Bulls Hire Former Blazers Interim HC Tiago Splitter

The Chicago Bulls have found their next head coach after hiring Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter.

The move comes a couple of months after Billy Donovan stepped down in late April after six seasons at the helm with Chicago.

Splitter is heading into the job following an impressive stint with the Trail Blazers, during which he guided the franchise to a 42-40 record and a playoff berth as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. It came after he assumed the head coaching job due to Chauncey Billups’ federal charges.

Splitter was the first Trail Blazers head coach to post a winning record in his first season with the franchise since Maurice Cheeks in the 2001-02 campaign, and the first to guide the team to a playoff win in his debut season since Mike Dunleavy in 1997-98.

The Bulls are hoping to build a foundation with Splitter leading the charge, as the team has missed the playoffs for four straight seasons.

Chicago has a busy offseason ahead with many key players heading into free agency, headlined by Anferenee Simons hitting the open market.

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The Bulls’ top priority will be to work out a new lucrative long-term deal with Simons, especially after trading for him in exchange for longtime center Nikola Vucevic before last season’s trade deadline. He was limited to just six games due to injury, where he averaged 15.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor and 38.5 percent from beyond the arc, along with 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists.