Blogabull - Bulls beat writers speak on team dysfunction

[Naptastic]

I can kinda understand why Jimmy irked some of his teammates this year with the "I'm the leader" thing. It was kinda self appointed, and he had one really good year. Jo and Derrick see him as younger and probably do remember him as green and scoring 2pts per game. That is a big identity shift for just one season, especially if he is then gotten an ego about it.

Not that he didn't earn it. I'm sure it was just a fast change for Jo and Derrick, and one they don't want to face.

 

[Axl Rose]

I can kinda understand why Jimmy irked some of his teammates this year with the "I'm the leader" thing. It was kinda self appointed, and he had one really good year. Jo and Derrick see him as younger and probably do remember him as green and scoring 2pts per game. That is a big identity shift for just one season, especially if he is then gotten an ego about it.

Not that he didn't earn it. I'm sure it was just a fast change for Jo and Derrick, and one they don't want to face.

i think his "im a point guard" talk was more egregious and to it make it worse he would go on to double down on it

yeah Jimmy thats certainty the best thing to say while your point guard teammate who you say you have no problems with is trying to find his game after 23 knee surgeries...real chemistry builder

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I'm not completely sure that this is true. I know Cowley mentioned this in a recent article, but I question his motives since there are whispers that Jimmy is his source.

That said, it's not like our young guys were on fire this season. McDermott, Mirotic, and Snell all struggled this season, so "if" Jimmy did lead them, he didn't do a great job at it.

Any proof on these whispers?

 

[RoseMVP1]

Aron Baynes got 3 years 20 mil....a banged up Noah is still way better than that garbage. He's getting more than 5-7 mil a year

 

[Xplosive]

i think his "im a point guard" talk was more egregious and to it make it worse he would go on to double down on it

yeah Jimmy thats certainty the best thing to say while your point guard teammate who you say you have no problems with is trying to find his game after 23 knee surgeries...real chemistry builder

Exactly. Its the same thing as the 'I'm the reason we lost this year... and I'm at peace with it' comment he recently made. He might think he's being a leader by trying to take all the blame but that can really be irritating and comes off as self-righteous.

I'm sure eyes were rolling like: "Yeah Jimmy you're our savior, if only you had a better season everything would have been great" :yep:

 

[Enasic]

I laughed when Jimmy was talking about playing PG and he said "It's not hard." Jimmy's a smart guy. He knows how his comments are construed and what undertones they carry. He's made some backhanded comments for the past two seasons now. I was very concerned in the beginning of the year after a 20 point loss, Jimmy was laughing and joking around on the sidelines and with the opposing team after the game. It just rubbed me the wrong way and I know it's not something he would have done last season. Little stuff like that is part of leadership. Would MJ ever joke around after losing? Yet alone by 20? There's a difference between working hard in the off-season, in the weight room, and having a great work ethic than being invested in the team. And Jimmy quite obviously was not invested in the team this year. Playing the final two games does nothing for me to sway that opinion.

 

[The Hawk]

Wouldn't be the first time that stupid ass sportswriters tried to run a player or coach that they don't like out of town. I think that this is happening with Butler and Smith is a perfect foil for the three stooges Reinny, Pax, Gar to use.

 

[knoxville7]

Aron Baynes got 3 years 20 mil....a banged up Noah is still way better than that garbage. He's getting more than 5-7 mil a year

itd be a hometown discount for sure...if Jo is willing to give a discount its a no brainer to bring him back

 

[The Hawk]

Mike Wilbon had an interesting take on the Bulls problems last season and laid it right at the feet of management picking the WRONG COACH for the team after ushering out Thibs. I agree entirely with Wilbon. Hoiberg had no credibility coming into this organization. It was not his fault. Why not take the job? The fault was Reinny's going along with his pissant lackeys Garfield Goose and friend

 

[The Hawk]

Did anyone watch Thibs interview after taking the Wolves job. Classy throughout even thanking Reinny for the opportunity presented. Didn't bum-rap anyone of the Bulls operation despite even after continued bad mouthing by Paxson recently(speaking about no class!). Talked about having a great line of communication with the owner of the Wolves, a great young line-up of players as well as a high draft pick and good cap space. Also a chance to develop these young players into a great team.

