Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau signs four-year extension

Chicago, IL, United States (4E Sports) – After leading the team to two consecutive playoff appearances, the Chicago Bulls have rewarded coach Tom Thibodeau with a four-year contract extension.

According to a source familiar with the negotiation, the contract is reportedly worth close to the $18 million deal Scott Brooks signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The four years are on top of the option year the Bulls picked up on Thibodeau for the 2012-13 season.

“Obviously, I’m very excited to be here and very thankful to owner Jerry Reinsdorf and to executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman and certainly all our players and our fans,” said Thibodeau.

“I love being here, I never doubted it would work out. This is where I want to be. Jerry has been great to me from the day I arrived,” he added.

Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose welcomed the news of Thibodeau’s signing.

“It’s great, man,” Rose said. “He’s a guy that we need around this organization, where he’s pushing everyone in the entire organization to want to be better and try to push this organization to win a championship.”

Thibodeau was hired two years ago after serving as assistant to Boston Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers. Under Thibodeau, the Bulls have led the league in regular-season wins for two straight seasons, helping him become the fastest coach in NBA history to reach 100 wins.

“It was certainly our goal for Tom to be the coach of the Buls long term, and it was Tom’s goal to remain with the Chicago Bulls,” Forman said. “He’s obviously one of the top coaches in the NBA. Of course, I’m biased. I get to watch him every day. But I think he’s the best coach in the NBA.”

This will be a challenging season for Thibodeau with Rose still recovering from knee surgery while the Bulls bench has undergone a massive facelift with five new players.

“Obviously I’m glad that we got the contract part done, and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Thibodeau said. “My expectations are always the same and that’s for players to put everything they have into each and every play, to strive for improvement and then to play our best basketball the second part of the season.”

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