Gar Forman seemed to have it all back in 2011. His Chicago Bulls team was in the Eastern Conference Finals. They had the league MVP in Derrick Rose and appeared ready for a championship run in the near future. It’s incredible to think about how everything fell apart so spectacularly. In truth the man has nobody to blame but himself. The stories of his backroom politicking and ceaseless paranoia are legendary. Alienating players like Rose and Jimmy Butler. Pushing Tom Thibodeau out as head coach. He clearly thought he was invincible.
However, the downturn of the Bulls’ fortunes over the past few years began to erode his credibility. Hiring Fred Hoiberg and trading Butler likely proved the beginning of the end for him. Finally, with the arrival of Arturas Karnisovas as VP of Basketball Operations, his time ran out. The Bulls have officially relieved him of his duties as GM and he will be seeking work elsewhere for the first time in 22 years.
Chicago Bulls expected to address Jim Boylen next
At the same time this was happening, the Bulls also announced that John Paxson, whom Karnisovas replaced, would be moved to a senior advisory role. So that’s two of the big names addressed. Fans now wait to see what the team will do about head coach Jim Boylen. While the man himself expressed confidence he would keep his job, most believe that is unlikely. Karnisovas will want a fresh start with somebody of his choosing. Given Boylen’s record and how poorly players have developed under him?
That makes sense.
While Forman will forever be viewed as a villain in the eyes of Bulls fans, he does deserve credit for building the first true championship contender they saw after the Jordan era. He absolutely deserves blame for it being shorter than it should’ve been but to say he was nothing but a failure wouldn’t be fair.
