Bulls rumors: Head coaching search ramps up, with a Tiago Splitter twist

The Chicago Bulls are currently searching for their next head coach after Billy Donovan departed the franchise earlier this offseason. The Bulls recently hired Bryson Graham to be the next leader of their front office after a tumultuous 2025-26 season.

Now, more information has come to light from NBA insider Jake Fischer on some of the candidates Chicago has in mind for their coaching search.

“I’m told that incumbent Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr. from Donovan’s staff, previously the head coach in Washington, will get an interview. Other external candidates that the Bulls plan to interview, sources say, include Minnesota’s Micah Nori and Oklahoma City’s Dave Bliss,” reported Fischer on Marc Stein’s Substack.

Fischer also reported that”…Chicago is likely to formally request to interview Tiago Splitter.”

Splitter is still the Blazers head coach for next season, but there have been reports that the ownership might be looking to bring in someone else to the role this offseason, which could help the former San Antonio Spurs NBA champ land a coaching gig with another team this offseason if he so chooses.

Splitter did a solid job of leading Portland to the postseason this past year, taking over just weeks into the season after Chauncey Billups’ arrest.

Whoever the Bulls bring in as their next head coach will have some intriguing young talent to work with, headlined by whoever the team selects with the number four pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which they recently lucked into at the NBA lottery.

Nailing the head coaching hire will be crucial for Graham and the rest of his new regime to establish themselves as reliable stewards of the Chicago front office moving forward.

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