Let the Smear of Tyrus Thomas Begin

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As Bulls practice ended Monday, veteran Lindsey Hunter stepped up and directed some pointed advice toward Tyrus Thomas in front of all his teammates and coaches.

It's the kind of behind-the-scenes leadership that occurs countless times throughout an NBA season. This instance stood out for two reasons.

It came on the heels of Thomas, according to team sources, taking exception to coach Vinny Del Negro harping on him for failing to rotate defensively. And it followed Thomas again falling out of the fourth-quarter rotation.

Thomas has played just 92 seconds in the fourth quarter through three games, sitting the entire final quarter against Boston -- because of the blowout loss -- and again Sunday during a close loss to Miami.

For the second straight day, Del Negro insisted he rode a small lineup that featured Luol Deng at power forward to spread the floor with shooters, not to punish Thomas.

"We were just spreading them out and getting good looks with the high pick-and-roll and the side pick-and-roll," Del Negro said. "Lu was shooting pretty well, so we picked and popped him a little. With Kirk (Hinrich) out there defensively, we were a little better and had some offensive people out there as well."

Nevertheless, it's clear Thomas continues to struggle with earning the trust of Del Negro.

"We were a step slow defensively on our rotations, and that's something we've been working on a lot," Del Negro said generally.

The story goes that the Bulls sent home Tyrus Thomas with flu-like symptoms. Sounds like code for the fact that they’re the ones who are sick -- sick of Thomas.

I mean, just look at the timing: On Sunday, the alleged starting forward sat the entire fourth quarter in a loss in Miami, and then on Monday, the Bulls officially chose not to extend his original contract.

And on Tuesday, he’s supposedly sick?

Please. The flu? That's as good as either the Bulls or Thomas can do? Do we all need a vaccine against stupidity?

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagot...he-flu-the-best-vaccine-would-be-a-trade.html

That didn't take long.

 

[JimmyBulls]

I've pretty much washed my hands of Tyrus Thomas issues. He won't be around next season, and hopefully he'll get replaced by either Bosh, Amare, Boozer or Lee.

That being said, Thomas missing tonight's game should be the perfect opportunity for JJ to show the coaching staff he's good enough to crack the rotation.