This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this but the extent to which it run is supposedly going widely unreported. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, there is a rift between Chicago Bulls upper management and the coaching staff. Specifically between, head coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Gar Foreman.
Derrick Rose demonstrated the truest antidote for the franchise’s dysfunction. Ball in his hands, blur on the floor, Rose tethers enemies to the common cause of the championship chase.
With so much distrust and downright disdain between the Chicago Bulls front office and coach, the ripples of Rose’s resounding return on Saturday night ought to remind general manager Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau of the stakes of surviving the organization’s power struggle.
Between Forman and Thibodeau the disconnect is deep, but Rose’s reconstructed knee could be a powerful agent of reconciliation. With transcendent talents, there come redemptive powers. No one wants to be ousted with Rose on the roster, because he is one of those once-in-a-lifetime players for executives and coaches.
So what exactly is the cause of this deep rift? The Sportsbank.Net had an interesting take on it in my opinion.
So what is behind the Thibodeau vs. Forman Cold War?
What’s being swept under the rug?
Assistant Coach Ron Adams was dismissed this summer despite Thibodeau’s demands that he stay. Forman didn’t like Adams’ disposition and felt that he didn’t toe the company line enough. It’s extremely rare for a NBA front office to come down and cut an assistant. Nine out of ten that’s a Coach’s job. Also, Rose was very close with Adams, so that only intensifies the ill-feelings within the Chicago Bulls organization.
“It is a toxic relationship that I believe will ultimately derail them,” one NBA coaching source with close ties to Thibodeau and Forman warned Wojnarowski.
Does time really heal all wounds? I think we all know lasts season in Chicago was a stressful one according to all accounts. The delay of Derrick Rose returning to the court, reports being leaked that Rose was medically cleared by all doctors, and just the stress caused by the constant questions regarding the superstar who decided not to play for a full season.
Could Rose’s return be the key to a reconciliation between Thibs and Forman? I’m not sure.
What I do know, is winning cures just about everything in sports. If Rose comes out and performs at a MVP level and the Bulls are title contenders again, I don’t think much else will come from it.