Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic returned to familiar roles Monday as the Bulls broke their five-game losing streak, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Making his first start since December 30th, Rondo put up 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a win at Charlotte. “That’s what I came here for,” said Rondo, who joined the Bulls on a two-year deal last summer. “But like I said, it’s a process I went through. It didn’t kill me. It’s decisions people made that’s out of my league.” Rondo’s performance should earn him some more starts, but it may not be enough to keep him in Chicago past this season. Only $3MM of his $13.397MM salary for next season is guaranteed if he is waived before June 30th.
Mirotic, who has spent nearly a week on the bench and was listed as inactive for Sunday’s game, responded to his opportunity with a team-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds. The 26-year-old is in the final season of a three-year contract, and like Rondo, faces an uncertain future in Chicago. “It’s obvious I was not happy with the situation,” Mirotic said. “Nobody’s happy sitting on the bench, not playing — but like I said before, there’s not too much I can do. Just be ready. Work on yourself and once your chance came, try to prove it. I want to forget about this game as soon as I can because I want to stay ready, stay aggressive.”
There’s more this morning out of Chicago:
- Rondo’s start came at the expense of Jerian Grant, who became the latest Bulls point guard to go from the starting lineup to out of the rotation, notes Joe Cowley of The Sun-Times. Grant’s playing time has been cut severely over the past week and he never left the bench in Monday’s game. “It’s hard to play when you’re looking over your shoulder after every play,’’ Grant said. “But when you’re out there, you’re playing to win. Whoever [coach Fred Hoiberg] puts out there, that’s what you have to do. You have to be mentally tough. But when there are four other guys fighting for that same position you’re in, it’s hard not to look over your shoulder.”
- Mirotic is not part of the Bulls’ long-term plans, Cowley states in the same story.
- Financial realities may force Dwyane Wade to spend another season in Chicago, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The two-year deal Wade signed in July includes a $23.8MM player option for next season. Winderman doesn’t believe any contender will offer Wade nearly that much, so he may decide to opt in and not test the market again.
Friendly reminder that in 16 years on the job, John Paxson teams have a combined one win in the Eastern Conference finals. We should all enjoy this type of job security.
Rajon Rondo has been a true professional this year. Management is grasping at straws to make the playoffs to sell more tickets to the folks who support this mess. Any little bit of money to satisfy the owners.
Bulls blow. Thanks Paxon
i dont understand whats going on anymore, and im almost ready to stop watching this season. we have a coach whose rotations change daily. 3kola is inactive and out of the rotation sunday, then monday hes starting. same for jerian grant. we have 5PG’s. we have a weird mix of young and old players, mixing development and a playoff push. we have a front office who claims they are all on the same page…
my opinion is that the front office isnt on the same page and theyre relaying the message to hoiberg about what rotations to play. this is the only reason i could see there being so much turn around and uncertainty on a daily basis. same reason why thibs couldn’t coexist… except he had a backbone. i hope garpax both lose their jobs and we can move on as an organization.
The roster is terrible thanks to a prideful and woefully ineffective front office–what part of that don’t you understand?
Perhaps if J.R. and his executives weren’t so content with short term profitability, GarPax would have been fired by now. As long as the fans keep showing up to games and watching them on tv, this team will continue to be run into the ground.
Agree, lemming$ paying all da bull$ bill$ n dem sum