All indications are Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf remains confident in the front office duo of GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, who calls for them to make changes to the roster with the deadline less than a week away. Forman has reportedly signaled that he’s concerned about his future, but it’s instead the immediate situation in Chicago that has others worried.
“We got to find ourselves,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said, according to Friedell. “I challenged them, whatever they got to do over the [All-Star] break, look themselves in the mirror, find a way to get committed to this team where we can come out and go on a run. And that’s all we can do right now is look forward. It’s been a bad, bad stretch of basketball. Hopefully we’ll get healthy and move forward.”
Hoiberg’s job is in no danger, Friedell confirms, advocating instead for the Bulls to deal away Pau Gasol. Two executives recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that they don’t think the Bulls are done testing the trade market for Gasol in spite of injuries to Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic. See more from Chicago, where the Bulls are in seventh place and just a game up on the ninth-place Pistons:
- Mirotic will remain out for weeks, not days, as he continues to recover from a follow-up procedure to an appendectomy, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The power forward had been targeting a return after the All-Star break.
- The front office set a destructive tone when it undermined coach Tom Thibodeau last season, and it shows in the way the Bulls have responded on the court this season, contends Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Forman and Paxson told players last season that they didn’t have to buy in to Thibodeau’s coaching because the team planned to move on from him at season’s end, according to Cowley.
- However, the negative effect Thibodeau had on the work environment in Chicago and the coach’s questionable substitution patterns are some of the reasons why it’s not as if his continued presence would have prevented the team’s problems this year, contends Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. The Timberwolves are the latest team to emerge with apparent interest in the ex-Bulls coach.
Joe Cowley has personal agendas. I would not read, nor believe, anything he writes. He did this with the White Sox and now with the Bulls. I think he has something against Jerry Reinsdorf. Just saying.
Please just trade away gasol and taj for picks and a young wing player or a point guard that’s under 25 or so and have a lil up side
These Bulls players top the ceiling already and Fred needs a better roster to work with. Then rebuild thru draft and summer to help jimmy butler before he breaks down and Bobby Portis and niko M and maybe keep Doug McD
Thats not going to solve the problem.
Its time to make a change in management.
Forman should be gone
It would solve a problem of getting rid of players that won’t be in your future would be a start move to move them now while they can contribute to a contender and getting assets back for a another possible move
Please fire Forman, he is NOT a smart man
Foreman and paxson need to go
And dougie mcbuckets was not worth 3 picks
At the time he was the ppg I think in college that plays like Kyle krover with s potential better upside
He just hasn’t been that player since coming into the nba.
At the time was a smart move because the roster was looking really good with high upside and Tom thibs running the show
I think he is better than what they gave up, jurkic and Harris.
Doug has good potential to be a good player but I think they could of gotten him for a little cheaper.
Reinsdorfs either in a coma or has been napping for a couple of years. Look what’s happened to the White Sox. Same is happening the the Browns, I mean Bulls. He’s trusting people who are destroying his two teams. Paxon and Williams are two arrogant guys who are no longer accountable for what they do.