If the Chicago Bulls wait until all the coaching vacancies are filled before firing coach Tom Thibodeau, as one report suggested, it would actually cost the team more money in the long run. The way Thibodeau's contract is structured saves the Bulls money if they release him and he finds a new job - the New Orleans Pelicans and the Denver Nuggets both have openings - within the next two seasons, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Thibodeau-Bulls reports are surfacing daily, and they all point to a split between the two sides being imminent. ESPN's Marc Stein report from Tuesday - that Chicago wants to wait until all the coaching vacancies are filled before firing Thibodeau, so he wouldn't have a job next season - was startling because of how petty it made the Bulls' front office sound. But according to Johnson, doing such a thing would actually cost Chicago more financially.
ESPN's Nick Borges paraphrased the crux of Johnson's article, for those of us without a subscription to the Tribune:
"Tom Thibodeau's contract contains 'offset' language, which would reduce the amount they owe their head coach should they fire him and he goes to a new team. The Bulls will be on the hook for all of the estimated $9 million remaining on the contract should they terminate Thibodeau and he not become a head coach with another NBA team in the next two years. The 'offset' language is standard in most coach contracts in the NBA."
It's possible Chicago really is trying to stick it to him by forcing him to sit out next season, figuring he'll land a job the season after to offset some of the $9 million owed to him. If that's the case, then shame on Chicago for being unprofessional. But there're two other possibilities: Stein's report came from Thibodeau's camp in an effort to paint the Bulls' front office as the bad guy and to force them to act quicker, or - what I think - the report came from the front office as a not-so-subtle way of telling teams nobody is going to get Thibodeau next season without trading for him.
The Orlando Magic reportedly plan to hire Ex-Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles, leaving the Pelicans and the Nuggets as the only two teams as of now with head-coaching vacancies. Thibodeau and New Orleans reportedly have a mutual interest in each other, but the demands Thibodeau is expected to make for his next contract - a big payday close to $8 million and input on personnel decisions, in addition to whatever assets Chicago demands in the trade - could be a major obstacle to the two sides reaching a deal.
