The Bernstein Brief: What's Jeff Van Gundy's Deal?
By Dan Bernstein-
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) First Jeff Van Gundy uses his national pulpit in January to accuse the Bulls of undermining his friend Tom Thibodeau, causing general manager Gar Forman to seek him out and tear him a new one at halftime.
Then he reveals to a reporter that Thibodeau's agent asked him to tone down the campaign against Bulls' management, and he admits that he needs to be careful about appearing to be a mouthpiece in Thibodeau's well-documented cold war with his bosses.
So what happens Sunday? Van Gundy delivers a prison-shank to the ribs of executive vice president John Paxson, describing the aftermath of the previous incident with, "He was so mad at me I thought I had traded LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas and not him."
Ouch, dude.
There's nothing wrong with an analyst having strong opinions and standing by them, of course. He's entitled and empowered, and it's better than the usual blandishments that burble from that seat. But Van Gundy should be more mindful of something else.
Nobody wanted to hire Thibodeau until Paxson and Forman did. After many years and multiple interviews for head coaching jobs, Thibodeau was identified as too single-minded and too weird -- his lack of social skills a deal breaker. Until the Bulls looked past that, valuing his work ethic and tactical expertise.
And it has succeeded to the point that Thibodeau will have another job whenever this is over, which many close to the situation believe will be at the conclusion of this season, due largely to what gave teams pause years ago.
Taking a risk on a guy and giving him the opportunity to make a name for himself as a head coach is a far cry from undermining him.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
