The Chicago Bulls lost Game 6 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday 94-73, and it could very much have been the end of an era for the franchise. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has two years and about $9 million left on his contract, but it's looked for a while like he and the Bulls are headed for a split. From ESPN's Marc Stein:
The story is the same no matter who you check with: Thibodeau and his front-office superiors John Paxson and Gar Forman, despite their public pronouncements to the contrary, are utterly done with each other.
As one source close to the situation puts it: "Thibs is gone. They know it and he knows it."
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One well-placed observer we know, for example, is convinced that Thibodeau and Forman have scarcely had a substantive conversation since roughly November.
Thibodeau said after his season ended that he expects to be the coach until he's told differently. It would be wise, though, to take anything said on the record about this matter with a massive grain of salt. The ESPN report mentions Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg and Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin as possible replacements for Thibodeau. As for potential destinations for him, the New Orleans Pelicans -- "there is unquestioned mutual interest," according to Stein -- and Orlando Magic keep coming up.
It's been strange to hear such speculation about a coach with Thibodeau's track record, especially while his team was still competing in the playoffs. Now that the Bulls have been eliminated, though, you can expect there to be some actual news rather than just rumblings. The most logical scenario is that Chicago works something out fairly quickly in terms of a Doc Rivers-esque trade, but it's dangerous to assume things will work logically or smoothly here.