As their front office continues to take shape, it sure sounds like our Chicago Bulls are now making a concerted push to figure out their head coach vacancy sooner rather than later.
The Bulls are reportedly slated to interview Minnesota Timberwolves lead assistant coach Micah Nori, New Orleans Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach and Billy Donovan-era Bulls assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr.
Chicago is also slated to ask the cheapskate Portland Trail Blazers about a formal conversation with current interim head coach Tiago Splitter. Former two-time All-Star swingman-turned-Golden State Warriors assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse is said to be in the running for the Bulls gig, although it’s unclear if an interview is planned just yet.
First up, let’s take a look at Nori — fresh off another impressive playoff run with the No. 6-seeded Timberwolves.
Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori and shooting guard Anthony Edwards © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesMicah Nori: The Hits and Misses
Nori, 52, has been an NBA mainstay since 2009. But hoops wasn’t his first choice.
Nori played college baseball at Indiana, where he put up strong numbers ( a .305 career batting average with 20 home runs, 127 RBI and 116 runs) before getting a brief taste in the Mets’ system. In 2005, after an internship with the Raptors, Nori went back to IU as an assistant coach — for the baseball team.
However, a door opened for him to make the transition full-time into basketball back in Toronto. He worked under Jay Triano and Dwane Casey on the Toronto Raptors from 2009-13.
Nori then worked under Michael Malone during parts of his stints with the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, from 2013-18. He returned to work under Casey as his head assistant on the Detroit Pistons from 2018-21. Nori has been serving under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
Hits (no baseball pun intended)
Most notably, Nori received a temporary promotion at a critical moment during Minnesota’s 2023-24 season.
Finch hurt his patellar tendon after Minnesota point guard Mike Conley fell into him during Game 4 of their eventual first-round series sweep of the Kevin Durant/Devin Booker/Bradley Beal-era Phoenix Suns.
The Timberwolves head coach underwent surgery for the ailing knee, and was on crutches for the balance of the playoffs. Although Finch was present, he would be sitting on the bench, with Nori taking over in-game duties the rest of the way.
“It makes you feel good when I sit down in that chair and look across and have five pairs of eyes looking right at you locked in,” Nori told Scoggins of his fill-in role that spring.
Technically (counting the conclusion of that Game 4), Minnesota went 6-7 in the postseason under Nori — advancing to the franchise’s first Western Conference Finals in 20 years. With a healthy Finch at the helm once again, the Timberwolves repeated the same trick the next year, falling to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the West Finals. This season, Minnesota was booted by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round.
Nori’s performance proved so impressive that he found himself in the running for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching gig in 2024 and the New York Knicks’ role in ’25. He lost out to JJ Redick and Mike Brown, respectively.
Nori seems to be something of a big man whisperer. He helped guide sharpshooting then-Timberwolves All-Star power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns to a breakout playoff run. Nori also developed a great relationship with Nikola Jokic in Denver, although he conceded years later that he didn’t initially appreciate Jokic’s upside.
Chicago, as luck would have it, seems to be in the running for a top-tier power forward or center, with North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer potentially set to be on the board for EVP Bryson Graham at the No. 4 pick.
Misses
It’s hard to know exactly how much success or failure of Timberwolves players we should pin on Nori as an assistant — even if he is Finch’s lead assistant.
Minnesota power forward Julius Randle and center Rudy Gobert finished with a combined three points on 1-of-12 shooting from the field in what wound up being their final game of the season, an embarrassing 139-109 obliteration at the hands of San Antonio.
Gobert and Randle have generally been impressive playoff performers under Finch and Nori. But neither looked right with the lights brightest by the end of that Spurs series.
Both veteran ex-All-Stars are in their 30s and not quite in their primes anymore. It does feel like Finch and Nori extracted the most they could, and that a possible trade of either player for a point guard may be in the offing this summer.
2026 NBA Draft Lottery © David Banks-Imagn ImagesIs Micah Nori the Right Coach for the Bulls Right Now?
The Bulls aren’t going to have to worry about maximizing All-Stars during a deep playoff run anytime soon. So Gobert and Randle fizzling out this year may not be a major issue or put a damper on Nori’s upside as a leader of men in Chicago.
Will Nori be amenable to growing with a team as the organization changes course from the previous front office? Will Hardy has made a mint babysitting tanking Utah Jazz teams for years now under Danny Ainge.
Nori is a bit older than some of the other first-time head coaching contenders on the market right now. Really, it may be up to him to determine if he’s open to not winning right away, for a franchise that is notoriously avoidant of the NBA’s punitive luxury tax.
A retread of an established coach with a lackluster record is the biggest risk of this search. Taking a chance on a beloved career assistant like Nori is worth a gamble.
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