Former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau spoke publicly for the first time since being fired by his former employers and insisted that he had no regrets about the job he did.
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Thibodeau was adamant that his contentious relationship with the front office didn’t affect the team in any way, and he was keen to avoid discussing the issues that he had with executives Gar Forman and John Paxson.
“I would like to think it didn’t have any because if you allow yourself to be distracted, you’re going to be distracted by a lot of other things as well,” Thibodeau said during an appearance on Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio.
Chicago fired Thibodeau at the end of last month before appointing Fred Hoiberg as their new coach, and they stressed that they needed a better communicator in charge and someone that would listen to their input more.
“I don’t worry about stuff like that,” Thibodeau added.
“I know for me, I put everything I have into each and every day. So I have no regrets. I’m going to let the record speak for itself.”
The former Boston Celtics assistant went on to praise the players for their continued efforts throughout his time in charge, as even he admitted that he was shocked with the way they continued to battle on despite injuries to key players.
Point guard Derrick Rose was largely sidelined for Thibodeau’s tenure, suffering from multiple knee injuries which resulted in the Bulls being under significant pressure to produce without him.
However, Thibodeau managed to find a way by instilling a defensive identity in the team that made them one of the more difficult teams to beat in the NBA.
Nevertheless, that only worked for so long and after their limitations were exposed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals this season, the front office conceded that a change was required and they will hope that Hoiberg is the man to take them to the next level.
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