Report: Tom Thibodeau is Orlando’s top choice for new coach
The Orlando Magic are prepared to make a huge offer to Tom Thibodeau
After five years of low-scoring, great defense, Derrick Rose injuries, and no one being able to figure out how to pronounce his last name, it appears that the Tom Thibodeau era with the Bulls is coming to a close.
Despite a 255-139 record in five years as the Bulls’ head coach (he was the fastest coach ever to reach 100 wins), clashes between the hard-headed head man and the Bulls’ front office seem to have reached the point of no return. Conventional wisdom now suggests that the Bulls will part ways with Thibodeau this offseason, either through a trade or a buyout of his contract.
Would things have been different is “Thibs” had won a championship in Chicago? We can only guess. Derrick Rose’s knee injury in 2012 remains one of the great what-ifs in sports.
But regardless, it looks like Thibodeau will be on the market, and unsurprisingly, he is on the top of many team’s wish lists. That list will reportedly include the Orlando Magic.
According to a report from Gary Wolefel of the Racine Journal-Times, the Magic will be going hard after Thibodeau once he becomes available, and are prepared to pay him an exorbitant sum to become their head coach:
"In the last couple of weeks, there have been whispers that the vacant Orlando job is Thibodeau’s for the taking. In the last couple of days, there has been chatter that the Magic will make Thibodeau an extremely lucrative offer, one that could make him perhaps the highest-paid coach in the game.Two NBA officials said they heard the Magic will be willing to pay Thibodeau anywhere from $7 million to $9 million annually. What’s more, they said Thibodeau will be accorded extensive input on basketball-oriented decisions."
It sounds like an enticing deal for Thibodeau, who not only would become one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches (if not the highest), but would receive front office input, which must sound good after his constant clashes with the Bulls’ front office. It also can’t hurt that a $9 million per year offer would make him the league’s third-highest paid coach, and would double his current salary.
But the Magic aren’t the only team in hot pursuit of the Bulls’ head man. The New Orleans Pelicans are reported to have serious interest in the 2012 Coach of the Year runner-up, and are apparently prepared to wait until his departure from the Bulls is finalized before hiring a head coach.
It’s an intriguing pairing: Thibodeau, one of the NBA’s brightest defensive minds, and Anthony Davis, a seven-foot freak of nature. But can the Pelicans beat what the Magic are prepared to offer? Either way, Thibodeau will have no shortage of interest this offseason.