Coach a model of consistency
Giving Thibodeau extension, raise should be priority
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is an acquired taste.
‘‘ I remember one day we were working out at the Berto Center, and Thibs was putting me through a real hard workout,’’ center Joakim Noah said. ‘‘ I told him, ‘ You know, Thibs, if we weren’t winning games, I would really, really hate you.’ And he said, ‘ Trust me, Jo, I feel the same way about you.’ ’’
Noah made those comments in his acceptance speech after being named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Fast- forward to Saturday, when newly signed big man Pau Gasol was asked about his early impressions of Thibodeau after the Bulls’ preseason victory against the Bucks in Milwaukee.
‘‘ I mean, we’re all getting to know each other, I guess,’’ Gasol said. ‘‘ Every individual is a little different. Obviously, our coach is a different type of guy, so I think we understand each other well. We have respect for the game. Everyone here wants to win, and as long as we’re on the same page we should be fine.’’
A ringing endorsement? Not yet, at least.
The early whispers are that Gasol still is in the process of buying into Thibodeau’s way of life. He might want to go ahead and commit completely because, like it or not, the results don’t lie.
Derrick Rose has an MVP trophy on his mantel. Noah went from a high- motor enigma to a two- time AllStar with a Defensive Player of the Year award. Taj Gibson was a Sixth Man of the Year finalist. All of that happened under Thibodeau.
Journeyman Nate Robinson finally got a multiyear contract. D. J. Augustin had his NBA career saved. Jimmy Butler has become an elite defender. All that happened under Thibodeau, too.
The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference finals in Thibodeau’s first season, then were eliminated in the first, second and first rounds of the playoffs the last three seasons. Rose, of course, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the first round of the 2012 playoffs and sat out all of the 2012- 13 season, then tore the meniscus in his right knee early last season and sat out the rest of the way.
Thibodeau’s best coaching job might have been the 2012- 13 playoff run, when the Bulls upset the Brooklyn Nets with Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich sidelined and Noah playing on one good foot, then gave the Miami Heat all they could handle in the second round.
Still, rumors continue to pop up that Thibodeau and the Bulls’ front office are at odds.
‘‘ What the hell are the Bulls doing with Thibs?’’ one former NBA coach said this summer. ‘‘ Stand back and let him do his thing.’’
The front office can put all the speculation about Thibodeau to rest by extending his contract and paying him his market value. As it stands, Thibodeau is signed through the 2016- 17 season for just less than $ 4.4 million per season. By comparison, the New York Knicks’ Derek Fisher and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr are $ 5 million- a- year coaches without having won a regularseason game.
Vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman generally have shown an ability to make the right decisions at the right times, but playing chicken with an elite NBA coach such as Thibodeau isn’t good for business.
The best thing the Bulls have had going for them in recent seasons hasn’t been Rose; it has been Thibodeau. They must realize that and reward him.