JeffVan Gundy came down on the media Friday, claiming some members “are in the hip pocket” of Bulls management. He alleges the Bulls are leaking stories to “undermine” Tom Thibodeau.

Van Gundy’s comments came in a strongly-worded defense of the Bulls coach during ESPN’s telecast of the Bulls-Mavericks game. Thibodeau was a former assistant coach for Van Gundy and they are close friends.

Luol Deng deserves warm welcome from Bulls fans in return to Chicago
Luol Deng deserves warm welcome from Bulls fans in return to Chicago
“I read every Chicago story,” Van Gundy said. “There is no doubt the Bulls organization has the media, with a few exceptions, in their hip pocket. For whatever reasons, they have set their sights on Thibodeau when all he has done is deliver greatness in his five years (as the Bulls head coach).”

The candid Van Gundy, who usually operates without a filter, carefully chose his words by noting “exceptions.” It also isn’t clear if he is referring to Chicago media or national reporters.


A few moments earlier in a discussion with play-by-play voice, Mike Breen, Van Gundy said: “It’s almost criminal in basketball terms what he’s having to endure with some of the fringe media attacking his status, attacking his personality.”

Van Gundy said the situation isn’t new and that the team has a history of “leaking” stories to undermine its coaches.

“The team has publicly supported their coaches while privately undermining that same person,” Van Gundy said. “Think about it. They ran Phil Jackson out after winning all those championships. I think it’s wrong. It’s wrong for the team. It has not been fair to Tom.”

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Van Gundy literally blew Thibs on air for about 5 minutes during Friday's game. It was sickening.

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He was right though. Any other team would be doing everything they can to support a coach like Thibs. They took away his best coach and some of his favorite players. He had a crappy roster and still won.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

How dare he impugn KC Johnson!

He likes pegging

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

what he said is obviously true. It seems like John Paxson is a reasonably intelligent man. What, exactly, does he want from a coach?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Thank you, but KC has a lifetime pass to the UC now!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I'm a Van Gundy guy. He is one of the few analyst that will openly criticize star players. He never is critical of coaches though. I agree with him about the Chicago media being in the hip pocket of management. I just think he would have more credibility if he didn't have a previous working relationship with Thibodeau. He would also have more credibility on this if he had a history of criticizing coaches. He always provides cover for coaches.

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Could any of this be Rose?

I think a lot of it is about Rose. Thibodeau has taken Rose to task this yr. It's obvious he has had enough of Rose's me - first attitude. I don't think his willingness to criticize Rose is sitting too well with management. I also wonder if he has felt pressure to sit players or rest players during games. The leaks that Van Gundy speaks of may have to do with that. The notion that he works too players too hard has been a recurring theme the past few yrs and I believe that is definitely something that was leaked by management.

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Who is the NBA star that doesn't have a "me-first" attitude? Players get coaches fired. Not the other way around. It's nothing new. And if it's the case here, it isn't like Rose is some oddity. He's typical.

If Rose isn't capable of being a star anymore, that's a separate issue. But if you're paying attention, suddenly Rose is playing pretty damn well.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Lamarcus Aldridge. The guy just bypassed surgery because the team needed him

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He plays in Portland. Nobody cares.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

That has nothing to do with it. He is a star player that put the interests of the team ahead of his own.

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Tim Duncan has never had a me first attitude and he is one of the greatest players of all time. Same is true when it comes to Dirk and a few other players. Rose still isn't playing well enough to have a me first attitude. Right now he is only the 3rd best player on the team. If Noah gets healthy he would be the 4th.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

If you really think that they should go complete rebuild. They arent going anywhere if Rose is really their fourth best player.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

The Combo at PG of Rose/Brooks is pretty good despite Rose not being 100%.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

That's not a knock on him really. It's very unlikely he can be their best player again. Even with his string of 20 point games Gasol and Butler are clearly better. The Bulls can win a championship with this Derrick Rose.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

one thing he should rip Thibbs for is not resting players. That San Antonio game was the perfect night to do it.

