Fans and more than likely the Bulls roster rejoiced Friday morning as the Bulls finally announced the firing of head coach Jim Boylen. Now the coaching search is on for new Vice President Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley.
The name that keeps popping up is Ime Udoka. Udoka is currently the lead assistant with Philadelphia 76ers and after the Bulls hired Eversley from Philadelphia, the rumors of Udoka becoming the next Bulls head coach were everywhere.
Udoka might be the perfect hire for this young Bulls team. He spent eight seasons and won a championship as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich and was coached by Phil Jackson as a rookie with the Lakers in 2003. Although never an incredible player, Udoka knows the hard work and dedication it takes to succeed in the league which is why the Spurs signed him as a free agent in 2007. He was also pivotal in getting LaMarcus Aldridge to come to San Antonio.
Check out Udoka explaining some of the fundamentals of running Popovich’s system.
Hearing him explain some of the goals of this style of offense and thinking about how he could use a guy like Wendell Carter Jr. is exciting. There are definitely other candidates out there such as Adrian Griffin and Dave Joerger, but with Udoka’s pedigree and his preexisting relationship with Eversley, hiring him seems like a no brainer.
