Rondo Will Seek Trade If Benching Persists
Bulls guard Rajon Rondo plans to ask for a trade if his benching becomes permanent, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
Rondo sat out his first full game Saturday, then met with GM Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson afterward. Rondo told them the same thing he told reporters, which is that he will “absolutely” request a trade if he is not getting regular playing time.
Coach Fred Hoiberg may use Rondo as part of the reserve unit, but his time as a starter in Chicago appears to be over. If Rondo comes off the bench, Hoiberg may alter Dwyane Wade‘s minutes because he and Rondo haven’t effective when playing together.
Rondo and Wade were the Bulls’ major free agent acquisitions over the summer, but there were concerns that their games were too similar for them to work in tandem. Both like to drive to the basket, and neither is especially dangerous as a 3-point shooter. Talking to reporters Saturday, Rondo refused to criticize the way the roster was constructed.
“I’m not going to say that,” Rondo said. “Am I going to think it? I thought a lot the last 24 hours. I thought a lot all season. I’m trying to figure out a way to help this team grow and get some wins.”
Rondo has experienced run-ins with coaches during past stops in his NBA career, but Hoiberg said his behavior has been good apart from a one-game suspension for throwing a towel at associate head coach Jim Boylen. Hoiberg’s decision to bench Rondo stems from his production rather than off-court incidents.
Rondo is averaging 7.1 assists per game for the Bulls after leading the league with 11.7 per night last season with the Kings. His scoring average has also dropped from 11.9 to 7.2 points per game.
“I’m coming off not necessarily my best year but a pretty good year in Sacramento. I was able to do things a little bit differently,” Rondo said. “Obviously, coming here playing with Dwyane and Jimmy [Butler] I knew would be different. Fred and I talked in the beginning, said I would be able to call a lot of the plays. The flow of the game and throughout the season, things may change.”
Even if Rondo does request a deal, nothing is expected to happen until closer to the February 23d deadline, Johnson tweets. Rondo is making $14MM this season and nearly $13.4MM next season, but only $3MM of his 2017/18 salary is guaranteed before July 1st.
Bulls Consider Coaching Change
The Bulls’ poor performance in December could cost coach Fred Hoiberg his job, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Sources tell Stein that Chicago is “increasingly assessing the coaching fit” as the team slides down the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls stand at .500 after going 6-9 this month and recently went through a stretch where they dropped six of seven. Back-to-back wins this week over the Pacers and Nets have done little to ease the feeling that a coaching change might be necessary.
The 44-year-old Hoiberg is in just his second season as an NBA coach after leaving Iowa State, and the Bulls’ front office is concerned that he hasn’t been able to take control of a veteran roster. He has been protected so far by a five-year contract worth about $25MM that would cost the organization a significant amount of guaranteed money if he is fired.
Hoiberg still has a strong supporter in GM Gar Forman, who identified him as Tom Thibodeau’s successor well before a coaching change was made. Hoiberg was considered to be an innovator on offense, but Stein points out that the Bulls’ attack remains predictable and still relies heavily on isolation.
Some of that is due to a roster that doesn’t fit Hoiberg’s preferred approach of pushing tempo and spreading the floor. Chicago’s main additions this offseason were Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, two veteran guards who are limited threats from 3-point range.
Those moves were made by Forman and vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, who are also targets of growing fan frustration, Stein notes.
Chicago currently has a tenuous hold on the final playoff spot, just a half-game ahead of the Wizards and only two games above the 12th-place Magic. If the team’s fortunes don’t improve quickly, Hoiberg could become this season’s first coach to be replaced.
Bulls Executive John Paxson Discusses Roster
Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson says “athleticism” is the team’s most important roster issue, relays the Chicago Tribune. In a radio interview this morning on WSCR-AM 670, Paxson praised coach Fred Hoiberg and offseason addition Dwyane Wade, while asking for more out of Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic. Here are a few highlights:
On the need for more athletic players to keep up with the rest of the league:
“We’ve got some vets who know how to play and can score. But when you look around the league and the way the game is now, that’s an area we have to address. That is a part of the plan. We’ll try to do that obviously through the draft and free agency if we can. You always have the trade option. Right now, our roster is what it is.”
