Tom Thibodeau is ready to return to the NBA.
After a year off from coaching, the 62-year-old is “confident” he will have a job next season on an NBA sideline, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, and is asking around the league for advice on the best opportunity.
Bondy noted that the Knicks, Nets and Rockets are expected to have the three highest-profile jobs available, while the Pelicans, Bulls and Hawks are also teams to keep an eye.
While the Nets, after surprisingly ousting Kenny Atkinson in March, have two stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Thibodeau has been reported by multiple outlets as the favorite for the Knicks job.
In fact, it may the job Thibodeau, a former Knicks assistant from 1996-2003, most covets.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, a Thibodeau confidant said back in February that he “really wants the Knicks job” and can “taste it.”
Thibodeau and new Knicks president Leon Rose also reportedly have a close relationship together, going back two decades as Thibodeau was a client of Wes Wesley at CAA, Rose’s agency, and worked closely with Rose.
However, Bondy noted Rose has also been impressed with the job Mike Miller has done in the interim, and also mentioned Kentucky head coach John Calipari as a possibility, due to his relationship with Rose, as well.
Thibodeau, however, has a proven track record in the NBA. Former Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach has a career record of 352-246 over eight season, but had an unceremonious end in his most recent stint in Minnesota.
Thibodeau struggled to keep his players happy, which led to Jimmy Butler being traded and eventually Thibodeau’s ouster after a 19-21 record to start the 2018-19 season a year after guiding the organization to its first postseason appearance in 14 years.
While with the Bulls, Thibodeau led Chicago to the playoffs in all five of his seasons there, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bulls are also a team that could be looking to hire a new coach and Thibodeau also has a relationship with newly hired Chicago GM Arturas Karnisovas — whom Thibodeau worked with in 2014 with USA Basketball — making Chicago also a team to watch as a potential landing spot, too.
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