warriors vs bulls preview: tom thibodeau
The Golden State Warriors take on the Chicago Bulls tonight, which we have previewed, but there are a lot of questions surrounding the Bulls these days, that all started when Derrick Rose went down with another knee injury, which led to the trade of Luol Deng, a favorite of their head coach Tom Thibodeau, to rumors swirling about his relationship with management.
According to Mike Imrem of the Chicago Daily Herald, there are many similarities with what’s happening between the San Francisco 49ers‘ front office and Jim Harbaugh:
Friction in an organization can be endured only so long before somebody like Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf or 49ers CEO Jed York says enough is enough.
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So what’s the problem with their current teams? Neither can get along with his immediate boss, that’s what.
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Pockets of the world are rife with parties that are struggling to coexist: East and West in Ukraine, dictator and rebels in Syria, conservatives and liberals in Congress.
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To say nothing of sports general managers and head coaches.
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This week SI.com posted a story about acrimony inside the 49ers’ organization that sounded a lot like the Bulls’ climate.
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Passages included “reports of tension” and the coach’s “personality can be grating at times” and “higher-ups may have to choose between” the coach and general manager … sounds oh so familiar.
The Chicago Tribune also covered some of this in Jonathan Daniels‘s “Mailbag” column, which is a paid site:
…What else can Thibodeau say to downplay the possibility of any tension between him and management forcing him to leave? He repeatedly has said he loves his team and Chicago. He has a strong relationship with ownership. And he’s under contact for three more seasons with a strong core that management hopes to retool on the fly. There’s no chance he’s getting fired. So he’d have to walk. I don’t see it and from his comments, neither does Thibodeau. Sure, he didn’t love Ron Adams’ dismissal or Luol Deng’s trade. But his relationship with management features periods of normalcy. And Chicago, more than most NBA cities, has witnessed a coach-front office dynamic far worse in Phil Jackson and Jerry Krause. That seemed to work out OK.
The article also talked about Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose, who were both at one the centerpiece backcourt of the franchise:
Do the Bulls have interest in bringing back Ben Gordon for the minimum contract if he gets bought out after the trade deadline? — Farhan, Chicago
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The Bulls’ 13th roster spot is a game of musical chairs. Which player is left and willing to come when management concludes it’s safe to add a 13th player for a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum and have no chance of exceeding the luxury tax at season’s end is who the Bulls will sign. I personally think Gordon is a fit given that the Bulls need shooting. But my guess is that there would be concerns over adding another smallish guard and one who has fallen out of rotations for some truly bad teams.
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It’s been sad, shocking, insert adjective here to see Gordon fall from such a viable player for a playoff team in Chicago to almost irrelevant. Here’s hoping he resurrects his career as he proved a true professional during his time in Chicago.
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Is it just unusual or bizarre that Rose blew out two knees without contact or twisting? Do you think his odd strength and speed at a young age somehow overpowers his knees or has otherwise worn them prematurely? Why should he and we not expect his knees to fail again and again? — Bob Pierson, Muskegon, Mich.
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Unusual, bizarre, unlucky, franchise-crippling, maddening. The word choices can go on and on. I’m not a doctor but those who are have suggested the two injuries are unrelated and more unlucky than anything. As for your final question, Rose is past the mental hurdles. The meniscus recovery is not as significant as the ACL recovery. And even though his statistics weren’t great at the start of this season before he went down again, his physical tools looked intact. So there’s hope from within the organization he can recover his physical tools again. I can’t help you with your mindset, even if you’re from the fine town of Muskegon, where my great-grandfather built a cottage in the 1920s. Dig your sunsets.
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As a longtime season-ticket holder, I’m sick of hearing next year. Why can’t the Bulls make the moves necessary to get better? The Bulls are worth millions and yet all I hear is our hands are tied. — Torrence Riley, Plainfield
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You can’t plan for your franchise centerpiece to not play for two seasons. The Bulls were all in for this year, prepared to pay the luxury tax — exceeding it by several millions — for a championship contender. Four players were being paid more than $11 million. While you can criticize the Bulls for certain financial decisions, remaining in the luxury tax after Rose went down could’ve prevented them from being aggressive in future seasons because of the repeater tax. Now, fans have heard this song-and-dance about future flexibility before.
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So it’s OK to be skeptical. But I’ve never heard management so blatantly address that dynamic as when executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said ownership has assured management the savings from the Luol Deng trade would be re-invested into basketball resources. So stay tuned. This summer always was going to be about change. It’s on management to make the right moves, and Nikola Mirotic remains the centerpiece of those future moves, whether he comes over this summer or next.
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