Everyone within the organization may be pretending that all is fine after the Bulls’ win over Philadelphia Sunday night, but that means about as much as a Band-aid on a bullet hole. No offense to the young Sixers, who have been playing better basketball recently. They’re still a mediocre team at best, and faced the Bulls without their star player Joel Embiid. That one win will not make everything right in Chicago, and a daunting six game road trip awaits Fred Hoiberg’s splintered crew. Three of those six games include matchups with Russell Westbrook’s Thunder, James Harden’s Rockets and Western Conference powerhouse Golden State.
…Good luck with that, Fred.
You’re…Not Fired
As Bulls fans watched the madness unfold last week, many wondered if this latest disaster would finally mean the end for front office wonks Gar Forman and John Paxson, and the head coach that duo hand-picked after blaming their failures on Tom Thibodeau. If you count yourself among the “#FireGarPax” alliance, you’ll be pretty disappointed to hear the latest analysis from ESPN Bulls insider Nick Friedell.
Friedell spent this morning with the guys from Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio, offering up his take on the state of the Bulls. Does he buy the party line that everything is fine and everyone’s on the same page after a team meeting addressed the confrontational comments made by “three alphas” Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo? Not. At. All.
“I think [the six game trip] is the beginning of the end for the Bulls. This has been an up and down team all season, but this team is ready – with just a little bit of a push – to be falling down the mountain. So no, I wasn’t buying what everybody was trying to sell the other day. I think this team is really ready to break apart.” – Nick Friedell
Loyalty Despite Failure
If the Bulls do cave, as Friedell predicts, don’t expect that to cause a changing of the guard among the team’s trio of coach, general manager and vice president. Here’s more from Nick:
“I don’t believe Fred Hoiberg’s gone…Jerry Reinsdorf is very loyal to his coaches, to his GMs, and he’s got a long pattern of this. Fred still has 3 years and $15 million left on his deal, so I don’t think Fred’s going anywhere.” – Nick Friedell
Fred appears to be safe. What about his bosses, who’ve been constantly berated and criticized by Bulls fans for several years?
“Fans in Chicago are wondering ‘What happens to Gar Forman, what happens to John Paxson?’ I don’t think they’re going anywhere either…People want change, but Reinsdorf is extremely loyal. He loves John Paxson like a son, and I think Gar isn’t going anywhere right now.” – Nick Friedell
Did you catch all that? Bulls fans can rally together to demand change and pass “Fire GarPax” petitions around the web until Michael Jordan decides to lace ’em up for his third NBA comeback. It won’t matter. Reinsdorf’s sense of loyalty to his guys remains constant. If the owner decides he wants a full-scale rebuild, like he did with his baseball team, the same trio will still be making the decisions concerning draft picks, trades and roster formation.
…Did you hear that?
That was the sound of millions of Bulls fans’ eyes simultaneously rolling out of their heads. Thanks for the update, Nick.
