#NBAFrontOffice: Thibs vs. Bulls management

In the latest installment of the NBA Front Office series, Tom Penn (playing the role of general manager), David Thorpe (senior consultant), Chad Ford (assistant GM), Amin Elhassan (scouting director) and Kevin Pelton (analytics director) discuss the dysfunctional relationship between Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau and the front-office pair of GM Gar Forman and VP John Paxson. How do they resolve their issues? Can they?

Want in on the conversation or have a question for one of the guys? Use #NBAFrontOffice.

Tom Penn: One of the greatest challenges in an NBA front office is to maintain a positive and collaborative relationship with the coaching staff. It takes a constant and consistent effort to keep everyone "rowing in the same direction." It takes regular communication. You must have the coach's back when he is under fire. And you must avoid the blame game at all costs. But in Chicago, they are having problems maintaining that equilibrium.

David Thorpe: Tom Thibodeau is a hard-driving force. He is relentless and really doesn't care about excuses. But then you look at the kind of injuries the Bulls have had, and he's still pounding his players as if they should still play a certain way and have a certain level of success regardless. Look at their defensive efficiency this year (they rank 13th in the league) -- there are signs that the vibe they've had in past years is not the same. I know from my friends in the league that, without question, that's the case. There's a bit of "enough already."

I believe the players all feel he's a genius coach, but when you lose, this is what happens. You start getting frustrated, you start relaxing, and this is what Thibodeau fights all the time. However, if the Chicago Bulls' management and ownership are looking for another coach, good luck finding someone better than that guy, because there aren't many. You can call Brian Shaw if you want. With Thibs, you've got to take the bad with the good, because the good is so overwhelmingly elite-level.

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