On Michael Carter-Williams, who has been sidelined by injuries since October 31st:
“You kind of forget that he’s even on the roster because we traded for him so late in camp and then three games in, he took a fall and hurt himself. The coaching staff was just getting acclimated to him and he was doing very well for us. We’re excited to get him back. I think he will help our depth and our rotation as well.”
On Mirotic, who is headed toward free agency but seems to have regressed during his third season, shooting just 38% from the field:
“Niko has a tendency to get down on himself to be honest with you. Sometimes as player, you have to say to yourself, ‘Enough is enough. I’m going to go out and compete and work on my game.’ A lot of this is on the individual. Niko is a great guy. He has the ability to get better.”
On the surprise addition of Wade, who left Miami to sign with the Bulls this summer:
“It’s rare when a guy like that becomes available. Dwyane was one of those players you would think would’ve been with Miami his entire career just the way it had gone. He had been through good times, He had been through rebuilding. He’s professional with his approach and his attitude. He knows how to prepare himself. At this stage of his career, he knows what he can and can’t do. We’re trying to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn’t break down. But he takes very good care of himself. He’s right around that 30-minute mark a game for us, which is what he had intended for him hoping to keep him fresh. I think he has taken some of the pressure off of Jimmy [Butler] just in terms of having to speak all the time and be the voice. They’ve formed a very nice bond together.”
On the roster overhaul that began with the trade of Derrick Rose to the Knicks:
“We rode out Derrick’s injury for a long time. We had our team built at that point. Derrick’s injury obviously was a huge blow to us. He never really got back to where he was for us. We had just paid him. We tried to plug holes. But in the meantime, you’re drafting kind of middle of the pack all the time. You’re good enough to make the playoffs but you’re picking anywhere between 14, 15 and 22. It’s difficult to get impact players unless you’re lucky like we were with Jimmy years ago. There aren’t any excuses from us. We can point back to we thought we had it going but Derrick blows out his knee and all of a sudden, that changed our fortune a little bit. Had he not gotten hurt, who knows what would’ve happened. But that’s not our reality. We have to continue to try to find a way to put better players and a better team out there on the floor. That’s what we’re trying to do. At some point this year, we may have to give our young guys opportunities that they may need to see if they can develop into players.”
Eastern Rumors: Bulls, Celtics, Pistons, Sixers
Bulls GM Gar Forman wouldn’t rule out the idea of trading Jimmy Butler when asked Wednesday night, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Both Forman and Executive VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson made it clear no one on the roster is truly off-limits for a trade, Johnson writes, and changes are coming to coach Fred Hoiberg‘s coaching staff, sources tell Johnson. Still, Hoiberg will be sticking around, Paxson confirmed, according to Johnson, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf issued a statement backing Forman and Paxson. Paxson confirmed the Bulls would like to re-sign Joakim Noah, Johnson also notes.
See more from Chicago amid news from the Eastern Conference:
- The Celtics refused to give up Jae Crowder in trade talks with the Bulls before the deadline, scuttling any realistic possibility of a trade, league sources tell Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago. Jimmy Butler‘s name reportedly was the center of those discussions, though Goodwill hears they spoke with teams about Derrick Rose and confirms earlier reports that they had Pau Gasol trade talks, too.
- The Bulls were on board with a trade that would have involved Pau Gasol, Tony Snell and Kirk Hinrich going out and Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore coming in from the Kings, but Sacramento withdrew from those talks when the Sixers, who were to be included as a third team, insisted the Kings relinquish a second-round pick, Goodwill hears. Sacramento was also reluctant to give into the Bulls’ desire to reduce the top-10 protection on the 2016 first-rounder the Kings owe them, according to Goodwill.
- The Cavaliers made it a priority to sign a perimeter defender like Dahntay Jones as insurance for Iman Shumpert instead of a point guard to offset the injury to Mo Williams because they envision LeBron James running the point in a pinch, accoriding to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The Cavs inked Jones earlier today as Williams reportedly headed to New York for further examination on his sore left knee.
- Coach Brett Brown said the replacement of GM Sam Hinkie with new president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo won’t result in a change to the team’s playing style, and he called for the front office to focus on strong defenders and veteran big men as they seek offseason upgrades, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown also spoke highly of Elton Brand, Pompey notes. Brand is heading back into free agency and isn’t sure he’ll keep playing.
Bulls Notes: Felicio, Gasol, Forman, Hoiberg
The recent performance of Cristiano Felicio offers more proof that the Bulls should have traded Pau Gasol before February’s deadline, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. The Brazilian rookie center had 16 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes in Saturday’s win over Cleveland, and coach Fred Hoiberg chose to use Felicio over Gasol late in the game. Friedell gives executives Gar Forman and John Paxson credit for finding Felicio, but contends it was foolish to keep Gasol as part of the future when he will turn 36 this summer and can become a free agent. Gasol has already expressed an intention to opt out, which means the Bulls may get nothing in return when they could have picked up assets and created playing time for Felicio and rookie Bobby Portis.
There’s more news out of Chicago:
- Forman worked hard to land Felicio, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. The Bulls GM had been watching him for several years as he moved to the United States and made a failed attempt to become eligible to play at Oregon. After Felicio returned to Brazil, Forman traveled there to scout him in several tournaments and signed him to the Bulls’ summer league team.
- There’s plenty of blame to go around for a failed season, contends K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Chicago is almost certain to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007/08, and Johnson says the responsibility goes from the front office to the coaching staff to a mismatched roster. Forman has carried the most influence behind the scenes, according to Johnson, as he was the leading proponent of hiring Hoiberg and of passing on a chance to deal Gasol to the Kings. Johnson notes that the front office is now less enamored with Gasol, as re-signing center Joakim Noah has become a higher offseason priority. Forman also angered the locker room by trading popular veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta to cut the Bulls’ luxury tax payment by more than $2.5MM.
- Despite complaints about Hoiberg, the coaching staff is expected to remain mostly intact for next season, Johnson writes in the same story. Management believes the problem this year was that the core of the team was kept together too long. One possible change is assistant Randy Brown could return to a front-office position. Brown is liked by players, Johnson relays, and some view him as Forman’s direct link to the coaching staff.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Batum, Hoiberg
The Knicks increasingly sense that Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton won’t leave Golden State for a head coaching job this summer, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Knicks team president Phil Jackson is in contact with Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, who used to play for the Zen Master, and Jackson isn’t impressed with Tom Thibodeau, who worked for Paxson as Bulls coach, Berman writes. The Post scribe also implies Jackson isn’t about to go out of his way to hire former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, leaving few options other than interim coach Kurt Rambis, whom Berman hears is closer with Jackson than just about any coach is with his boss and allows Jackson the level of input he’s longed for. However, Knicks players don’t respect Rambis as much as they did former coach Derek Fisher, sources indicated to Berman.
While we wait to see just who gets the job in New York, see more from the Atlantic Division:
- Assistant coach Jim Cleamons, a former NBA point guard, was allowed only limited contact with rookie point guard Jerian Grant while Fisher was coach, but those restrictions have been lifted since Rambis took over, Berman reports in the same piece.
- An NBA GM told The Oregonian’s John Canzano he thinks Nicolas Batum will be able to command salaries of $15MM to $17MM in free agency this summer (Twitter link). That’s well beneath the roughly $25MM maximum salary, though Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote in January that the Hornets swingman was likely to draw max offers. Batum is No. 9 in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
- Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has drawn criticism for his inability to reach players, but, perhaps buoyed by Taj Gibson‘s support, Hoiberg insists the locker room is united, notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “You have to have that continuity in the locker room, that unity,” Hoiberg said. “You have to look like you’re getting your message across. And I think we’ve done that with the guys. I can just base it on how our film sessions are going and how when they’re on the [practice] floor, they’re locked in. I feel like we have good chemistry with our staff and players.”
Central Notes: Hoiberg, Gibson, Vaughn, Pacers
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has job security despite the team’s disappointing season, claims Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. In a video response to readers’ questions, Wojnarowski says GM Gar Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson “could not wait” to hire Hoiberg away from Iowa State last summer, claiming the front office and the coach knew the move was coming months before it was made. Hoiberg still has four years and $20MM left on his contract, and the Bulls are unlikely to absorb that much salary, especially after firing former coach Tom Thibodeau with $9MM left on his deal. Wojnarowski believes Forman and Paxson have no choice but to build a roster that fits with Hoiberg’s style, as their future is now tied to his success or failure.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Hoiberg has a strong defender in Bulls power forward Taj Gibson, who says the coach’s critics need to “shut up,” relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “Everybody tries to discredit this man, and it’s rough,” Gibson said. “He’s a rookie coach taking on a veteran group. Give him some slack, man. It’s hard enough as it is to come in. You have the whole city of Chicago on your back. It’s tough. But I think he’s learning, doing a good job, staying with us. And I’m riding with him no matter what.”
