Chicago Bulls: Five replacements for Tom Thibodeau

Mike D’Antoni, former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers

Mike D’Antoni is a former NBA head coach that has shown several traits of being a very good coach over the years, even if he has been somewhat of a coaching journeyman during the past decade.

The fact that he never missed a season since 2003 before this year is a testament to the belief that teams across the league have in his abilities. Although he has never led a team to the NBA Finals, he does have some nice hardware to his credit, including the 2005 Coach of the Year award and multiple titles overseas before coming to the NBA.

D’Antoni was a guard during his playing days, something that makes sense when you look at his fast-paced style of offense. He helped make point guard Steve Nash an MVP, and at all three of his most recent coaching stops has handled multiple star players with relative success (although he could not save Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard’s marriage in Los Angeles).

The fact that D’Antoni runs a guard-friendly offense is appealing to a team whose two most talented players are in the backcourt; Rose and Butler. The only worry will be his notoriety for a lack of defensive emphasis, but I believe this is an area that defensive anchor and team leader Noah could help control.

If the Bulls could maintain their defensive intensity of recent years and combine it with D’Antoni’s incredible offensive mind, they just might become a favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

Next: Fred Hoiberg