Philadelphia 76ers: Ime Udoka favorite for Bulls head coaching job

Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka is a favorite for Bulls’ job

Apparently Marc Eversley isn’t the only member of the Philadelphia 76ers organization that the Chicago Bulls are interested in this offseason. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Suntimes (subscription needed), the Bulls have Sixers assistant Ime Udoka as their lead candidate to become the team’s next head coach.

It should also be noted in Cowley’s article, that Bulls’ new management of general manager (GM) Eversley and executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas haven’t made a final decision on the future of their current head coach Jim Boylen. Beyond Udoka, the Bulls have also considered Toronto Raptors’ assistant Adrian Griffin as a candidate if they move on from Boylen.

Udoka’s a solid choice

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If the Bulls’ job becomes available, which I personally think it very likely, Udoka makes sense for Chicago on several levels. They are a young rebuilding team and considering that Udoka spent seven seasons as a player he could relate to the players. He should be able to help grow the young core Chicago has based on his playing experience.

However, he’s not just a “players’ coach” prior to joining the Sixers as their defensive coordinator, he spent seven seasons learning from Gregg Popovich. Popovich is easily one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. He led the San Antonio Spurs to 22 straight playoff appearances (winning five championships) and he has a chance to extend that streak.

Udoka has an obvious tie to Eversley as the Bulls’ GM was recently a member of the Sixers’ front office. If Udoka is hired, he would be the fourth assistant in five seasons that 76ers head coach Brett Brown has lost to other head coaching jobs with Mike D’Antoni, Lloyd Pierce, and Monty Williams being the other three.

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If the Bulls decide to move on from Boylen, the Philadelphia 76ers’ assistant is a solid choice as their head coach moving forward with their rebuilding team.