Bulls hire Tom Thibodeau for head coaching gig

By Sean Mackey

First of all, sorry for the lack of updates this week. You'd think that when the Bulls finally make a HUGE move like hiring a new coach, we'd write something about it as soon as it happens. Blogger was down most of yesterday and I was unable to post anything. That and we keep finding ourselves checking the plays on our Bulltimate Warrior video which has left us completely baffled. It was a shoddy effort at best but somebody out there must be spreading the word about it or else it wouldn't have 35,000+ views in a week. Expect a less rushed follow-up in HD if this continues.

Anyways, let's get to the real excitement. The Bulls hired a coach and it's not even July! Instead of going through a full stable of interviews like 2 years ago, John Paxson and Gar Foreman flew out to Los Angeles on the eve of Finals Game 1. With a 3 year offer already on the table from New Orleans, the Bulls had to act fast if they wanted a shot at Celtics defensive specialist Tom Thibodeau. After news broke of a semi-secret Pax-Gar interview, New Orleans pulled their offer and gave it to Portland assistant Monty Williams. Thibodeau agreed to become Chicago's new head coach.

Tom Thibodeau wanted the Bulls job over anything else that was offered to him and can you blame him? The Bulls are in the best position they've been in for a long time. They have Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and a bunch of possible trade chips along with enough room to sign one max contract free agent. Thibodeau is a defensive guru which totally fits the philosophy of the Bulls organization. Del Negro was a holdover until this season and everyone knew it. This is really the guy we wanted to takeover from where Scott Skiles left off.

The most curious perk about Thibodeau is that he's signed to William Wesley's agency, the same as LeBron James. Thibodeau was rumored to swear to never join an agency but he did. It also wasn't until after he signed with Wesley's CAA, that the Bulls became serious about signing him to a 3 year $6.5 million dollar deal. Thibodeau is expected to keep Bulls' Pete Myers on his staff along with former Bulls assistant Ron Adams and possibly Mo Cheeks to fill out his bench.

While I was leading the Kevin McHale bandwagon over the last month, Thibodeau was the best hire possible for Chicago. I'm glad the Bulls actually got what they wanted this time and didn't just interview everyone and settle with a no-namer. The NBA Draft is 16 days away, and July 1st, 2010 is 22 days away. This is becoming an exciting summer, I hope everything pans out in Chicago's favor.