Joakim Noah, who enjoyed a breakout season, said Del Negro "did a lot for me as a player.''

"He lets you be who you are, he expects you to go out there and work hard and compete every night and that's what we tried to do,'' Hinrich said.

Forward Taj Gibson praised Del Negro, saying, "Any other coach, I don't know if they could have weathered that storm.''

"He let me have my freedom, but still coached me and let me make mistakes,'' he said after the loss to Cleveland. "I watched film with him almost every day. He taught me a lot on defense and offense and what I'm supposed to do. The decision isn't really up to me. It's up to the front office, so I'm not going to worry about it and just deal with it.''

"Any other coach, I don't know if they could have weathered that storm.''

As Bulls management continues muddling through end-of-season evaluations with Vinny Del Negro’s status still unresolved, sources close to the process told CBSSports.com that one aspect of the decision on the coach’s future has been decided: Del Negro won’t be needing a lawyer, because the team has decided not to dismiss him for cause over a late-season confrontation with executive John Paxson.

The matter has gone all the way to the top of the organizational chain of command, with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf weighing in with assurances to Del Negro that he will not be fired for cause, one of the people involved said. Reinsdorf is said to be pleased with the way Del Negro has handled the fallout from the incident, in which Paxson confronted the coach after he allegedly ignored a minute-limit on injured center Joakim Noah.

A second source confirmed that the confrontation between Del Negro and Paxson would have no bearing on a potential coaching change, which would instead hinge on the idea that the team would have a better chance of improving with a new coach.

Exit interviews and internal evaluations are expected to reach a climax next week, when Reinsdorf will weigh in on all aspects of the offseason plan. Del Negro, who has presided over two first-round exits in two years on the job, is said to be quietly pushing for a quick and graceful exit if the team decides to make a change.

People close to the process are wondering how the fallout will affect the combatant who will be staying with the team – Paxson. Sources say the confrontation between Del Negro and Paxson did not mark the first time things got heated between them, a pattern that ultimately could begin to erode support for Paxson within the organization. Bulls officials are not publicly speculating on how Paxson’s status will be affected, saying only that the matter has been “handled internally.”


....
If and when the Bulls make a change, it is anticipated that Dallas assistant Dwane Casey would receive serious consideration. Casey was a finalist for the job when Del Negro was hired and has more of a defensive background – an area that Del Negro didn’t develop as thoroughly as management had hoped when he was hired.

The NBA coaching pool is not even that good, and imo none of the coaches out there are better candidates than Vinny. The fact of the matter is, there are no Greg Popavich's, Phil Jackson's, Pat Riley's, or Jerry Sloan's out there. Those guys are hard to come by. I honestly can't see anyone coming in here that's such a humongous upgrade over Del Negro. Coaching is always easier with more talent. I just don't want a new coach here that's not going to be a big upgrade. The players seem to like Vinny, even though the front office does not, I think he should be given atleast another year to take the Bulls past the first round.

I read the other day on an espn ticker that jeanie bus (i think thats her name) said phil will coach next year whether it be here or somewhere else. How awesome would it be to have Phil come back and sign Lebron. I think it makes us an instant title threat and itd make for a great story. Here Lebron is changing his number in honor of MJ (he did say hes doin it because of mj right) going to chicago to play for MJs old coach that lead him to all those titles.

i'm not familiar with dwayne casey. anyone know anything about him?

He was the HC at Minnesota for a year and a half, which was an absolute sinking ship when he walked in... http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2006.html ...as you can see he had the pleasure of coaching malcontents such as Eddie Griffin, Rickie Davis and Kevin Garnett....he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Vinny Del Negro met with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on Sunday, but the embattled coach's 11th-hour argument to keep his job won't change what the Tribune has reported since December 2009:

Del Negro is expected to be dismissed with one year and roughly $2 million remaining on his guaranteed three-year contract. Barring a snag, the Bulls will make this news official Tuesday.

At that point, executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman will embark on a search focusing on candidates with previous NBA head-coaching experience.

Doug Collins, Lawrence Frank, Kevin McHale, Maurice Cheeks, Byron Scott and Dwane Casey are some of the many names who fit that description and could receive interviews. Management is waiting to contact prospective candidates until Del Negro officially is dismissed.

What you're saying is...he's the kind of guy who's adapted to this kind of mess.

Cheeks might be an interesting choice.. He did some pretty good things with Russell Westbrook this year

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post...nsider-calipari

This article is pure speculation, but it deserves to be looked at. If the Bulls had ANY shot at Calipari...they'd better make a run at him. Considering he is friends with Bron and his agent...that enough should drive the Bull to try and lure him to Chicago aside from all of the other obvious reasons.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post...nsider-calipari

This article is pure speculation, but it deserves to be looked at. If the Bulls had ANY shot at Calipari...they'd better make a run at him. Considering he is friends with Bron and his agent...that enough should drive the Bull to try and lure him to Chicago aside from all of the other obvious reasons.

According to a broadcast report in Chicago, Vinny Del Negro finally has been fired as coach of the Bulls -- putting a merciful end to his rocky two-year tenure.

CBS-2 in Chicago reported Monday that the decision to let Del Negro go came after a series of organizational meetings that concluded Sunday with a sitdown with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

Earlier, the Chicago Tribune reported in Monday morning's editions that Del Negro's firing was inevitable and likely would be officially announced Tuesday.

Sources said the confrontation with Paxson did not play a role in Del Negro's firing, partly because his dismissal may have been a foregone conclusion anyway. Also, the argument itself wasn't as much of a concern to top management as the actions leading up to it. Del Negro wasn't the first person to draw the ire of Paxson, known for his raw emotions and temper. But once people close to the situation began hearing the word "insubordination" used to describe Del Negro's actions, the end game was clear.

Though the focus will immediately turn to a coaching search that could include such candidates as Doug Collins, Maurice Cheeks, Eric Musselman, Phil Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Sam Mitchell, Tom Thibodeau, Lawrence Frank, Dwane Casey, Avery Johnson and John Calipari, the Del Negro era goes out with something of a bang.

thats a pretty nice list. i think we should have kept vinny, but it is what it is, good luck to him.

The Bulls held team options on assistants Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka, which won't be exercised. It's likely assistants Pete Myers and Mike Wilhelm will remain in the organization.

other coaching tidbits

I guess if you're not going to get Collins...Tom Thibodeau should finally get a shot IMO. I'm really enthused about anybody I've read on any list. John Calipari?!? Really?!?

As I said a page ago...Calipari in the running = major recruiting sanctions coming for UK.

oh I understand that Balta...but why anybody would even consider this guy as a HC is beyond me.

Well...we do need a recruiter this offseason...and if Calipari were to commit any recruiting violations in getting Bosh into Chicago...I'm not sure I'd care.