Bulls Could Raid Wolves' Staff for Both Lead Executive, Head Coach

Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori has been a popular name in head coaching circles the past couple of offseasons. Despite reaching second rounds of interviews with several organizations, he hasn't yet received an offer to take over a team. That reportedly could change this offseason, depending on how the Chicago Bulls approach their restructure.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, Nori would be considered a "strong candidate" for Chicago's vacant head coaching job if Wolves GM Matt Lloyd is hired to take over as the Bulls' lead executive. Scotto reported on Wednesday that Lloyd is "considered arguably the front runner" to take over as the leader of Chicago's front office.

Lloyd has been in the Wolves' front office since being hired in June 2022 as the senior vice president of basketball operations. He was promoted to general manager in July 2024, serving as Tim Connelly's right-hand man.

Lloyd began his NBA career in Chicago, spending over a decade with the Bulls in various roles ranging from media coordinator to scout to senior manager of basketball operations to director of college scouting. Following his tenure in Chicago, Lloyd spent around 10 years as the assistant general manager of the Orlando Magic before coming to Minnesota.

Nori has been the lead assistant for head coach Chris Finch since the Wolves hired him in 2021. Over the past couple of seasons, Nori has had interviews for the Lakers' and Knicks' head coaching roles.

For an organization that's been as dysfunctional lately as the Bulls, who have made the playoffs just twice in the last 11 seasons, poaching Lloyd and Nori away from a thriving franchise like Minnesota could make a lot of sense.

If Nori were to land the Bulls gig, he would reunite with a couple former Wolves prospects in Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller. Dillingham was selected by the Wolves as the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft by Minnesota. He struggled to live up to that high pick status and was eventually traded at this year's deadline for Ayo Dosunmu. Miller, who was part of the Dosunmu trade, was a second-round pick in 2023, spending a good chunk of his time in the Wolves' organization with the team's G-League affiliate in Iowa.

In Chicago, Dillingham played 30 games, averaging 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 21.5 minutes. Miller appeared in 27 games for the Bulls, starting 12, and averaged 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 55% shooting.

The Wolves are in the midst of a tightly-contested first-round series with the Nuggets. The No. 6 seeded Wolves currently lead the No. 3 seeded Nuggets three games to two. Game 6 is set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT on Thursday night at the Target Center.

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