Chicago Bulls finalizing deal to hire Tiago Splitter as head coach: Reports

(NBC CHICAGO) -- The Chicago Bulls appear to be zeroing in on a new head coach, as the team will reportedly hire Tiago Splitter for that position.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Bulls are finalizing a deal to hire the Portland Trail Blazers’ interim boss as their permanent coach following an exhaustive search:

Splitter would replace Billy Donovan, who opted to leave the Bulls as the team has begun to reshape their front office, hiring Bryson Graham as their new VP of Basketball Operations following the end of the regular season.

The Bulls have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, and have signaled they intend to restructure their roster in a major way after trading off assets at the NBA trade deadline earlier this year.

Splitter played parts of seven NBA seasons with the Spurs, Hawks and 76ers, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his career.

He served for four seasons as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets before being hired by the Trail Blazers. He then became the team’s interim head coach after Chauncey Billups was indefinitely suspended following his arrest in a far-reaching FBI probe into an alleged gambling scheme.

He went 42-39 with Portland, guiding them to the Western Conference playoffs in his one season at the helm.