Ever since Tom Thibodeau took the head coaching position of the Chicago Bulls in 2010, he has piled up plenty of accolades and wins. He was last season’s NBA Coach of the Year when he guided the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 record; earned the right to coach the 2012 Eastern Conference All-Stars and has won five of the nine available Coach of the Month awards.

This season, the Bulls again boast the league’s best record, despite persistent injury issues, as Rip Hamilton, Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson and Luol Deng have all missed large chunks of the season. Many around the league believe Thibodeau, who became the fastest coach to 100 regular-season wins in NBA history last month, is a front-runner to win his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor, a feat that has never been accomplished before.

Yet, Thibodeau and his camp are not pleased with the fact that he has not been financially rewarded for his work.

It became a national story on March 30 when ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that Thibodeau has made his displeasure known to the Bulls because he hasn’t received a new deal from the organization. After Thibodeau denied and laughed off the report and had the backing of all his players, general manager Gar Forman got an opportunity to clear the air before the Bulls’ charity event earlier in the week.

“First of all, it’s a non-issue to us,” Forman told reporters. “When we saw the story, [we] were perplexed where that had come from. Obviously, we have said it, and [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] has said it: We want Tom to be our coach for a long time. And I know Tom wants to coach the Chicago Bulls.”

Still, Bulls fans are more confused as to why the Bulls have yet to pick up Thibodeau’s option for the 2012-13 campaign. Clearly, the Bulls have every intention of inking him to a long-term deal. But before that takes place, doesn’t it make a lot of sense for the club to show its appreciation and level of respect toward him by guaranteeing the final year of his current contract?

Thibodeau is one of the lowest paid head coaches in the league despite being arguably the best. Like any person in any profession, Thibodeau wants to be shown his employer’s loyalty and rightfully believes he has produced enough to warrant a guaranteed third season.

He is a workaholic whose entire lifestyle revolves around basketball and a coach who commands the utmost respect out of his team – from top to bottom. He knows how to push all the right buttons at exactly the precise time, making one believe he has been a head coach for decades, not just one and a half seasons.

Yes, there has been talk around people close to the situation that most of Thibodeau’s discontent does not stem from the lack of an extension – but from the fact that the Bulls have yet to pick up the third, and last, year on his deal. It’s hard to argue with the Bulls’ decision to not give their coach an extension in the midst of a lockout-compressed season, which is rarely done by NBA teams in a normal campaign. But it would be easy to criticize Chicago for not signing off on the option year – which its hierarchy essentially admitted it had months to iron out during the lockout.  

“We had initiated extension talks with him last fall, which, really, is probably unprecedented in the NBA after one year,” Forman told the assembled media. “But we think that highly of Tom, and our talks were very productive. Then the season started, and both sides agreed to table those talks until after the season. But it’s our objective to have Tom as the coach of the Bulls long-term and I think it’s Tom’s objective to be the coach of the Bulls. And usually when your objectives are the same, at the end of the day you should be able to reach a resolution.”

There’s no question that common ground will be reached at some point, because the Bulls indeed recognize that Thibodeau is the best hiring they have made since Phil Jackson. However, they are also playing a risky game, as Thibodeau’s asking price will surely skyrocket if he takes home another Coach of the Year or the Bulls either take another step or win the championship come playoff time.

For his part, Thibodeau has made it clear that he is “fine with everything here” and that he does not want his contract status to be a distraction for a team that is on its way to back-to-back league-best seasons. His players are in agreement – they don’t want to talk about it but know their coach needs to be rewarded “ASAP,” as Carlos Boozer put it.

The Bulls have not made the no-brainer move but have had plenty of chances – and still do – to pick up the team option on the final year of Thibodeau’s deal.