The Chicago Bulls are reportedly hiring former Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter as their next head coach, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday.
Per Charania, Bulls executives landed on Splitter because of his leadership and focus on player development. Splitter was reportedly one of four finalists for the head coaching job, with Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and current Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr. among the other finalists.
Splitter took over as the Trail Blazers' head coach once Chauncey Billups was placed on immediate leave after being arrested for his alleged involvement in rigged poker games. But even under extraordinary circumstances, it ended up being a successful interim stint for the 41-year-old coach: Splitter led the team to a 42-39 record and its first play-in berth since 2020. The San Antonio Spurs knocked Portland out of the postseason, going 4-1 in the series on the way to the NBA Finals.
By joining the Bulls, Splitter replaces Billy Donovan, who left the team in April after six seasons at the helm. Donovan decided to leave after a major shake-up in the Bulls' front office, with executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley getting fired after another disappointing season.
Before coaching with the Trail Blazers, Splitter was an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets and Paris Basketball. He is also the head coach of the Brazilian National Team.
Prior to that, Splitter played for multiple NBA teams, winning a championship with the Spurs in 2014.
Now, Splitter will head up a Chicago team that only made the playoffs once in Donovan's six-year tenure, in 2022. Donovan, Karnišovas and Eversley were all hired in 2020, meaning that the organization will be going through another full-range overhaul this offseason.
With Splitter hired, the Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks are the only teams left with coaching vacancies. Portland's coaching search was reportedly paused while owner Tom Dundon's other team, the Carolina Hurricanes, went on a Stanley Cup run, but that search will now start up again, per Marc Stein.
