Head Coach Tom Thibodeau Officially Signs 4-Year Deal With Chicago Bulls
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau officially signed a 4-year deal to remain the Bulls coach after agreeing to a $17.5 million extension in training camp. Thibodeau didn’t sign his new contract until this past week and is currently in his third season as coach of the Bulls.
The Bulls ended the Miami Heat’s 27-game winning streak a week ago, and have now inked the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2011 to a new four-year contract. Thibodeau led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA in 2011 at 62-20 before being knocked out in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat.
Thibodeau went on to finish as the runner-up behind the San Antonio Spurs’ Greg Popovich for Coach of the Year in 2012, though an ACL-injury to Derrick Rose kept the team from making it out of the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bulls have already clinched their fifth consecutive playoff appearance this year and are currently sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. With only two weeks left in the regular season, the Bulls are still without Rose and are coming off a 90-86 loss to the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards have only won 28 games this season, but used a strong second half to beat the Bulls on Tuesday. Chicago had won four out of their last five games before the loss to the Wizards, and now move on to face the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
The Nets have also clinched a playoff spot, and ended a two-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 113-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Outside of meetings with the Knicks and Heat, the Bulls have a pretty easy road ahead of them on their way to the playoffs.
Six out of the Bulls final nine games are against teams playing below .500 basketball. Derrick Rose has yet to announce his return, making Thibodeau’s job a lot harder, which he has handled very successfully.
This isn’t the first time Rose has missed a lot of games due to injury, and Thibodeau has once again managed his squad well enough to remain comfortable in the Eastern Conference.
Is this the year Thibodeau brings the Bulls to the NBA Finals with his contract out of the way and the playoffs ahead of him?
[Image via Creative Commons]
