Chicago Bulls: Head coach finalists boast impressive options

The Chicago Bulls have finally narrowed down their head coaching search to the final four.

New Chicago Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas has taken his time in making decisions regarding the team’s head coaching position. It took months for Karnisovas to cut ties with Jim Boylen, but maybe that was the correct move.

After all, Karnisovas is the new guy. He’s trying to do things the right way, and taking the proper amount of time with what could be a monumental move for the Bulls is a wise route to take.

With Boylen having been fired roughly five weeks ago now, Karnisovas and the Bulls have had plenty of time to go through the interview process with several qualified candidates. It began with about seven or eight serious names, and now, the Bulls have narrowed it down to their final four.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Chicago has it trimmed down to Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Will the Chicago Bulls finally turn the corner and hire the right head coach?

Since the days of Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls have not had a coach who has been able to get this team to play hard-nosed defense. They haven’t had a coach who understands how to utilize all of these young players and each of their strengths.

Each one of these final four candidates present their own intriguing characteristics.

While I am not necessarily as high on Atkinson, he did take an average Brooklyn Nets team and inspire them to overachieve in a big way. Out of the four finalists, he is the only one with head coaching experience. While that’s seen as a positive, the Bulls could also look to one of the other three as a better option.

Both Udoka and Ham were players before coaches and understand how to play the game at the highest level. They’ve experienced everything there is to experience in the locker room, on the court and playing with a variety of different players.

Udoka has long been seen as one of the top candidates available, and it’s easy to see why. Coming up under Gregg Popovich for several years is an ideal way to be groomed. Although the same could have been said about Boylen, Udoka is a totally different guy. Again, he’s been there before. He gets it. He’s also younger, which would give him an advantage in terms of being able to create and manage relationships better with his young players.

Unseld is one of the fan favorites to take the job simply because he’s been the architect of the Nuggets’ defense over the past couple of years. He was given that task by head coach Mike Malone and has not disappointed.

Behind Unseld’s defense and the drafting of Karnisovas, Denver has become a force in the Western Conference. They have become the true identity of a team, and having Unseld in Chicago is an exciting thought. Knowing that Unseld has worked under Karnisovas recently may give him an edge in the race, too.

There is no official timetable for a final decision, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see one come within the next week or two. The one thing we know for sure is that the Bulls’ future looks much brighter as of late. Here’s to hoping the next head coach is the man to take this team to the next level.