- Bucks rookie shooting guard Rashad Vaughn is getting his first NBA start tonight, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Coach Jason Kidd gave Vaughn the opportunity partly to keep Tyler Ennis with the reserve unit, but also because of Vaughn’s improved play of late. “Being sent down to the D-League and being asked to play minutes, he’s been a positive since he’s been back,” Kidd said.
- There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Pacers‘ late-season collapse, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. He claims the root of the problem goes back to president of basketball operations Larry Bird’s decision to make Indiana a smaller, faster team with Paul George starting at power forward. George resisted the move and has been a poor leader in general, Doyel claims. Coach Frank Vogel also gets blasted by Doyel, who notes that the Pacers have lost a league-high 20 games that they’ve led during the fourth quarter.
Central Notes: LeBron, Love, Carter-Williams, Bulls
The Cavs are confident LeBron James won’t leave in free agency again, but they understand that at least a slight chance exists that he would if they once more come up short in the postseason, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. James “lashed out” at his teammates during the players-only meeting that followed the firing of David Blatt, sources told Lowe, and many in the Cavs brass have kept a nervous eye on the signs of discontent that James has shown on the court. The four-time MVP has the power to press for changes. Lowe confirms that the Cavs and Celtics spoke about Kevin Love before last month’s trade deadline but hears the Celtics made a lowball offer. The ESPN scribe believes chances are strong that Cleveland will trade Love if the team doesn’t deliver in the playoffs, underscoring the unusual level of concern surrounding a team poised to grab the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
See more from the Central Division:
- It’s a key summer for the development Michael Carter-Williams, Bucks coach Jason Kidd argues, but Kidd maintains his faith in the former Rookie of the Year, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel details. Carter-Williams, who’s out for the season with a torn labrum in his left hip, will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension from July through October. “Michael is able to guard the point,” Kidd said. “Giannis [Antetokounmpo] isn’t going to guard the point. You’ve got to have a small on the floor. With Michael being able to work on his jump shot and become consistent, it only makes us better.”
- Bulls GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson know they need to change the roster this summer, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf seems inclined to empower them to do so, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Still, Friedell takes Forman and Paxson to task for failing to see the fissures in this group of players last year and for a coaching change that hasn’t panned out. The Bulls, who held a team meeting Sunday, have lost four in a row and are two games in the loss column behind the Pistons for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
- Cavs GM David Griffin is at fault for failing to put someone in the locker room who can hold LeBron accountable, at least to a degree, but the superstar is ultimately worth all the angst, contends TNT’s David Aldridge in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
Bulls Notes: Front Office, Gasol, Mirotic
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.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Knicks, Magic, Pacers
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has drawn criticism from his players at times, but his job is safe, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, adding that GM Gar Forman has been acting as though his own job might not be as secure. Forman has been working to distance himself from the team’s shortcomings lately in an effort to polish his resume for his next job, knowing that he wouldn’t win a power struggle with executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson if it came to it, Cowley wrote in an earlier piece. Former coach Tom Thibodeau, who notoriously feuded with management, had more respect for Paxson than Forman, feeling as though Paxson was more up front with him, Cowley hears. Still, both Forman and Paxson appear safe for the time being, Cowley adds. See more from the Eastern Conference:
- Thibodeau has long had his heart set on the Knicks head coaching job, a source close to him tells Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), as we passed along amid much more news in the wake of the team’s decision to fire coach Derek Fisher.
- Carmelo Anthony has had not one but two MRIs in the past three weeks as his surgically repaired left knee continues to bother him, a team source tells Isola, but Anthony said Sunday that doctors have assured him the lingering soreness is simply part of the recovery process, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo‘s 10-day contract with the Knicks and Keith Appling second 10-day deal with the Magic expired overnight, making them free agents. New York can re-sign Antetokounmpo to another 10-day pact, but that’s not the case with Appling. Orlando can’t ink him to any more contracts this season without signing him for the balance of 2015/16.
- Pacers coach Frank Vogel has been impressed with lottery pick Myles Turner, who’s tamped down fears over his running style and come a long way from a disappointing season at the University of Texas last year, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com examines.