Chicago Bulls Make Brilliant Hire With Tiago Splitter
The Chicago Bulls made an absolutely brilliant hire when they brought in former Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter to be their new bench boss going forward.
This past season, the Trail Blazers started the year with NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups behind their bench. But just one game into the season, Billups was removed from the job and placed on leave after he was arrested as part of an illegal gambling sting conducted by the FBI.
The Trail Blazers then gave Splitter the keys to the team, and he did a terrific job in his first season as an NBA head coach, compiling a 42-39 regular-season record and leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
Yet, that was not enough for Splitter to get hired full-time by the Trail Blazers. Hitting the free-agent coaching market, Splitter immediately became one of the top names available for hire, and the Bulls pounced, signing him to become the team's next head coach.
Chicago Bulls Hit a Home Run With Tiago Splitter Hire
The 6'11" Splitter is a former NBA center who played in the league from 2010 to 2017 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2014, he won an NBA Championship as a member of the Spurs.
The 41-year-old Brazilian immediately went into coaching after his playing days ended. He was an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets and the Houston Rockets before becoming the head coach for Paris Basketball. He then returned to the NBA as an assistant to Billups on the Trail Blazers, and was elevated to interim head coach after Billups was arrested.
Related: Brazilian-born Tiago Splitter named interim coach of Trail Blazers
With the Trail Blazers, Splitter helped Deni Avdija unlock his potential and become an NBA All-Star for the first time. Shaedon Sharpe also had a strong year under him, as did Donovan Clingan. At just 41, he is one of the youngest head coaches in the league, but he won't grow into that role with Portland.
Instead, he'll do so in Chicago, where he takes over one of the league's youngest teams.
The Bulls were bad this year, and it led to former head coach Billy Donovan exercising the opt-out in his contract and leaving the franchise. The Bulls have missed the playoffs for four straight seasons and eight of the last nine overall. For a storied franchise that once starred NBA legend Michael Jordan, the Bulls really need to turn things around because they have been the laughingstock of the NBA for several years now.
But with Splitter as their new head coach, with the brilliant Bryson Graham as their new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, with tons of cap space this summer, and with the No. 4 and No. 15 overall picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, the future is bright for Chicago.
This team has been bad enough for too long. It's time they turn things around, and with Splitter guiding the team going forward, they are well on the right track.
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Portland Trail Blazers Blew it Letting Tiago Splitter Go
The Bull's gain is the Trail Blazer's loss.
Letting go of Splitter is simply a bad move. But it was one that many saw coming.
The Trail Blazers have new ownership with Tom Dundon, who also owns the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes, taking over the team in March. Immediately, there were reports that Dundon was butting heads with Splitter about a new contract.
Dundon reportedly wanted to sign Splitter to a contract that kept him as one of the lowest-paid head coaches in the NBA, and Splitter did not like that. He also did not like that Dundon was actively talking to other head coaching candidates while he was still coaching the team in the playoffs.
The whole thing was odd, and the way Dundon went about it was in poor form. Ultimately, Splitter left the team, and the Trail Blazers are left looking for their next head coach.
Dundon is obviously an extremely successful businessman, and he has achieved great things with the Hurricanes. But the NBA is a different beast, and Dundon simply blew it by letting Splitter go.
The good news for the Trail Blazers is that there are lots of capable head coaching candidates looking for a job. But Splitter was a special coach who loved being in Portland with their young team, and the decision to be cheap about his next contract instead of paying him fair market value may come back to haunt the Trail Blazers and Dundon in the future.
For Chicago, though, they are counting their lucky stars he was available, and Bulls fans are loving their new head coach in "The Windy City."
Related: The Blazers were built to fail
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 11:33 AM.