The Tom Thibodeau era in Chicago is over. At least all signs point to that. Thibodeau got a lot out of this Bulls squad including getting them to the Eastern Conference Finals his first year. But nonstop injuries to the players have not only derailed the team, they have derailed the relationship with the front office as well.

Thibodeau has a reputation of being an old school stubborn man. He grinds his player’s down playing them 44 minutes a game. Loul Deng is not the same player after his years in Chicago. Every post season the Thibodeau Bulls hobbled into the playoffs, their offense never quite as smooth as it was in the regular season. And every single year it seems the team is a little weaker and that’s not really Thibodeau’s fault. The Chicago Bulls front office has slowly chipped away at the core team to save money and get younger. Has it worked? The results are a mixed bag. Kyle Korver was traded for a bag of chips and now he is flourishing in Atlanta as one of their most important players. Loul Deng was traded away to save money and for a draft pick the Bulls haven’t been able to get their hands on yet. Carlos Boozer fell apart and was amnestied to create cap room. The Bulls let Omer Asik sign with the Rockets. The Bulls are constantly making little changes but it’s hard to tell whether they have worked out. And Thibodeau’s offense has slowly become more cramped due to it. He no longer has the smart cutting and shooting duo of Korver and Deng. Jimmy Butler has been amazing but there’s no depth behind Butler and Mike Dunleavy.

Despite this weaker offense it’s time for Thibs to go. Chicago was 10th and 11th this season in offensive and defensive efficiency, respectively. This was one of Thibodeau’s best offensive teams and yet the weaknesses were still exposed in the playoffs. The offensive improvement also came at the expense of the defense and rebounding numbers. Chicago’s offense is always too cramped and too slow moving under Thibodeau. The Bulls always seemingly have to wait till the last seconds of the shot clock to get a shot off. The signing of Nikola Mirotic has helped this spacing problem but the numbers actually show that Mirotic had a bad shooting year from three. He has simply helped space the floor. But it’s not enough. Derrick Rose isn’t a good three point shooter, yet seems to chuck them all the time. Butler and Dunleavy certainly helped but beyond them there wasn’t much help in the rotation. Doug McDermott was supposed to be the new floor spacer but he got injured early and then never got a shot to get back into the rotation. Tony Snell had a decent year but Thibodeau didn’t play him much during the playoffs. Instead Thibs decided to go with Kirk Hinrich for most of the playoffs and we know how that turned out. Hinrich recorded only one block and nothing else over 20 minutes in the last playoff game against Cleveland. There has never been a better sign of Thibodeau’s stubbornness and old way of thinking. Rather than see if he can get anything out of his young three point shooters Thibs stuck to his vets and it blew up epically.

Thibodeau has struggled adjusting to the modern NBA. He refuses to rest players, he never plays rookies, and he doesn’t draw up enough unique plays to keep defenses on their toes. How many times did he have to watch Joakim Noah standing at the three point line waiting to deliver a hand off to realize this play isn’t going to work and defenses have adapted to it. Noah is no longer the same player he’s been the last two years. He can’t play in the post and perform his tricky passes the same way. Chicago could have really used an offensive coordinator to help Thibs run the right plays. Thibodeau is a defensive mastermind but when you can’t score you aren’t going to win in the playoffs. Thibodeau doesn’t have the offensive chops of coaches such as Rick Carlisle, who can turn scraps into a top offensive team every season. This is more of the front office’s fault not providing Thibs with the staff he needed. But there have always been problems between Thibs and the front office. It’s possible Thibodeau didn’t want to make the changes the front office recommended and a coach who refuses to adapt will struggle in the modern NBA.

So what now? The Bulls could trade Thibodeau to New Orleans or Orlando for picks considering he still has two years left on that contract. Rumors have surfaced that Thibodeau and Anthony Davis would like to team up. The Bulls should take anything they can in a trade. Bulls don’t have the cap room to make major changes to the roster so a second round pick could be useful in the coming years. The Bulls have their eyes on a few candidates but it’s still too early to really tell who appeals most to them and who do the Bulls appeal most to. One thing that will most likely change, the Bull’s identity. This can no longer be the grind it out defensive team it has been for the past half decade. It’s time to morph into something else and more prepared for modern NBA defenses. The Bulls need to sign a coach who can bring something fresh to the team or at least hire a good offensive coordinator to get the most out of this space challenged team.

The Bulls also need to sign the right guys in the off season. The Bulls will only have the mid level exception or the tax payer exception depending on whether they execute a trade in the off season or not. The Bulls could also trade one of their four bigs for a wing player who can help stretch the floor. The most likely to be traded is Taj Gibson. Gibson is still a very useful player but with Nikola Mirotic on the roster, he’s the most expendable. The Bulls should explore trades such as Gibson for Milwaukee’s Jared Dudley and picks. Or Phoenix’s PJ Tucker. Or Indiana’s CJ Miles plus picks. A Dream scenario would be trading for Golden State’s Harrison Barnes but Golden State has their own cap space issue and that kind of trade probably wouldn’t happen unless the Warriors trade David Lee first. Another great trade would be for Toronto’s Terrence Ross. Toronto needs to improve its interior defense after Amir Johnson has struggled with lingering injuries. Gibson would be a huge upgrade for them but no one knows whether Toronto would be willing to part with the young wing player. Perhaps the Bulls can include next year’s first round draft pick in the trade (Bulls will most likely receive Sacramento’s top 10 protected first rounder next year). But then the Bulls will be giving up an awful lot for an inconsistent player. Perhaps Toronto would throw in a second rounder or an additional player such as Lucas Nogueira. Ideally in this scenario the Bulls would find a way to obtain Greivis Vasquez to fill two needs but Toronto wouldn’t be as willing to part with that many young players.

The Bulls will only be able to obtain the mid level exception with a trade and it’s hard to see them signing a good wing player with only a tax payer exception. The Bulls also have to decide whether to resign Dunleavy. The last few offseasons have been quiet for the Bulls besides signing Pau Gasol but one thing’s for sure, this offseason can change a lot in the Windy City.