It is the conventional wisdom around the league that, short of the Bulls making it to the NBA Finals, once the season ends Chicago is going to part ways with coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Orlando Magic have a coaching vacancy right now.
While there are a few people expected to be interviewed for the job —interim coach James Borrego, Scott Skiles, and Scott Brooks among them — Orlando has not started the search process yet. Why? The theory is they are waiting on Thibodeau, reports Josh Robbins at the Orlando Sentinel.The theory mentioned most often revolves around current Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. The league observers speculate that the Magic want to see whether the Bulls and Thibodeau will part ways after the Bulls conclude their playoff run....
League observers caution that Thibodeau’s hire by the Magic would not be a given even if Thibodeau becomes a coaching free agent.
It would be awkward to bring in someone like Brooks for an interview, and then have him stew and sit for a couple weeks (at least, maybe more than a month) while you wait on Thibodeau would be unprofessional. To put it kindly.
Thibodeau would bring a strong defensive focus and a great level of attention to detail to the organization. He’s not a guy whose name comes up first on the “best player development” coaches list, but young players like Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic have thrived under him.
Orlando is an attractive destination for a coach, but if Thibodeau is let go he’s going to have plenty of options.