Best of the Bulls: Tiago Splitter tabbed as new head coach
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Why was Tiago Splitter chosen as the new head coach for the Bulls?
I think we, me and Michael, and it's going to be done collaboratively, we want the right guy. And if I said... You're picking him. Oh, yeah, I'm picking him. I picked you. You get to pick the boys. Absolutely.
That is the Bulls executive VP of basketball operations, Bryson Graham, describing the type of coach he would like. And the answer is in, or at least about to be, the tweet from Shams Sharania. The Chicago Bulls are finalizing the hire of Portland Trailblazers interim coach Tiago Splitter as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan as the Bulls coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season. So yeah, Bulls fans, Tiago Splitter is the new guy as we welcome you back to Rahimi Harris and Grody on the score. And he had a very successful season as the interim head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. Found out he was going to have that job the night before he had the job replacing Chauncey Billups, who was doing bad things yesterday.
Allegedly. Allegedly.
What were the initial reactions to Splitter's hiring?
Allegedly doing bad things. So he had to go, and Splitter led Portland, remember, got the job the night before the season started, and led them to a 42-40 record with lots of injuries, got them back into the playoffs. Splitter also an assistant in his life with Brooklyn, Houston, um... Also Paris and Brazil. We'll talk about some of those exploits as well. But Marshall Harris, what do you think about the Bulls hiring of Tiago Splitter as the brand new head coach? The 25th head coach in Bulls history.
So to have Tiago Splitter... on your staff after he did something as remarkable as what he did in Portland, which is through some serious adversity, take the reins, as you mentioned, Mark, and lead that team to the playoffs in the West is quite the accomplishment. The things that stick out to me are, first of all, the fact that he was able to have a winning record at 42 and 40, but also the Blazers had a top 10 defense over the last 51 regular season games, 30 and 21 during that period. They led the NBA in second chance points under Splitter. That speaks to a certain toughness, even though they do have some talent down low. But I like this because at least you know you have a guy who can do the job, at minimum.
He can do the job. And when I say he can do the job, it's not, oh, I don't know how he's going to do as a head coach.
How did Tiago Splitter perform as interim head coach of the Blazers?
We just saw it. It's very recent against a lot of very difficult competition in the Western Conference specifically. I like this hire. He was my choice out of the four finalists because when you look up and down the list, you had Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Norrie, you had Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt, and the current Bulls assistant, Wes Unseld Jr., who of course coached on Billy Donovan's staff. I like this because he's had immediate success. He's worked with young and developing players. Donny Abia is the guy in Portland who was an all-star last year under his watch after not being as successful during his time as a Wizards as one of the top picks by Washington. I just like this as a stabilizing force.
He clearly knows how to do better than kind of a question mark, which is what a lot of these assistants are when they get this first opportunity, usually with a team.
Yeah, and you knew going into this, considering who the candidates were, that whomever was going to get the job, hate to put this title on it, but this is the rebuild head coach. This is the guy who, and maybe Tiago Splitter will be here for the next 10 years. and get to lead the Bulls back to prominence. But it's not like we were hearing names that were very experienced. They weren't the guys that were going to take you to the promised land right away. He does have the experience, and thank God, to having gone through what he did last year under tough circumstances with Portland as the interim coach.
What coaching philosophy does Tiago Splitter bring to the Bulls?
There is a resume there. But the other candidates were – so I guess this is the only candidate – who had an actual head coaching experience with Mike Inori being one of those that was eliminated, Ryan Schmidt as well, Wes Unsell Jr., who was on the Bulls coaching staff this past season.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why was Tiago Splitter chosen as the new head coach for the Bulls?
0:00–1:17
2
What were the initial reactions to Splitter's hiring?
1:17–2:46
3
How did Tiago Splitter perform as interim head coach of the Blazers?
2:46–4:16
4
What coaching philosophy does Tiago Splitter bring to the Bulls?
4:16–5:31
5
How does Splitter's experience influence his coaching style?
5:31–6:33
6
What challenges did Splitter face during his time in Portland?
6:33–7:42
7
What does the Bulls' future look like under Splitter's leadership?
7:42–8:58
8
How do fans and analysts view the impact of Splitter's hiring?
8:58–40:43
Speakers
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