Celtics Title Town

Tom Thibodeau gets a large deal to stay in Chicago

The Chicago Bulls and coach Tom Thibodeau agreed on a four-year contract extension, the team announced on Monday.

The deal is "very close" to the reported $18 million deal Scott Brooks signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder over the summer, a source familiar with the situation told ESPNChicago.com's Melissa Isaacson. The four years are on top of the option year the Bulls picked up on Thibodeau for the 2012-13 season.

"Obviously, I'm very excited to be here and very thankful to (owner) Jerry (Reinsdorf) and to (executive vice president) John (Paxson) and (general manager) Gar (Forman) and certainly all our players and our fans," Thibodeau said on Monday during the team's media day. "I love being here, I never doubted it would work out. This is where I want to be. Jerry has been great to me from the day I arrived."

Congrats on a large deal, you're a great coach. But I hope you lose.

Knicks turn focus to current team

It came down to dollars and sense.That's the message the New York Knicks delivered on Monday as GM Glen Grunwald made his first public comments about the team's decision to let Jeremy Lin go to the Houston Rockets in the offseason.

Grunwald and coach Mike Woodson both wished Lin well in Houston, but also stressed that they were happy with their current point guard, Raymond Felton.

"Basically, it comes down to the fact that Houston made a commitment to him that we weren't prepared to make," Grunwald said on Monday, making reference to the 3-year, $25.1 million offer the Rockets made to Lin last July. "But I'm very happy for Jeremy that things worked out for him personally and for his family and I wish him the best.

"I'm more excited for our team, the team we assembled right now. ... We're very excited and optimistic about this coming year."

Added Woodson: "I'm not going to discuss Jeremy Lin. I think as a franchise we wish Jeremy nothing but the best. It's a process that we went through and we were able to get a player by the name of Raymond Felton, and a guy by the name of Jason Kidd, a Pablo (Prigioni) in here. ... As an organization and as coach I wish Jeremy nothing but the best."

Back in July, the Knicks decided not to match Houston's offer to Lin, which included a $14.8 million payment in Year 3.

The Knicks could be very good, or very mediocre. The Knicks may regret letting Lin go, or they may have saved some cash. Was he a lockout season wonder? Maybe not, but the potential is really high on Lin.