The Chicago Bulls did something for the first time that the franchise really hasn’t before. They came out aggressively on the coaching market and swiped a top candidate from the clutches of another team. Almost everybody across the NBA media landscape thought Tiago Splitter was destined to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’d just led them to a 42-40 record, making the playoffs for the first time in half a decade despite not being the head coach when the season started. The original choice, Chauncey Billups, was suspended over gambling allegations.
Keeping Splitter felt like a no-brainer. However, there was one problem. Portland owner Tom Dundon reportedly wanted to hire a head coach at around $1.5 million per year, which is extremely cheap for the NBA. Having just bought the franchise, Dundon seems intent on cutting costs everywhere. He figured he could get away with lowballing Splitter, who’d probably be happy with any offer.
That was a miscalculation. Chicago swooped in with a higher number and lured the 41-year-old away. Now, Portland is without a coach and suddenly has a reputation for being cheap, which hurts its chances of finding a decent replacement. Based on how Blazer players spoke about Splitter after the season, they are not happy.
Losing Tiago Splitter must be demoralizing.
You have to think about the context here. Portland already lost its original coach. They somehow stumble into somebody who took a chaotic situation and turned it into a success anyway. He developed your young players into All-Star-caliber talents. That is way more than you could ever ask of an interim coach. Letting him walk leaves a rotten feeling behind for many who felt he deserved a real opportunity. The fact that it was the Bulls who took him makes it even worse.
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Let’s not forget that because of Portland’s playoff run, Chicago was awarded their 15th overall pick in the upcoming draft. So not only did the Blazers lose any realistic chance to improve their roster this year, but they also lost the guy who made their recent success possible. All to the same team. One can only imagine how Portland will react if Tiago Splitter goes on to have a productive run with the Bulls. It could become one of the greatest what-ifs in recent basketball history.
The Bulls deserve credit.
All things considered, they handled this offseason about as well as they possibly could have, at least from a PR standpoint. They conducted a thorough search for their new Vice President of Basketball Operations, ultimately selecting the highly respected Bryson Graham. After filling out the front office with some experienced assistants, Graham began the search for a new coach. The list included prominent names, including San Antonio’s Sean Sweeney, Minnesota’s Micah Nori, and Miami’s Chris Quinn. Splitter was one as well, but he was assumed to be the favorite to stay in Portland.
That changed once the money disagreements surfaced. Chicago pivoted quickly, believing Splitter checked several key boxes. He’s young, demonstrated clear player development last season, and is one of the few notable candidates with actual head-coaching experience. Before last year, he was the head coach for Paris Basketball in France, winning the league championship and the French Cup. Success seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Now he gets a chance to bring it to the Windy City.
