The Chicago Bulls appear to be trading a Thibs for a Hoibs.

CBS Sports is speculating that the Chicago Bulls will hire Iowa State men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, now that they have come to an agreement with coach Tom Thibodeau for the two sides to split.

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"The worst-kept secret in basketball -- that the Chicago Bulls would eventually fire Tom Thibodeau because they hate him -- finally came to fruition Thursday afternoon," CBS Sports reported. "So now it's time to focus on the other worst-kept secret in basketball -- that the Chicago Bulls will now hire Fred Hoiberg -- and discuss what's next for Iowa State."

The reason for CBS Sports' confidence - aside from the rumors that have been circulating for weeks about the end of Thibodeau's tenure in Chicago - comes from another report from the Ames (Iowa) Tribune, which also focused on Hoiberg's future, as well as his attraction to the NBA.

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"In early April, Hoiberg let it be known to five-star recruit Cheick Diallo that his immediate future at ISU was not a certainty, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Ames Tribune.

"While Hoiberg did not definitively say he planned to move on to the NBA, sources said, he also communicated that he couldn't fully commit he would be returning to ISU to coach Diallo and what figures to be a preseason top-10 Cyclones team in 2015-16.

That seems to prove Hoiberg's intentions to leave Iowa State - what coach in his right mind would tell a recruit he may not be staying if he were staying?

The Ames Tribune added that Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard already has stated publicly that Hoiberg's dream is to coach in the NBA.

"(Hoiberg) has always said from day one that his lifelong goal has been to coach in the NBA," Pollard said on May 12 in Ottumwa at a tailgate tour stop. "It's for him to decide when that part of his life he wants to activate.

"Now it's just strictly a decision for him and their family personally, not what he wants to do because he's made that clear. (The NBA is) what he wants to do. It's a matter of when he wants to do it."

The only matter that needs to be resolved is whether the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have also made overtures to Hoiberg, can somehow wrest him away from the Bulls. But if Hoiberg learned anything from Steve Kerr, who had offers from the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors last year, his path seems clear.