By KC Johnson (Chicago Tribune)The Bulls organization has called an 11 a.m. news conference Tuesday at the Berto Center to announce Del Negro's firing, which has been reported for months. Sources said general manager Gar Forman informed Del Negro of the decision during a Monday night meeting at Berto.
That followed Del Negro's talk with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on Sunday and an earlier Monday meeting with Forman, during which Del Negro detailed his defense for his job.
Sources said Del Negro's talk with Reinsdorf centered on his development of young players, team improvement in targeted areas such as defense and rebounding and assurances from management following Ben Gordon's departure that 2010 free agency mattered as much as the 2009-10 season.
Instead, due to Del Negro's deteriorated relationship with Forman and executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, the Bulls will swallow approximately $2 million on the final year of Del Negro's guaranteed three-year contract and embark on their second coach search in two years.
Though the Bulls have contacted no candidates for interviews, sources indicated they have either performed background on or held internal discussions about at least Lawrence Frank, Kevin McHale, Maurice Cheeks, Byron Scott, Dwane Casey and Eric Musselman. That list isn't meant to be comprehensive and doesn't mean all will get interviews.
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