 

[Enasic]

The Bulls dysfunction started in Thibs last season. Maybe even before that...but it was clear to anyone watching last season that the wheels were coming off from this roster and the current makeup. If you're going to fire Thibs, you better damn well bring a professional NBA coach into the fold that not only commands respect, but is also a good communicator, holds guys accountable, knows the league, and can overcome adversity. Hoiberg has none of those traits. Literally, none. Watching him on the sidelines and listening to his interviews brings back nightmares of Marc Trestman. Both guys were clearly out of place, over their heads, and not HC material. Maybe not even assistant coach material. It was such a bad hire it's hard to wrap my head around it.

Honestly, the Bulls could bring in Kevin Durant (which obviously won't happen) and I still wouldn't feel particularly great about this team because the leadership, vision, and accountability is sorely lacking with Fred. This team has light years to go roster wise and gathering the proper talent to contend, but it's also going to be stuck in the mud as long as Fred is driving the car - despite whatever personnel moves they make-

When there is no accountability up top (Garpax), then there can't be any accountability anywhere else. The fact that Garpax still have a job is a joke. They should have been canned with Thibs, or at the very least, after this train wreck of a season. I do admit though, I"m looking forward to the moronic moves they make in an effort to fix this mess. It's going to be hilariously incompetent and hopefully will be the final nail in the coffin of these clowns running the show.

 

[Axl Rose]

there wasn't a better coach than Thibs available and i don't think a retread thats coached 5 teams would have commanded anymore respect than Fred...the roster has abuncha players with their own agenda

the mistake wasn't hiring Hoiberg, it was being ignorant and not changing ONE THING about the team...it should've been blown up last offseason...who cares if you got nothing of value...you still aren't getting anything now

 

[knoxville7]

there wasn't a better coach than thibs available and i don't think a retread would have commanded anymore respect

the mistake wasn't hiring Hoiberg, it was being ignorant and not changing ONE DAMN THING about the team

I agree with enasic...hoiberg hire was a mistake. that said, the FO was obviously dead set on bringing hoiberg in. and if youre going to bring him in, then you definitely should try to make moves to tailor the roster to his style of ball

 

[Axl Rose]

I agree with enasic...hoiberg hire was a mistake. that said, the FO was obviously dead set on bringing hoiberg in. and if youre going to bring him in, then you definitely should try to make moves to tailor the roster to his style of ball

i think both you mean firing Thibs was a mistake...i mean what good coaches were out there? it made sense to go with potential in Hoiberg over a guy like Alvin Gentry

i would agree that they should have atleast did due diligence and interviewed a few more ppl...Ettore Messina was the guy other than Hoiberg that i was interested in and they should have gave him a real look

all in all i don't think there was any options that you can say for certain would have got better results imho...at the root the problem is the roster...maybe you bring in Mark Jackson and he gets you 7th seed...woo /s

 

[The Hawk]

there wasn't a better coach than Thibs available and i don't think a retread thats coached 5 teams would have commanded anymore respect than Fred...the roster has abuncha players with their own agenda

the mistake wasn't hiring Hoiberg, it was being ignorant and not changing ONE THING about the team...it should've been blown up last offseason...who cares if you got nothing of value...you still aren't getting anything now

I disagree. Yeah there wasn't a better coach than Thibs but there had to be better coaches than Freddie as in experienced NBA assistant coaches that had good mentors. The Bulls were just STUPID all around even before they let THibs go.

 

[Enasic]

I'm not saying firing Thibs was a mistake but Garpax should have been fired with him. That was a mistake. Hiring Hoiberg was a mistake. Hiring Hoiberg and not shaking up the roster whatsoever was a colossal mistake. The organization has been slowly burning for a while. They haven't come close to getting it right and it's going to be a long while until this could be fixed. It has to start with new management.

