Rivers believes Thibodeau is one of the best coaches in the league.
Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers insists that the Chicago Bulls would be “nuts” to let his friend and fellow coach Tom Thibodeau go this summer.
There has been significant speculation over Thibodeau’s future in Chicago for some time, with Luol Deng’s departure reigniting rumours of friction between the coach and the front office.
All parties maintain that they have a solid working relationship, although problems date back to last summer when the Bulls decided not to bring back assistant coach and Thibodeau’s close friend, Ron Adams.
“He’s under contract, so yeah,” Rivers said, according to ESPN.
“I don’t know why he wouldn’t be. I think it would be nuts not to have him here. He’s the best coach, one of the best coaches in this league. So if you have that, that’s an asset.
“And I don’t think any right-minded organization would allow that asset to leave. Because with all this adversity they’ve had with injuries, if you allow that one to leave, things will fall apart. And that would be pretty much a guarantee.”
Rivers admitted that he spoke to Thibodeau a lot prior to his switch from the Boston Celtics to the Clippers, and insists that he isn’t surprised how his former assistant has managed to keep the Bulls competitive despite the loss of the injured Derrick Rose and Deng.
The Bulls have won nine of their last 12 games since the latter was traded, and although there have been calls for them to tank in order to increase their chances of picking up a top quality Draft prospect via the lottery, it is Thibodeau’s worth ethic and approach which has seen them to continue to push for the playoffs.
Chicago currently sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference at 21-21 for the season, and although they are expected to continue to struggle throughout the year, they will be hopeful of advancing to the post-season as they are still just a game off moving up to third.
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