jimmy b's uncertain future?? we'll take him!!

[rocket surgeon]

          not sure if espn is trying to play rabble rouser here, but what the hey.  are there enough balls to go around here in milwaukee?  i don't know what fred is doing down in chicago to rile the players, but losing obviously is part of it.  the coach don't put the ball in the hole nor play defense either, but...ya got $90 million worth thinking out loud.  no doubt there will be a kiss and make up for the media, but is the damage done?

       15-10 ain't chicken feed, but i'm sure they expect better-lots of games left to turn it around.  i'm pretty sure drose has worn out his welcome.  i like henson, but package him with a couple of others and...?

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/22675/jimmy-butler-sets-tone-for-uncertain-future-with-fred-hoiberg-teammates

[wadesworld]

1) We aren't getting Jimmy.

2) Jimmy is getting more and more comfortable with being a superstar each year that goes by.

[rocket surgeon]

                      just wishing and dreaming

[martyconlonontherun]

Never a good idea to tell your coach how to coach, but this seems more directed at the his teammates then Hoiberg.

[GooooMarquette]

Never a good idea to tell your coach how to coach, but this seems more directed at the his teammates then Hoiberg.

I don't like players calling out coaches either...but all you have to do is look at the numbers to see why pro athletes feel justified in doing so.  Butler:  5 yrs, $90 million.  Hoiberg:  5 yrs, $25 million.

[JWags85]

Never a good idea to tell your coach how to coach, but this seems more directed at the his teammates then Hoiberg.

This and Wade's comment are spot on, this is Jimmy taking this team over as The Guy.  Rose's time is over, the Bulls need to rebuild and its gonna be around Jimmy.  There is a culture shift with Hoiberg as coach and its been an uneven transition.

The problems with the Bulls are more on the front office than Jimmy or even Hoiberg.  They aren't built to play like Hoiberg wants and they've gotten old FAST.  Hoiberg wants to run, Rose basically won't do it, Gasol isn't good in that style, and Noah isn't healthy.  Add Snell regressing, Heinrich being worthless and you have a good chunk of the core being ineffective.

[wadesworld]

This and Wade's comment are spot on, this is Jimmy taking this team over as The Guy.  Rose's time is over, the Bulls need to rebuild and its gonna be around Jimmy.  There is a culture shift with Hoiberg as coach and its been an uneven transition.

The problems with the Bulls are more on the front office than Jimmy or even Hoiberg.  They aren't built to play like Hoiberg wants and they've gotten old FAST.  Hoiberg wants to run, Rose basically won't do it, Gasol isn't good in that style, and Noah isn't healthy.  Add Snell regressing, Heinrich being worthless and you have a good chunk of the core being ineffective.

At least they have the next Dirk in Mirotic  (I think that's who Bulls fans were insanely comparing him to).

[MerrittsMustache]

At least they have the next Dirk in Mirotic  (I think that's who Bulls fans were insanely comparing him to).

Exactly. Besides, Henry Ellenson is the next Dirk!

[MU82]

Bulls went from serious contenders to total mess pretty fast.

Still Thibs' fault? Ha!

[wadesworld]

Exactly. Besides, Henry Ellenson is the next Dirk!

Kevin Love, man.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Bulls went from serious contenders to total mess pretty fast.

Still Thibs' fault? Ha!

I think 'total mess' is a bit of an overstatement but it is not a championship-caliber team and they should start a rebuild as soon as next year. 

Actually, I'd prefer they trade some pieces at the deadline this year to get an early start if they are still under-performing at the deadline.  Unfortunately, the front office won't have the balls to do that. 

It's a shame - I really believe they had a legit shot at beating the Heat and at a title the first time Rose got hurt.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Trade the house. Rose first, sick and tired of watching him play for the Bulls. Try to get something for Taj, Noah and Gasol. Let Bobby Portis play. In an ideal world, they would get rid of McDermott too, but they invested two first rounders in him so that ain't gonna happen.

Paxon, Forman, and Reinsdorf frustrate me to no end.

[rocket surgeon]

This and Wade's comment are spot on, this is Jimmy taking this team over as The Guy.  Rose's time is over, the Bulls need to rebuild and its gonna be around Jimmy.  There is a culture shift with Hoiberg as coach and its been an uneven transition.

The problems with the Bulls are more on the front office than Jimmy or even Hoiberg.  They aren't built to play like Hoiberg wants and they've gotten old FAST.  Hoiberg wants to run, Rose basically won't do it, Gasol isn't good in that style, and Noah isn't healthy.  Add Snell regressing, Heinrich being worthless and you have a good chunk of the core being ineffective.

this analysis hit the spot.  can mcbuckets run with the bulls?  i think he's one of the most fundamentally sound dudes to come out of U.S. college in a while.  give him another year or so and we could see another john havlicek or rick barry(minus the underhand free throws)

[MU82]

Trade the house. Rose first, sick and tired of watching him play for the Bulls.

