A deteriorating relationship with Bulls' ownership could lead to Tom Thibodeau parting ways with Chicago this summer, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
This might be Tom Thibodeau’s last season with the Bulls
Thibodeau will finish the season but his future in Chicago is uncertain.
Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Disagreement over minute allocation is a major part of it, as some say Thibodeau's philosophy leans too heavily on his starters. Jimmy Butler leads the NBA in minutes this season, averaging just under 40 minutes, and 34-year-old Pau Gasol is in the top 20, while Derrick Rose has played 42 and 43 minutes in his last two. Thibodeau has expressed his frustration with minute restrictions when he dealt with them in the past for a preseason game.
Last Friday, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy, a friend of Thibodeau’s, said Chicago’s management was leaking stories to put Thibodeau in a bad light. Executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson denied this vehemently, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Tom Thibodeau isn’t being undermined at all,” Paxson told the Tribune. “What’s being undermined is the entire Bulls organization by Van Gundy, who has an agenda against our organization for whatever reason and has for years. I guess he thinks he’s trying to protect his friend, but he’s doing just the opposite. It’s pretty pathetic when you think about it, and truth be told he owes Jerry Reinsdorf an apology for his disparaging remarks.”
Derrick Rose discounted the notion that Thibodeau had lost the Bulls’ locker room.
“There’s no truth to it at all,” Rose told USA Today’s Sam Amick. “Thibs, he’s been doing a great job of preparing us -- every game, every practice, every shoot-around.”
But the high minute counts are worrisome, as noted by Blog a Bull.
Even if the Bulls appear to be steering out of their midseason swoon, there is undoubtedly still the concern that this team will be burnt out before the playoffs, yet again. Jimmy Butler’s numbers have slid, correlating with a league-high workload. Pau Gasol sometimes looks every bit of his 34 years and I thought he was going to keel over after playing yet another entire-quarter on Tuesday. Joakim Noah looked very good in that game, but I wonder if management was kind of cringing his minutes shot up over 40 already again. A lot of the developmental bench pieces only seem to get time when there’s an injury.
Thibodeau continues to defend his methods against those who disagree with him.
“To me, the only way a team can improve is you have to be sharp,” he told Amick in a recent Q&A. “The way you execute in this league is through repetition, and that’s both offensively and defensively. You’re not going to rest your way to success.”
At 30-18, the Bulls are currently the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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