 

[Axl Rose]

I disagree. Yeah there wasn't a better coach than Thibs but there had to be better coaches than Freddie as in experienced NBA assistant coaches that had good mentors. The Bulls were just STUPID all around even before they let THibs go.

Hoiberg may not ever be a good coach and there may prove to have been a better option down the road but putting the brunt of the failures on him is taking away from the real problem and that is this roster

Wilbon is kissing the players ass with his incorrect statement that Hoiberg is the biggest issue...he says Hoiberg is not the guy for the job...okay well who is, Wilbon? a top 5 coach in Thibs wasn't enough

 

[knoxville7]

Hoiberg may not ever be a good coach and there may prove to have been a better option down the road but putting the brunt of the failures on him is taking away from the real problem and that is this roster

Wilbon is kissing the players ass with his incorrect statement that Hoiberg is the biggest issue...he says Hoiberg is not the guy for the job...okay well who is, Wilbon? a top 5 coach in Thibs wasn't enough

to me, if they wanted to fire thibs, I get it and its fine that they did so. the problem is bringing in a new coach whos style of play doesn't fit the roster at all. to me it would of been easier to bring in a coach that fits the roster than its going to be turning over the entire roster just to fit a coach with no NBA coaching experience until now. but, like enasic said, thanks to our crappy FO...they decided the latter was the route they wanted to take. so now we will be in total disarray for the next couple years while we try to overhaul an entire roster to fit hoiberg, who in all likelihood will be fired right around the time when the roster overhaul is completed....thus making those couple of years a total waste of time. that's how I see this all playing out

 

[Enasic]

Hoiberg may not ever be a good coach and there may prove to have been a better option down the road but putting the brunt of the failures on him is taking away from the real problem and that is this roster

Wilbon is kissing the players ass with his incorrect statement that Hoiberg is the biggest issue...he says Hoiberg is not the guy for the job...okay well who is, Wilbon? a top 5 coach in Thibs wasn't enough

Well, Wilbon is right in the fact that besides management, Hoiberg IS the biggest issue. He was a terrible hire. Now, putting that aside, no matter who we brought in, this roster is way too flawed for the Bulls to seriously contend - so the roster is absolutely a gigantic issue-

That said, I honestly believe Hoiberg is a bottom 10 coach in the league. A competent coach would have had this team in the playoffs and not getting blown out by 20 points on a regular basis. No doubt about it. I think most realize that it takes more than a knowledge of X's and O's to be a successful coach. The HC needs to be a leader which encompasses a wide variety of traits that Fred clearly is missing. Those intangibles cannot be taught and are perhaps even more important than the X's and O's. It was a disastrous hire because IMO, he cannot improve on his weaknesses. As far as those intangibles go, he may be the worst in the league. To say he's a fish out of water as an NBA HC might be putting it too nicely.

 

[The Hawk]

I'm not saying firing Thibs was a mistake but Garpax should have been fired with him. That was a mistake. Hiring Hoiberg was a mistake. Hiring Hoiberg and not shaking up the roster whatsoever was a colossal mistake. The organization has been slowly burning for a while. They haven't come close to getting it right and it's going to be a long while until this could be fixed. It has to start with new management.

Yep. Reinny is the biggest obstacle to building a title contending team and a lot of it has to do with his deep based loyalty to the guys that he hires in the front office. Perhaps it is his own insecurity of admitting that he made a mistake? I do know that the guy is both loyal and vindictive as is the case with too many owners in sports. Massive egos all around and refusals to admit mistakes. Jerry Jones in the NFL is a great example of it.

Truth is that until Reinny croaks or steps down, the Bulls are fucked because they have Garfield Goose and friend in charge as Reinny's "capos". Forget highly rated free agents coming into Chicago. They will bring in flawed layers like Gasol and suffer the consequences. All the while hanging Freddie out to dry until he becomes the scapegoat. Freddie, though, should remain happy because the Bulls made him a multi-millionaire and he can go back to coach college ball with a nice bank-roll to play around with