Zach LaVine’s eyes lit up, as a smile came across his face.
Of course the Bulls guard was excited to talk about “my guy.’’
“[His] style works,’’ LaVine said back in February of the coach. “He’s not a beat-around-the-bush type of guy. This is just a guy that once you buy into his coaching, I mean look at the track record. It’s pretty damn good.’’
Unquestionably the biggest endorsement LaVine has given a head coach since arriving in Chicago back in 2017.
And unfortunately it wasn’t directed at his current one.
Heck, he wasn’t even talking about his former Bulls coach in Fred Hoiberg.
Nope, it was the one that traded him to Chicago years ago, and the same one that Bulls fans know all too well. Three seasons later, LaVine was still raving about his one-year of experience playing under Tom Thibodeau.
“Mr. Thibs,’’ LaVine said at the time. “He should damn well be coaching somewhere, that’s for sure.’’
And now it looks like he will be, with the Knicks and Thibodeau dotting the final Is and crossing a few Ts on a five-year deal as of Saturday.
A deal that not only brings New York back to NBA relevance, but in the big picture of the Eastern Conference, now catapults their rebuild ahead of the Bulls.
Crazy?
Not at all.
Crazy if it was written two months ago, but the Association is fluid, and no organization has done more to reinvent itself in that time than the Knicks. First, hiring long-time player agent Leon Rose as team president, and then adding William Wesley (aka World Wide Wes) to the front office as an executive.
Outside-the-box hires? Absolutely, especially compared to the Bulls nabbing Arturas Karnisovas as their executive in charge of all things basketball, and then adding Marc Eversley to the mix as the general manager.
Two moves by the Bulls that were widely applauded across the league as not only smart, but much needed.
Where Rose and Wesley will be dangerous as a duo is in free agency, especially considering the relationships they have built with NBA players.
That’s not to say that Karnisovas and Eversley will lack in that area at all, especially with Eversley’s background with Nike for a number of years.
When comparing the two organizations go ahead and call the front offices a wash.
Where the Bulls seemingly have the Knicks beat is with the current roster, but considering the Bulls only had one more win than New York this season, is it really that much better? Then look at the current salary structure of each team, and the Knicks have a serious advantage in roster flexibility over the Bulls, not only this offseason, but looking ahead for what could be a historic free-agent class in 2021.
Still, give an edge to the Bulls.
The last edge they earn.
Even if the Bulls move on from Jim Boylen and pursue an Ime Udoka or Adrian Griffin, those are knives being brought to a gunfight. Thibodeau is basketball coaching elite.
Need evidence? Over the last 15 NBA seasons, whether he was head coach or associate head coach, Thibodeau coached teams have a .643 winning percentage. In his five years as Bulls coach, the franchise was 255-139 (.647 winning percentage), posted a franchise-best 86 consecutive-game streak without losing more than two games in a row, and led the league in close-game winning percentage at .626 (66-40).
Boylen has a .317 winning percentage, and has a locker room with players openly taking jabs at his ability to coach.
With reports surfacing on Saturday that the “Chicago 8’’ bubble is picking up steam on becoming reality, there’s a good chance that the Bulls enter that bubble still looking to do meet-and-greets between front office and current coaching staff, while the Knicks have their new coach in place, putting the Thibodeau system to work immediately.
Take it a step further, it’s very likely that within two years, the Knicks will be a much bigger threat in the East than the Bulls.
That’s what Thibodeau does – makes the irrelevant relevant.
Turns losers into winners, and quickly.
Ask LaVine.
“Mr. Thibs’’ doesn’t play around.
