The Bulls discussed forming a leadership committee after this weekend’s incidents involving new coach Jim Boylen, according to Malika Andrews and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. If it happens, committee members will help to foster communication and mitigate disputes that arise between players and coaches.
Bulls players reacted angrily after Boylen, who took over for Fred Hoiberg last week, scheduled a Sunday practice in the midst of a three-game stretch in four nights. Boylen has been holding strenuous practice sessions since becoming head coach, and players objected to the additional wear and tear in the midst of a difficult part of the schedule.
Some players discussed boycotting Sunday’s session, but Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez helped to quell that rebellion. All the players showed up, but there was no practice, just two meetings — one involving just players and another between players and coaches with team president John Paxson and GM Gar Forman present.
Boylen reportedly has the full support of management in his get-tough approach with the team. However, he explained in the second meeting that he wasn’t intending to hold a hard practice on Sunday and stressed to players that they need to learn to trust him.
Zach LaVine told the ESPN writers he met one-on-one with Boylen and tried to explain his perspective.
“You just want to be real with people,” LaVine said. “There shouldn’t be any clouds. I think of myself as one of the leaders on the team. I just wanted to voice my opinion to them. This is a business, this isn’t a dictatorship. We are all grown men, so everybody has a voice.”
Man, why didn’t Fred Has think of that?
What a joke. Boylen’s relationship with the team is so fragile he needs to be filtered.
As I’ve said many times now, the problem is the cheapskate owner and the clowns he put in charge who built this roster.
So the team is 6-21 and you think that’s the fault of someone other than the players?
The team is short on talent. That is the fault of the GM… It isnt as if the players are failing to meet expectations.
I’m amazed that they somehow won 6 games.
so you think this undertalentes team shouldn’t be working extra hard to find a way to win nba games?
Hard work doesn’t turn a bench player into a starter.
There’s this thing called “talent”…
Hard work works at every level, and at getting to the next one. Individually and team.
There is no evidence the Saturday practice was to be a hard one and to make a guess, I would say not. A hard practice can be jogged through, especially in Lavine’s case.
The players were probably more indisposed to a 3-hr lecture and fault-probing, a “skull session”. THAT would be intolerable.
Hard work beats talent every time talent doesn’t work hard.
Given the Bulls injury concerns – 3 players coming off relatively significant injuries, a 4th guy coming off 2 ACL tears, and a 5th guy 18 months removed from his own ACL tear – Id say too many long practices is probably the wrong approach right now.
Absolutely. When your roster is 100% bench caliber players, you lose most games.
Now don’t get me wrong – many of the young guys will be starters someday. But right now? They’re terrible. GarPax spent big on Parker, and that came at the expense of veterans that could lead and push younger players to improve.
When a team constantly loses close games, the coach is usually the problem. When your team gets blown out most nights? That’s either injuries or a bad roster.
Ready for all the tough guy comments thinking that practicing 24 hours a day will somehow make this team good
Seriously. Dudes have clearly never played a day of basketball in their life.
Or been around pro athletes. They constantly compare their 9 to 5 work place to the life and expectations of a pro athlete. If they’d start viewing pro athletes as products (albeit, a flawed product in the case of the Bulls) instead of employees, theyd likely stop with their non sensical arguments.
All of your arguments wind up failing. Viewing people as products?– that’s a failure as a humanitarian. An employee is a step up in evolution!
****WEATHER ALERT****
15 snowflakes were seen inside the United Center in Chicago today.
lol
Choking his head coach.
Threatening an ABC broadcaster.
And hiring a head coach who caused a mutiny after 6 days on the job.
This is the 3rd national embarrassment created by Paxson in 8 yearsm How does he keep his job?
I could see a winning team rebelling against a coach for being too hard on its players, but a 6-21 team crying about being worked too hard? That’s a new one on me.
Thats because teams never have 3 hour practices following a back to back… or during the off day in a 3 games in 4 night stretch…
Hey
What a gong show franchise.
I’m always amazed that Paxton still has a job.
I’m never amazed when the Bulls continue to make poor decisions.
What a freaking joke of an organization! You have to have a damn LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE to handle your players!? This is ridiculous! What a laugh! Hahaha! Good luck Chicago
Bulls are finding out who they need to keep. Unfortunately, their net snared LaVine, who just signed to a huge contract and who has been relied upon offensively through the injuries.
In the NBA when it comes down to star player vs coach, the coach loses. It sounds like Boylen skipped the step where you make your peace with the star when you get the job. And so, a “leadership committee” is formed. . . for a couple weeks anyway. Whatever works for Lavine.
Who is the star player you’re taking about?
Chicago doesn’t have any stars. They have a young guy that *might* develop into a difference maker someday, but he has some major holes in his game and he’s still very young.
Also, Chicago can’t fire another coach. GarPax can’t pull that trick two times in one season and keep their jobs.
The solution will be a trade and or scapegoating a player. My guess is that they’ll try to trade away Parker, and sit him if they can’t find a deal. Then they’ll leak that he shot Kennedy or something, gullible fans will believe it, and GarPax can keep their phoney baloney jobs.
Train.
Wreck.
Players have a union (association) which has negotiated away a lot of the things, including practice time. The underlying assumption is that, within those parameters, the coach sets the agenda. A player bragging about being a leader on a 6-21 team? Like a General bragging about leading the charge at Verdun.
When do the players start demanding their “Safe Space” because they’re triggered?
“You just want to be real with people,” LaVine said.
You want to keep things real? Ok, here’s as real as it gets: Everybody on the Bulls is too poorly conditioned to compete at the NBA level, and your team just got embarrassed on Saturday night against the Celtics at home because NO ONE played defense!
So, we’re having an extra practice session….
How’s that for real!
lmaoo word