These "Big games" are all meaningless to a really good team. Its a really big team when the team you are playing has rings or divsion crown and you dont, but that just menas you are a level below them.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Jimmy Butler needs more rest.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I think Thibs has a problem with the I can't play unless I'm completely healthy stuff and he should. I'm sure the stuff about wanting to attend board meetings in one piece didn't help either.

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Phil wasn't run out of town. Rose needs to be this teams best player for them to win it all. Thibs is a great coach who plays Butler too much.

huh?

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Yes he was.

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Maybe Paxson should grab Thibs by the tie like he did VDN when he played Noah when he was hurt???? Let's she what Chicago media guy calls out Van Gundy on the air.....I bet not a one

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Personally, I wouldn't ask Van Gundy what the time was. Having said that, let's read something from someone who might actually know something.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-tom-thibodeau-speculation-bulls-spt-0129-20150128-story.html

Bulls' Tom Thibodeau sticking with his coaching principles
By K.C. Johnson
Chicago Tribune

LOS ANGELES — Several times over the years, Tom Thibodeau has reminded all how Tim Duncan averaged nearly 40 minutes in his first six seasons with the Spurs. He did it again Tuesday night before the Bulls' overtime victory over the Warriors.

Thibodeau routinely has made reference to how Phil Jackson rarely took Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen off the court during the Bulls dynasty. He also did that again in one of his next breaths after his Duncan point.

The Bulls coach has hammered home the theme of needing full participation in practice to build chemistry and continuity from the first day in training camp, when management and the medical staff placed restrictions on players.

But Thibodeau never had done so in such all-encompassing fashion as he did before and after one of the Bulls' most important victories of the season. And he certainly hadn't done so since ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy accused Bulls management of undermining Thibodeau, pulling back the curtain anew on that frayed relationship.

"The more you practice, the better you practice, the better you're going to play," Thibodeau said after the stirring victory. "That's time-tested, age-old, however else you want to describe it. That's what you gotta do if you want to win."

That Thibodeau said this the night before he merely had a film session and players worked out individually — no official practice serving as his nod to the Bulls' three-games-in-four-nights schedule — should remind all that a coach can't spend two-plus decades in the NBA without knowing how to pace a team.

But it also underscored how, despite last week's team meeting instead of a practice, Thibodeau isn't going to change, even while the speculation about his long-term future with the Bulls continues. Despite the two seasons left on the four-year extension Thibodeau took several months to sign in the 2012-13 season, several league sources believe Thibodeau's relationship with management is beyond repair.

And while there are no plans to replace Thibodeau during the season, a mutual parting of the ways after this season wouldn't surprise many league personnel familiar with the deteriorating dynamic.

"The only way you can improve execution and timing is really through repetition," Thibodeau said. "The only way you get repetition is you have to practice. … There's the school of thought that less minutes are better. There's also the school of thought that when you do less, you also become deconditioned."

This is how Thibodeau coaches. This is how he will continue to coach.

"No one talks about Phil," he said. "Phil has won more championships than anybody, and he played his main guys big minutes. Pau (Gasol) never averaged less than 371/2 minutes under Phil."

The Bulls have posted three impressive victories since last week's team meeting, albeit adding a clunker home loss to the Heat in between. The meeting occurred when Thibodeau first scheduled an unplanned practice after the desultory Jan. 19 road loss to the Cavaliers and later canceled it.

Theories followed that Thibodeau's approach would change. Someone who grinded his way through two decades as an assistant to a .655 regular-season winning percentage as a head coach typically stays the course.

After Tuesday's victory, Thibodeau offered unsolicited praise for Joakim Noah, calling it his best game of the season.

"I don't want to say anything crazy and then stink it up the next game," Noah said, smiling, about his night. "I feel like I moved all right. Just have to keep working."

That's all everyone associated with the Bulls can do.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

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Thibs is right.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Of course he's right.

The reality may well be that being right might not be enough for some folks, on and off the court.

Who knows ... it sucks that it's even a topic.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George