The Bulls appear to be closing in on a coaching hire.
Per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, a decision could come as soon as Monday. Known candidates included Wes Unseld Jr., Trail Blazers interim man Tiago Splitter, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt.
Even if a new coach isn’t named early this week, league sources have repeatedly told Hoops Wire the Bulls fully intend to have a head coach in place before the NBA Draft on June 23.
As for the reported finalists, Splitter is said to remain in the running for the Blazers’ head coaching gig after leading them for all but a few games to start the year. But Portland’s search has been extensive, and Splitter appears to be just one of a multitude of candidates.
Meanwhile, Unseld was an assistant under former Bulls coach Billy Donovan and also has head coaching experience from his days with the Wizards.
Nori has been a candidate for numerous vacancies over the past year or two.
Along with hiring a coach, new Bulls head of basketball operations Bryson Graham has a whole lot of work to do — beginning with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft.
Also, Zach Collins, Nick Richards, Collin Sexton, Anfernee Simons and Guerschon Yabusele are all unrestricted free agents, meaning some roster reshuffling likely awaits.
In other words, hiring the coach may be the easy part.
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