When Tom Thibodeau took the podium after the Chicago Bulls’ season-ending loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 14, everybody in the room—including the coach—knew that he had coached his last game with the Bulls. Still, he made it clear where he stood in the increasingly ugly and protracted staring contest with management.
“Until they tell me I’m not,” Thibodeau told reporters, “I expect to be here.”
The divorce, while inevitable, won’t be initiated by Thibodeau. He has no reason to force things. He’s got two years and around $9 million left on his contract with the Bulls. If he resigns or agrees to some kind of “mutual decision to part ways,” he walks away from that guaranteed money.
And so, it’s on general manager Gar Forman and John Paxson, the Bulls' vice president of basketball operations, to make the call. The sooner they make the call everyone knows is coming, the sooner they’ll be able to move forward and determine the future direction of the team.
The B ...
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Article written by Sean Highkin