June 02--Jeff Van Gundy, friend and former boss of Tom Thibodeau, has been critical of Bulls management and was again Tuesday during an ESPN conference call.
"I've got a couple comments," Van Gundy said. "One, I'm pulling my name out of the Chicago Bulls running for head coach. Nobody has a sense of humor anymore.
"To me, I think this is that the statement they put out when they let Tom go proves once again that every organization needs a vice president of common sense. Because when you have a high-powered public-relations business put that out, and then you have multiple people have to co-sign it to put it out, and it just absolutely reeked of a lack of class, it shows that you just need somebody to say, 'Whoa. Let's just acknowledge his greatness, Thibodeau's greatness, and let's just move on.' But it didn't happen that way.
"And in some ways, in an odd way, I think it was good because to me, that statement revealed exactly who each person was. It reveals who Jerry Reinsdorf is. It reveals who Gar Forman is. And Tom Thibodeau's statement reveals who he is. Everybody had to put their name finally on who they were, and they did. I think that's great."
Van Gundy did have nice things to say about Thibodeau's successor, Fred Hoiberg.
"I always had such appreciation for his skill and his ability to carve out an NBA career, and then going from not coaching to Iowa State in a very difficult job, done an incredible job," Van Gundy said. "He has great dignity and class and grace himself. One of my good friends, Tim Floyd, can't say enough good things about him. I'm sure he's happy, and I'm sure he'll do a fine job."
