If you’re a Bulls fan looking for change — a change of the roster, a change of management wonks, a change of dynamic proportions — then you need to look elsewhere.
Or just wait.
Because our Bulls guru K.C. Johnson is reporting that ownership-level sources tell him executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman will keep their jobs after this season.
I don’t know how they still have their jobs today, and now they’re good going forward?
This seems to be how you go backward. Or sideways.
I can’t say I’m surprised, what with Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s legendary loyalty, a trait presumably shared by his son, President Michael Reinsdorf.
Bulls Q&A: Trade deadline, point guard options, irregular rotations & more K.C. Johnson
We’re hipster heavy in this edition of a Bulls mailbag since so many questioners merely listed their zip codes and not the city from whence their inquiry came. Those nutty kids. Onto your questions.
Wouldn’t it make sense for Fred Hoiberg to give Denzel Valentine consistent minutes since the Bulls…
We’re hipster heavy in this edition of a Bulls mailbag since so many questioners merely listed their zip codes and not the city from whence their inquiry came. Those nutty kids. Onto your questions.
Wouldn’t it make sense for Fred Hoiberg to give Denzel Valentine consistent minutes since the Bulls…
(K.C. Johnson)
But this doesn’t sound like happy news for Bulls fans hoping to see another championship in their lifetime.
We have seen what Paxson and Forman can do, and that’s wait for something that doesn’t stink to fall into their laps and then hope it’s enough to barely make the playoffs.
So far, that’s the case. The Bulls hold the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference. Congratulations, here’s your participation ribbon.
What we haven’t seen Paxson and Forman do of late is show vision and stick to it, or if they have a vision, this can’t be it.
When the Bulls traded Derrick Rose, the plan was to get younger and more athletic. That was Forman’s phrase. Forman also said he hoped the team could remain competitive while young players gained experience and improved.
Waiting. Wait. Ing.
That’s a hard trick to pull off, and the Bulls are Exhibit A. The younger players haven’t improved. The veterans have been inconsistent and subject to discipline. The locker room seems like it sometimes requires Kevlar.
And so, the guys who put this together stay put? Their scholarships are renewed?
Hey, how ’bout them Blackhawks?
But I see a chance that something good can come of this painful news, and here’s how:
Denzel Valentine, fresh off D-League stint, deserves legit shot with Bulls Teddy Greenstein
A comeback victory in hand, Denzel Valentine lobbed a pass to Jake Layman in the final seconds. Valentine added a little extra loft to give the 6-foot-9 Maryland product an easy chance for an alley-oop slam or layup.
Layman missed.
Here’s why it stung: Valentine had nine assists to go with 34 points…
A comeback victory in hand, Denzel Valentine lobbed a pass to Jake Layman in the final seconds. Valentine added a little extra loft to give the 6-foot-9 Maryland product an easy chance for an alley-oop slam or layup.
Layman missed.
Here’s why it stung: Valentine had nine assists to go with 34 points…
(Teddy Greenstein)
If Paxson and Forman have security for at least another year, then perhaps they can feel emboldened to trade Jimmy Butler to rebuild quickly. You know, actually get younger and more athletic. Actually make people believe there’s a future the way they do with the White Sox after Reinsdorf’s baseball team finally committed.
And like it was for Reinsdorf’s baseball team, Boston is the best destination for a deal. The Celtics own the Nets’ first-round draft choice, a sure-fire lottery pick that should end up with the best odds of snagging No. 1 overall.
That’s just for starters, but what also comes into play is if the Bulls trade Butler, they almost certainly would fall out of the playoffs and into the lottery themselves, and two lottery picks in what appears to be a terrific draft class certainly would speed up the rebuild.
The problem is, the guys who brought you this version of basketball goulash, the wonks who traded up to get Doug McDermott and who thought Rajon Rondo was a good idea, would be the ones in charge of rebuilding.
Can you trust them to do better than McDermott? Better than Bobby Portis? Better than Nikola Mirotic? Denzel Valentine? Tony Snell? Marquis Teague?
No, you can’t trust them. That’s why you wouldn’t want them doing this.
But you don’t want them doing what they did this season, either, right?
So, if Paxson and Forman have a hall pass for at least next season, then Stevie Sunshine is trying to find something that doesn’t make me ill in this news.
Perhaps Chairman Reinsdorf can’t stomach two rebuilds at the same time.
But I don’t know any Bulls fan who can stomach Paxson and Forman doing more of the same for another season.
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