What mattered was who was speaking and that it was official comment on team letterhead.

This wasn’t information uncovered by reporters from one side of the conflict or the other or a friendly proxy with a microphone taking potshots. This was the Bulls chairman himself laying wood to a coach after he was fired, showing lock-step support of his management. Anybody assuming that Jerry Reinsdorf wanted to play peacemaker for the cold war between Tom Thibodeau and his bosses is now disabused of that fanciful notion after Thibodeau was fired by the organization on Thursday.

Uncharacteristic bluntness was everywhere in Reinsdorf’s long and detailed statement that reinforced the need for a properly functioning workplace — something impossible when involving the obsessive, compulsive, uncommunicative, often paranoid Thibodeau.

“There must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone’s ideas and opinions,” Reinsdorf said. “These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private.

“When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there was a departure from this culture. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required.”

The typical language for such a common move, this was not.

Nor was the decision particularly difficult. After five seasons that made Thibodeau the longest-tenured NBA coach without a title, it was clearly time for him to go. Playoffs matter more than games in January, long-term health merits attention and care, offense matters as much or more now than defense and players should never be avoiding their own practice facility because they feel suffocated by their coach.

Thibodeau’s Bulls run ended with a desultory season marked by inexplicable losses to bad teams, and with a playoff path finally gifted to them by the good fortune of injuries, the team responded by quitting meekly in the biggest game yet, a Game 6 blowout loss to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was an inecxusable embarrassment that resonated badly in the hallways of team offices, all the way up.

This didn’t come from executive vice president John Paxson, general manager Gar Forman or even increasingly involved chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf. The mere fact that Jerry Reinsdorf is the one providing the commentary is meaningful, but the fact that it’s so pointed tells us just how bad things became. He doesn’t do this unless he feels he or the organization was somehow wronged in a way that deserves public rebuke.

The last time Reinsdorf even came close to something like this was upon the sour departure of Horace Grant in 1994, after which Reinsdorf openly accused Grant of backing out of a deal and of sitting out games in “blue flu” protest.

“I believe we failed to achieve the best record in the Eastern Conference because we lost the games that Horace failed to play,” Reinsdorf said then. “I think you might conclude that he cost us the championship.”

Until now, that was the only time Reinsdorf seemed so motivated to slam a door like this.

His message Thursday was simple and a long time coming for a coach whose game-planning and tactical skills were eventually overcome by his quixotic stubbornness, territorial neuroses and socialization problems.

The very top of the Bulls organization has had enough.

I think somebody's gonna get called to the principal's office this afternoon!

Viscious, viscious.

K.C. Johnson @KCJHoop · 2h 2 hours ago
JVG speaks for himself. But can't emphasize enough how much his Jan. comments angered Reinsdorf, previously an oasis for Thibodeau.

Way back machine.

Paxson is a hell of a lot better at this than the mumbling bumbling let's look at my essay of notes Gar Foreman.

Maybe because Pax is too much of a pussy to address anything.. Gar is doing all the answering .

BREAKING: loud voices in important offices heard prevailing in Two Prudential

Jeff Van Gundy is a spreader of pernicious myths!

bernstein reporting that three Bulls starters said they would not come to practice facility over summer if Thibs was still the coach.

Jeff Van Gundy is a spreader of pernicious myths!

Jeff Van Gundy is a spreader of pernicious myths!

I do a killer Kevin Matthews doing Ed Schwartz impression.

Here's Señor to give today's news the adverbs it needed.

Not one mention of the spectrum. Color me disappointed.

You know what? Due to the game I listened to ESPN today and I was just fine. I guess I might try that again? Hard to switch for me.

Viscious, viscious.

I do a killer Kevin Matthews doing Ed Schwartz impression.

Baldy is wrong though. It was Thibs that undermined Paxon. The grabbing of Vinnie's tie? Ok. I guess Paxon will never live that down.