It's official: The Chicago Bulls have fired coach Tom Thibodeau. With Thibodeau essentially a free agent now, the Los Angeles Lakers need to fire coach Byron Scott and do everything they can to hire the ex-Bulls coach.
This isn't an indictment on Scott. As the narrative has been for new coaches in Los Angeles, injuries derailed any chance Scott ever had of turning around the franchise. Circumstance dealt Scott a crappy hand, and the Lakers' front office certainly took that into account when deciding to bring him back for another season. Unfortunately, another unforeseen circumstance is now working against Scott: Chicago firing Thibodeau outright.
Scott was never expected to be the Lakers' next Phil Jackson. There weren't many coaching options on the market last summer, and Los Angeles needed to move on from Mike D'Antoni. So the Lakers hired Scott as - to borrow from Grantland's Zach Lowe - a "placeholder" until the team's next coach of the future emerged, whomever that might be.
Los Angeles likely thought it'd get through at least one more season with the same coach, with the team rumored to be a potential suitor for Thibodeau if he became available next season. But Thibodeau suddenly hitting the market changes everything. It now forces the franchise to make the ugly decision of releasing Scott. Of course Scott doesn't deserve to get canned, but make no mistake about it: Thibodeau has the potential to be the Lakers' next coach of the future.
For that reason, Los Angeles must dump Scott and throw everything it can at Thibodeau. The Lakers have an advantage over a lot of teams in that they're willing to spend money. Between paying out the remainder of Scott's contract and likely committing around $8 million annually to Thibodeau, it's going to be expensive. Bite the bullet. Thibodeau is expected to want input over personnel decisions. Bite the bullet by compromising and giving him full control over his coaching staff.
Why Thibodeau? His defense and his ability to develop players.
Defense became the Bulls' identity under Thibodeau, and it was a huge part of why Chicago never missed the playoffs in his five years there. If Thibodeau's defense kept the Bulls competitive the last two seasons with a gimpy roster and no Derrick Rose, it'd be a boon for Los Angeles as it continues to rebuild.
Next look at what he's done with Rose, Butler, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. Thibodeau took their talents to the next level. Rose won the league MVP in Thibodeau's first season there, Butler was a No. 30 pick and is now headed for a max-level deal, Noah was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, and Gibson steadily improved into a valuable big off the bench.
Now look at the Lakers. There's no heir apparent to Kobe Bryant, but the Lakers have a handful of promising players - Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Jordan Hill, if his team option is picked up - that could dramatically improve under Thibodeau's tutelage. Then there's the 2015 NBA draft. Reports indicate the Lakers plan to select a point guard, either D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay. Both players have tremendous upside and, given Thibodeau's body of work with Rose, could have their NBA learning curve shortened under Thibodeau. Given next season will likely be Bryant's last, anything to expedite the maturation of Los Angeles' No. 2 pick helps.
That proven ability to develop players also could help the Lakers in free agency this summer, when a number of under-30 bigs - Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe, to name a few - are expected to be available.
