A Tom Thibodeau Sighting

After being fired by the Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau was expected to take some time off from basketball. That however may not necessarily be the case. He was spotted yesterday at the Houston Rockets' practice.

Now this is interesting. Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is here. pic.twitter.com/ckagNl9Cco

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) October 2, 2015

The reason for his presence there is not clear. What he plans to do going forward is also unclear/unknown.

Still, the Clippers should consider reaching out to Tom. He was a great associate head coach with Doc Rivers for the Boston Celtics and helped craft an amazing defense. The Clippers do not have an associate head coach anymore after Alvin Gentry left and took that role with the Golden State Warriors. It would not be a terrible idea for the Clippers to look into whether Tom would be interested in reuniting with the Doc Rivers for the pursuit of an NBA title. Even if Tom is interested in being a head coach in the future, the Clippers could benefit from even a bit of time with Tom's expertise with defense.

Perhaps more importantly is that the Clippers should make sure Tom is off the market from any possible Western Conference team. If Tom wants some time off from basketball, that's fine. However, if he wants another coaching gig and is willing to take an assistant/associate head coach position to pass a year or two, the Clippers cannot let another team get him. The last thing the Clippers need is the Western Conference becoming even harder and another of the six competitive teams getting even better. Who knows, maybe James Harden would start playing defense under the guidance of Tom.

Doc should definitely use his established relationship with Tom and make back channel contact if he hasn't already.