The Chicago Bulls are caught in a hole of their own making. They want to fire Tom Thibodeau – preferably after all the other coaching vacancies are filled, because this is high school and pettiness abounds – but they also want to save money (big surprise), which they can’t do if they simply fire Thibodeau. Yet as ESPN reports, that factor is becoming less of a sticking point as the Bulls are now giving greater consideration to firing Thibodeau outright.
Sources told ESPN.com that the prospect of Chicago simply terminating its highly successful but often contentious relationship with Thibodeau, as the days pass, is growing in likelihood, even with nearly $9 million left on the coach’s contract over the next two seasons.
Herein lies the catch-22 facing the Bulls. If they fire him now, it’s highly likely he’ll get another job, perhaps with the New Orleans Pelicans or the Orlando Magic, so the Bulls won’t have to pay all $9 million of his remaining deal. But, that still means Thibodeau would be a head coach of another team. On the other hand, if they wait to fire him, they’ll owe him all of that money, which would irk Bulls brass to no end.
Keeping Thibodeau isn’t an option, at least not a realistic one, as the relationship between the Bulls and Thibodeau is broken beyond repair. The Bulls dug themselves into this hole, and while they can get out of it, none of their ways to do so will be ideal.
(ESPN)
