"So why is (Tom) Thibodeau going to leave?" he asked.
The implication, based on subsequent texts: Why would the Bulls want to part company with an elite NBA coach under contract for two more seasons?
It's complicated, as anybody paying attention to this saga knows. The explanation depends on the source, with anonymous ones eager to shape a narrative for any media member with an agenda. The hardest truth for both sides to accept is that they share responsibility for allowing personal differences to damage a professional relationship that, if reparable, still gives the Bulls their best shot at an NBA title.
At this juncture, as the Tribune continues to project a Bulls coaching change, everybody involved needs to take a deep breath and consider the real consequences of starting over. If the Bulls let a feud centered around minutes limits lead to a coaching change, they must realize their expiration date for a championship run just passed.
Unless Thibodeau's successor is Doc Rivers or Gregg Popovich, no new coach will be more qualified to get the Bulls to the NBA Finals quicker. Unless Thibodeau unseats David Blatt in Cleveland — possible, but still a long shot — it's hard to imagine any team Thibs inherits being closer to winning their conference than the Bulls. Sorry, drama kings, both Thibodeau and the Bulls are better together than apart.
Compromise should be the goal — not the enemy — for Thibodeau and the Bulls management tandem of Gar Forman and John Paxson. It should be imperative to Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf that he intercedes to help them achieve it. Reinsdorf, 79, should understand that letting Thibodeau go now realistically removes the urgency from next season. Any new coach introduced, whether it's Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg or Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry, delays any realistic championship run.
Creative tension is great until it shatters a championship window. With the White Sox, Reinsdorf presided over the soap opera that played out between then-general manager Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen. With the Bulls, back in 1998, Reinsdorf oversaw the clash of then-GM Jerry Krause and coach Phil Jackson. At least those previous odd couples won titles together before divorcing. The Bulls and Thibodeau are on the verge of splitting before ever playing into June.
In passionate sports cities like Chicago, the unknown intoxicates us. How many times have people clamored for the Blackhawks to replace goalie Corey Crawford? Every rumor about the Cubs trading shortstop Starlin Castro revolves around replacing him with a prospect who might develop into as polished a hitter as Castro is. We just experienced the NFL draft, where hype annually surrounds first-round draft picks — and then a bust like Cedric Benson or Shea McClellin makes everybody feel silly celebrating something just because it's new and different.
Any Bulls coach not named Thibodeau would be new and different, but I can't help but wonder if those pushing such a change eventually will feel silly celebrating it.
Unproven at the NBA level, Hoiberg possesses many traits similar to successful Warriors coach Steve Kerr — a former league executive, affable, agreeable and less likely to challenge authority. But, as one college coach cautioned, nothing guarantees Hoiberg would leave Iowa State given a recent heart procedure and his comfort level.
Gentry? Good luck selling Gentry's career .475 winning percentage (335-370) as an upgrade over Thibodeau, who has won 65 percent of his games despite coaching more games without Derrick Rose (213) than with him (183). Of Thibodeau's five seasons in Chicago, only his first wasn't affected by Rose having surgery.
For his part, Thibodeau needs to evolve in a way that makes coexisting with him easier. He can be irascible, inflexible and unnecessarily petty. There was no need, for instance, to invoke practice limitations publicly for the umpteenth time after Thursday's loss. Forman and Paxson must give a little too, because the Bulls have no better options as coach for next season if they are serious about contending while 34-year-old Pau Gasol and creaky Joakim Noah still can.
The Bulls need tweaked more than transformed. Keep Thibodeau, find an athletic, relentless rebounder with length — a Tristan Thompson type — integrate shooter Doug McDermott and hope everybody stays healthy. Again. Idealistic? Perhaps, but it's also pragmatic.
Chicago's heart says break up the Bulls. That's emotion talking. The head says bringing back the core, including Thibodeau, represents the smartest way to stay relevant in the East. Trading Thibodeau for draft picks would be conceding that the likable, reasonable adults on both sides of this cannot reach an accord — an unacceptable conclusion if I'm Reinsdorf. Firing Thibodeau would threaten to stick with Forman and Paxson more than any move they ever have made.
Bringing Thibodeau back would say they found a way to call a truce and put the Bulls organization first, which ultimately is their job.
