5 possible candidates for the next Chicago Bulls head coach

2. David Fizdale

It’s hard to tell what’s gone wrong for Fizdale in stops in New York and Memphis, but it doesn’t seem unfair to say it was just poor timing.

Fizdale took the Grizzlies job at a peculiar point in the franchise’s history, just as they were looking to move on from the core constituents of the Grit n’ Grind era. Reportedly, the fractured relationship between Fizdale and Marc Gasol led in part to Fizdale’s undoing, yet just months after Fizdale was fired, the Grizzlies traded Gasol — then Mike Conley — in short succession. Despite gaining notoriety for his one playoff victory — remember “TAKE THAT FOR DATA”? — Fizdale was gone after 101 games.

Chalk up the Knicks to, well, the Knicks. Can you blame anyone for being chewed up by Steve Mills and James Dolan? More accomplished folks than Fizdale have been ruined by the franchise.

That leaves us with Fizdale in his current form, somehow having chewed through two jobs before turning 45. His strengths allegedly are modernizing a team’s style and developing players. Those are surely two values the Bulls need. As Zach Kram noted at The Ringer, Chicago took lots of 3s and layups but were among the least efficient in those spots. That signals a profound difference between talent and philosophy, perhaps best exemplified by the severe regression of Lauri Markkanenin his third season.

In many ways, Fizdale is simply an upgrade over what the Bulls thought they were getting in Boylen. Maybe most importantly, Fizdale can handle himself publicly in a way that doesn’t bring humiliation to the franchise. Is all that enough to put him above the fray in the search?