Well, as he said at media day, he is looking forward to being a free agent ... in two years. What a turkey.

[WarriorFan]

Bulls have only 2 players I'd keep.  jimmy and Pau.  And Pau is old and playing way too many minutes.  Dunleavey is a nice backup, probably keep him too.  Rose is a loser now, Mirotic is not dependable, Taj just doesn't have what it takes offensively to go along with his pretty good defense, Noah's decline is epic, snell is just too dumb to play a team sport, kirk tries hard but can't play D any more, and so it goes.  Need to build around Jimmy with a lightning quick PG who can shoot, and a big who can block shots and board.  Pau can score from the 4, Jimmy from the 2/3 and the new PG will need to score 15+ as well.

ORrrrrrr... trade jimmy and continue to suck.

For the Bulls management, that might be the more logical option, because what's logical to them is beyond comprehension to normal people. 

[MerrittsMustache]

The Bulls primary issue is that they're built a team around a player who is no longer the player they built around. Rose either needs to A) become the pre-injury D-Rose (not likely) or B) realize that he'll never again be pre-injury D-Rose and tailor his game accordingly (even less likely). The Bulls don't seem to be capable of working with him on B so my assumption is that they're waiting for A.

In addition, Jimmy Butler is the team's best player but he's not a guy that you can build a championship team around him. His peak is as the #2 guy on a title team. The current team is built to be a 4 to 6-seed every year. In other words, they're in NBA hell.

[MU82]

The Bulls primary issue is that they're built a team around a player who is no longer the player they built around. Rose either needs to A) become the pre-injury D-Rose (not likely) or B) realize that he'll never again be pre-injury D-Rose and tailor his game accordingly (even less likely). The Bulls don't seem to be capable of working with him on B so my assumption is that they're waiting for A.

In addition, Jimmy Butler is the team's best player but he's not a guy that you can build a championship team around him. His peak is as the #2 guy on a title team. The current team is built to be a 4 to 6-seed every year. In other words, they're in NBA hell.

I think this is correct and it's a very difficult situation.

Their best hope is that Rose becomes great again, but as you said, that's a pretty faint hope.

This is the exact type of team Reinsdorf said he didn't want to own when he broke up the Jordan-era Bulls: Expensive, aging, middle-of-the-pack, no hope for a title.

Unlike those players -- which probably had another title or three in them -- these guys offer little.

[RushmoreAcademy]

Bulls went from serious contenders to total mess pretty fast.

Still Thibs' fault? Ha!

If there's one thing this season isn't is a defense of Thibs. That seems to be the route a lot of people are taking and I don't get it.  They were finishing 4th and 5th in a bad conference for a few years already, and the biggest complaint against Thibs was that he played guys like Jimmy and Joakim 46 minutes a night just to get a regular season win against the Phoenix Suns. Now Hoiberg is not doing that and people are pissed because they aren't winning every game.   You can't have it both ways, people.
Hoiberg isn't going to see success running his system until he has guys that fit his system.

[Dr. Blackheart]

If there's one thing this season isn't is a defense of Thibs. That seems to be the route a lot of people are taking and I don't get it.  They were finishing 4th and 5th in a bad conference for a few years already, and the biggest complaint against Thibs was that he played guys like Jimmy and Joakim 46 minutes a night just to get a regular season win against the Phoenix Suns. Now Hoiberg is not doing that and people are pissed because they aren't winning every game.   You can't have it both ways, people.
Hoiberg isn't going to see success running his system until he has guys that fit his system.

I agree on the talent part for Hoiberg's system not being there, but Gar-Pax thought they had the talent in place but not the coach and did nothing in the off-season except fire Thibs. Thibs knew how to win with defense. Does Fred? This is pro sports. A coach has to win consistently and if you can't do that with your system, you are going to get compared to the last guy who did. And, Gar-Pax are only loved in Chicago by the owner so the fans and media are going to jump on that. Throw in the Rose posse and you have a toxic cocktail of team fracture.

[RushmoreAcademy]

I agree on the talent part for Hoiberg's system not being there, but Gar-Pax thought they had the talent in place but not the coach and did nothing in the off-season except fire Thibs. Thibs knew how to win with defense. Does Fred? This is pro sports. A coach has to win consistently and if you can't do that with your system, you are going to get compared to the last guy who did. And, Gar-Pax are only loved in Chicago by the owner so the fans and media are going to jump on that. Throw in the Rose posse and you have a toxic cocktail of team fracture.

Ya there are certainly a lot of problems that don't make for a winning formula, you are right on that.
They've looked good the last few games with Rose on the shelf and Bobby Portis getting more minutes.