Tom Thibodeau (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Jesse D. Garrabrant)
(WSCR) It’s no secret the Bulls hit a home run when they hired rookie head coach Tom Thibodeau from Boston.
Thibodeau led the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 record during his first season, earning Coach of the Year honors. In his second season, Thibodeau is likely to earn the award again, making him the first coach in NBA history to win that title in back-to-back seasons.
The Bulls head coach is in the second year of a three-year deal – with a club option for the third year – and one NBA expert thinks the Bulls should be in no rush to extend Thibodeau’s contract.
“We see this mistake made a lot in sports where a team has a good season and a guy gets a long extension,” Sam Smith of NBA.com told The Mully and Hanley Show. “I don’t believe this would happen, but say at the end of the season, the Bulls get in the first round (of the playoffs) and get swept because it turns out guys say, ‘Well, we’re tired. We pushed too hard in the regular season.’ Now, would you want that coach for five more years? I’m not saying that’s the case, but what’s the hurry? Why would you do it?
LISTEN: Sam Smith on The Mully and Hanley Show
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“This is a coach who has coached one year. Look at it from his perspective: ‘I coached one year, but I got to the conference finals. I won coach of the Coach of the Year. So, match me up with the coaches who have done that.’ That’s a fairly high level in this league. The Bulls’ view would be and it’s my view, too: ‘Well, I signed the guy for three years. He hasn’t coached anywhere for 20 years, so I gave him a chance. … I (gave him) a three-year contract. What’s the hurry?’”
