As a wide-net search enters its final stage, EVP Bryson Graham's Chicago Bulls is set to finalize the best head coaching candidate before the NBA draft.
The long wait makes sense and is worthy for the Chicago Bulls as their newly formed front office is diving deeper into the coaching search. The good news is that the wait is about to end.
According to ClutchPoint’s NBA Insider Brett Siegel on early Friday, the Bulls will advance their head coach hiring process while going through interviews with a long and firm list of candidates in their “casted” wide net. In Siegel’s intel, the Bulls are about to secure the final candidate by the second week of June.
Moreover, Siegel said the San Antonio Spurs’ associate head coach Sean Sweeney, who had been targeted by the Bulls and is now working under Mitch Johnson, is leading the team in the Western Conference Final. The Spurs thrashed the OKC Thunder 118-91 on Thursday night at Frost Bank Center, forcing the series to Game 7.
In the BullsRoundtable’s coach candidates ranking earlier this week, Sweeney was ranked first among 10 reported candidates. At 41, his playoff pedigree and defensive-focused scheme fit what Bryson Graham’s Bulls team looks for.
However, the perfect illusion collapses as the other team transcended in the hiring process. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Friday, the Orlando Magic, who were also reportedly interested in the Bulls’ top candidate, hired Sweeney as their new head coach. Interestingly, the former Bulls’ coach Billy Donovan, along with LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, were two other finalists for the Magic’s coaching search, per Charania.
Another candidate that the Bulls considered more is Tiago Splitter, who is still under contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. Per Siegel, the Blazers also considered the interim coach, who took over Chauncey Billups’ leftover after his illegal gamble scandal and led the team to clinch the Playoff berth, benefiting the Bulls for another first-round pick of 15th. Competitions on the Brazillian is expected to be intense, considering Splitter’s current contract situation.
More reported candidates for the Bulls’ head coaching vacancy: Micah Nori (Minnesota), David Bliss (OKC), Johnnie Bryant (Cleveland), Chris Quinn (Miami), James Borrego (New Orleans), Lamar Skeeter (Charlotte), Wes Unself Jr. (Chicago) and Jerry Stackhouse (Golden State).
With the NBA Draft approaching, which is scheduled on June 23 (First Round) and June 24 (Second Round) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Bulls would have to accelerate the coaching search before getting into the next stage of the offseason agenda.
