Chicago Bulls finalizing hire of Tiago Splitter as head coach: ESPN sources

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Bullsare finalizing the hiring of Portland Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter as the franchise's new head coach, sources told ESPN on Monday.

Splitter would succeed Billy Donovan as the Bulls' head coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season. Splitter, 41, guided the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 record and a postseason berth as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference amid adversity stemming fromChauncey Billups' federal charges.

Splitter became the first Trail Blazers head coach to have a winning record in his first season with the team since Maurice Cheeks in 2001-02, and he became the first coach to win a playoff game in his first season in Portland since Mike Dunleavy in 1997-98.

Splitter led the Trail Blazers to a top-10 defense in their final 51 regular-season games, with a 30-21 record during that span. Portland also led the NBA in second-chance points per game under Splitter last season.

Sources said top Bulls officials, including Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham and his front-office staff, met with four finalists for the head coaching job last week in Chicago: SplitterMinnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and current Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr.

The Bulls conducted a thorough search that spanned double-digit candidates before narrowing the process. They landed on Splitter due to his ability to lead the team's player development, organizational alignment on the franchise's direction and vision, and his leadership and knowledge base as a coach rising through the ranks since 2018 as well as a seven-year NBA player with one championship with the San Antonio Spurs.

Splitter played overseas before the Spurs chose him with the No. 28 pick in the 2007 NBA draft. He played in San Antonio, Atlanta and Philadelphia across his NBA career. After retiring, Splitter joined the Brooklyn Nets as a scout and player development staff member. He spent the 2023-24 season as an assistant for the Houston Rockets under Ime Udoka, and then he took a job as head coach of Paris Basketball for the 2024-25 Euroleague campaign before returning to the NBA as Billups' lead assistant in Portland.

The Trail Blazers will now have to hire a new coach after Splitter, one of their finalists, takes a job elsewhere. Nori and Boston Celtics assistant Tyler Lashbrook are the two candidates remaining to be the new Portland coach, and both are expected to meet with team ownership in the near future, sources told ESPN.