Who’s Playing When & Where
Hoiberg is constantly changing his rotation, and very few of his players seem to know where they stand. You can grant Fred a partial pass on the inconsistent rotation in the wake of the Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott trade. Those were two key guys in any and all forms of Fred’s rotation. But the inconsistencies and confusion existed before that trade happened.
Rajon Rondo
First, there was the benching of $14 million free agent addition Rajon Rondo, one of the “three alphas” trying to lead a new and young roster. Did Hoiberg give him a clear and timely explanation for his demotion? In Rondo’s words, “Negative.” Shortly after his demotion, Rondo had a meeting with Forman and Paxson to clear the air. But the front office duo also failed to communicate any clarity to the veteran point guard. Again, in Rondo’s words, “It really wasn’t a clear-cut message.”
MCW
Michael Carter-Williams assumed the starting point guard role in place of Rondo, until he lost it to Jerian Grant. Now that Carter-Williams is ready to make his return from a knee injury, he’s “a little confused” about where he’ll fit into Hoiberg’s rotation.
“It’s tough. I’m not going to lie. Some days you just wish Coach would come out and say, ‘Listen, you’ve got to do this. This person has to do this.’ Some days I’m thankful that the spot is still open so that I can compete for it and get it.” – Michael Carter-Williams
Poor MCW is trying to stay positive, but his optimism about the point guard spot remaining open points to a coach who can’t make up his mind. It’s not Fred’s fault that his front office gave him five point guards to shuffle, but he could be handling it better. That’s true for the rotations he’s using and the lack of communication to his players about their respective roles.
Bobby Portis
Just ask Bobby Portis, who’s been thrust into a starting role at power forward in Gibson’s absence. The Bulls sent their second year player (a “steal” in the 2015 draft, according to GarPax) down to their D-League affiliate Windy City Bulls midseason. He’s happy to be getting his chance now, but he recently admitted he didn’t understand his demotion either.
“No, I didn’t really know what I could do to get minutes… I didn’t understand why I had to go down.” – Bobby Portis
Here’s what Hoiberg had to say about his dialogue with Bobby this season:
“I’ve tried to communicate with him and let him know the things that he needed to continue to do, which is work, which Bobby always does.” – Fred Hoiberg
Just so we’re clear: Hoiberg told Bobby he needed to continue to “work”, but Bobby was working, but he wasn’t working hard enough to play? Yeah, that’s not clear at all. Fred also mentioned the logjam of bigs on his roster as reason for Portis being shunned, but was the logjam of bigs really worse than the musical chairs situation in the backcourt? No way. That’s a failure in communication. You know, just like the ones Fred had with Butler, Noah, Rondo and Carter-Williams.
All that considered, Hoiberg’s boss continues (as recently as this morning) to insist he’s the right guy to make these tough rotation decisions and communicate those decisions to the players.
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