There are three logical ways to look at the section of Ramona Shelburne's excellent Bulls story at ESPN that describes embattled coach Tom Thibodeau living in a hotel near United Center:
- Thibodeau is so basketball-first that he can't stand being too far away from the practice facility, which moved from Deerfield, Ill., to Chicago this year.
- Thibodeau hasn't found his ideal home yet in Chicago and preferred a hotel to an apartment lease because he makes enough money to afford it.
- Thibodeau knew entering the year that he might not be long for the Bulls.
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We're leaning toward the first two, definitely No. 1. But hey, there's reason to speculate.
Why? Well, despite the Bulls now being considered the favorites to win the Eastern Conference and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1998, the friction remains high between Thibodeau and the front office. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported an incident where Thibodeau thought his office walls might be bugged.
Wojnarowski also offered this nugget:
Yes, the Bulls have a real good shot now. And the best chance that they'll ever have to win a title here would be with Thibodeau — as terrific of a coach as Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg, management's choice to ultimately be the replacement. The Orlando Magic are waiting to watch what happens at season's end, league sources said, waiting to see how the team and coach dissolve the remaining two years on his contract and separate
And Thibodeau lives in a hotel. Maybe he just hates washing sheets.
