Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Nick Friedell talks importance of Bulls getting their next head coach hire right
11 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This hour is brought to you by Wintrust.
We've got a special treat for you. You love him. You hate him. You can't live without him. He's our good buddy, Nick Friedel.
Odyssey NBA insider, Nick Friedel. That tweet came from a dashingly good-looking Nick Friedel. Let's bring in Nick Friedel now.
One defining moment of the Karnasovas-Eversley regime. I would say it's not just the Pat Williams contract.
It's that it gave a player option. At the end of it, they thought he was going to play so well that, hey, we'll give you the chance to renegotiate. Just terrible, terrible, terrible.
With Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Uh-oh. On 104.3 The Score.
Well, when you put it that way. Bulls talk on the score. We have our Odyssey NBA insider, Nick Friedel, here on Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Bryson Graham's hiring for the Bulls?
His appearance is brought to you by the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid. Make every day epic. Nick, multi-year NBA reporter, Bulls reporter for many years, primarily covering the Warriors now out in San Francisco. He joins us on twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. My, how things have changed since the last time we talked to you, Nick.
Layla, I mean, a couple hours after we talked last time, it went from, yeah, Matt Lloyd's the guy, Matt Lloyd's the guy, to Bryce, what, who? So I give the Bulls credit for this since the last time we talked. They're trying something that is absolutely different. And I know people were squawking, going, oh, well, wasn't Karnasovas and Eversley, weren't they different? Yeah.
But at least it's still different from what they know, because what they know, it is not working for them. And I feel bad for Matt Lloyd, just in the sense that I know he wanted that job, and it made a hell of a lot of sense, and we'll see over time if Mike made the right decision. But I give them this in that they attempted to go a different path.
And they've got a guy in here that is at least known around the league. And Layla, I tell you, that day after I talked to you all the last time, I started texting some of my friends and I said, what do you think of Bryson? And without fail, like everybody was like, he's a really nice guy. And it's like, okay, well, what else? Like, what else do you know?
And they're like, well, he's pretty good with the draft. And you're like, okay, well, hey, that's a start. From where the Bulls are at, more than anything else, what they need is better players. So I am pro anybody who takes that job and gets better players in the fold.
Well, and I think, Nick, we have to go back to rewinding to what was the discussion, what were the notes that we took, what were our observations in 2020 when Arturas Karnaschovas and Mark Eversley got the job? Because I remember once AK got the job, it was Jokic, Jokic, Jokic, second rounder, Denver, the process and scouting. But outside of that, that was what we focused on.
What do you remember about the outside talk surrounding primarily Karnaschovas at the time?
It was so funny as you bring that up, because it was all Jokic. It was like, whoa, this, you know, this is the guy. Well, what else about that? Oh, well, you know, Jokic. So when you look back and you think about that moment, it was he had a good reputation from his time in Denver.
and eversley was supposed to be the player relationships guy and he had all the relationships as an executive and it built that through time and that's why i'm fascinated to see how this actually plays out because while new orleans certainly has made some good draft picks they've had like no success at all and i know bryce was down there in atlanta for a year all right and they have a nice young core but
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Chapter 3: How did the Bulls' lottery success impact their future?
And it didn't work. And they knew early on it wasn't working. So I am interested in the next year or two to see what kind of
adjustments are made who he goes out and hires as a coach but I can tell you he took a good first step yesterday because you need better players and you get the fourth pick in this draft and you're gonna get a good one yeah and Nick I can understand whether it's you or just the general feeling of trepidation that Bulls fans may have because they've seen so many things go in the wrong direction in the past but the things that you pointed out right everyone will tell you this guy has a scouting eye this guy has a scouting eye
They need more talent, and I think he's the right guy in this situation to, at minimum, give them more talent with now the fourth and the 15th pick and a second-round pick. And I'm excited to see where that leads. But really the question is, and you're kind of describing the things you don't know, is the question I want answered is, okay, what direction are you going with as far as a head coach?
And I think that's the next big question that has to be answered well before I would think we even get to the draft part of this.
100%. Marshall, if you're the Bulls, you have got to make the right decision here. I know Billy was respected, and oh my God, did the Bulls love to fall into, oh, he's a Hall of Fame coach. Guys, he was a Hall of Fame coach because of what he did at Florida. I mean, he had some success in Oklahoma City and he provided stabilization after the boiling years.
But like to say to Billy, oh, my God, we can't live without Billy Donovan in Chicago. They weren't that successful. You go back the boiling years. They were what they were. And again, we just touched on Hoiberg. The Bulls knew, the front office knew after that first year, this wasn't working out. And it's what I think is one of the single biggest criticisms of Mike, of Mike Reinsdorf, is that
They know that some of these hires aren't panning out and they just continue to stay with it through time. So, Marshall, in saying that as the context, you have to hit on this coach. And like anything else, you've got to get a coach in here. that understands what the front office is trying to build and is trying to build with them moving forward.
Exactly who that is, the name that seems to keep popping up is Sean Sweeney. And he's a younger assistant. He's bounced around the league. He's been in a lot of different places. He's got a lot of respect. Whether he ultimately is the guy, we'll see. I mean, Mike Inori made a hell of a lot more sense if Matt Lloyd had been the guy coming in.
There are always retread coaches, and I know at least there's a faction of this fan base that would love to see Tibbs back. and thinks that it could work again. Personally, knowing both sides and knowing the way things ended, and even more, Marshall, knowing what they need right now, I don't think that's the right thing.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did the Bulls face under the previous regime?
Because most fans don't really know the assistants that well in the league. I think the Bulls just need to find somebody that Bryson is comfortable with. And who can make younger players better because this team is about to get a lot younger. They need a lot more depth and they need time to grow within the framework of what is being built.
So about the Tibbs thing. I think, I know you know Tibbs well, Nick, and I got here, I'm bummed that I didn't get to see the Tibbs time because I got here in October of 2015. But I got to hear all of you talk about the end of the Tibbs era. And at that point, it was the worst time in the breakup.
And the fact that this has somehow come back around where I assume it was Tibbs' people who threw this out there. And I know Tibbs loves ball and ball is Tibbs. And I know exactly who I'm getting. But the fact that this even came up last week, how absurd was it to you that this is a possibility?
I don't think it's absurd Layla only because the guy at his core in his heart is a basketball coach and he wants back in and whether it's in Chicago where he has all this history or somewhere else. Tibbs wants to be an NBA head coach. He's one of the best that's done it over the course of the last 10 or 15 years.
He's had success in every place that he's been and I'm sure it's hard for him to watch the Knicks right now because they're rolling and he felt like With one more push after last year, he could get them there, and he got bounced. And he's done the same thing over the last year that he did after he got fired the previous times. He's gone through all these different...
Places in the league and talk to different coaches. He was out around the Warriors. I saw him a few months ago talking to Steve Kerr and Ron Adams. He just wants back in. So to the point about is it a surprise? No, the surprise would be if the The breakup led to everybody getting back together.
And again, for context, I think that Tibbs' relationship with Jerry and Mike is in a much better place. I think his relationship with Pax is in a much better place. I think the air has been cleared. So in theory, if that's what they decided, I think it could work. I just think that the Bulls are so far away from where they ultimately need to be
It would be tough to make all those different things.
work again and there were so many hard feelings at the end and there's so much history i mean leila in that regard it is like a breakup like everybody knows each other really well oh it was a breakup rarely just spinning the block workout for either party i that's just my personal experience as far as breakups go that's where i'm like at some to me it was absurd like the idea is absurd i i love tibbs i do i am pro tibbs but you know it very much was a breakup and you know this
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