mean any of these three former players will be the Bulls next head coach, but that they could land another job that starts them on that path in the near future. Or at least that they have the resume and backing to do so.
The three former Bulls players that Johnson mentioned that could make that type of Nash-leap in the NBA coaching ranks soon are Scottie Pippen, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng. Hinrich and Deng would obviously be the younger of the three candidates, but Pippen would bring some level of intrigue to the table as a coaching candidate too.
Here’s more on what Johnson had to say on this matter of Pippen being a potential NBA coaching candidate.
"Pippen consistently drew raves for his acumen in the triangle offense and landed on 10 All-Defensive teams. So he possesses a high basketball IQ at both ends.His Hall of Fame credentials, not to mention his deep baritone voice, would seem to lend themselves to commanding the huddle. Sure, he might have some explaining to do about sitting out the final 1.8 seconds of a playoff game because coach Phil Jackson didn’t call a play for him."
Any of these three potential future coaching candidates would have to start slow in the NBA if they were to try and make that aforementioned Nash-type of leap. But one former prominent Bulls player is already doing great things as a head coach in this league, with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr winning three titles out in California already.
Since 2012, Pippen has been the special advisor to the president and chief operating officer for the Bulls. He also served as an ambassador for the franchise for two years prior to that promotion to his current role.
But there’s really no significant coaching or executive experience that either Hinrich or Deng would bring to the table. Whatever organization would bring them on board in a staff or executive role would be taking a risk if they hired one of them.
The Bulls parted ways with former head coach Jim Boylen back on Aug. 14, which provided for this job opening in the first place. Chicago is on a list of NBA teams that have head coach openings right now that also includes the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, and New Orleans Pelicans. The New York Knicks hired former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau to fill their void and the Nets hired Nash, as the two most recent head coaching hires around the NBA.