Bulls Fire Skiles

[The Commish]

They couldn't wait until after Christmas?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3167808

This is the league that plays on Christmas.

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

My-way-or-the-highway coaches cannot win in the NBA.

Period.

The players have too much power to take **** from coaches for very long.

The only way an NBA coach can be successful is to get the players on his side. Ass kissing and mollycoddling is usually necessary.

If you have napoleonic power complexes, the NBA is not the place to indulge them.

That's Skiles' reputation, but the general opinion in Chicago was that he went too much the other direction - trusting guys like Gordon and Ben Wallace for too long in certain situations, especially defensively, based on what they had delivered in the past.

I think Skiles has grown since those days in Phoenix. Maybe too much.

That all being said, this is Paxson's mess. It's a very unbalanced team, and he's held onto assets like Gordon, Deng and Hinrich too long without making a move. This reminds me of Hendry's situation with the Cubs when he shuttled Dusty - this next hire is Paxson's last straw. Because he's next.

Wait a minute. Isn't this the same team that everybody loved going into the season? It was supposed to be full of all this young talent, a conference finals contender, etc. All of a sudden it's an unbalanced roster and Paxson's in trouble?

It's been well-known and well-documented for a while that they were essentially living on borrowed time without a bonafide low-post scoring threat. This isn't revisionist history. Paxson has been far too reluctant to pull the trigger on deals for guys like Garnett, Kobe, etc., etc. It was bound to catch up with him. There were plenty of Chicago media who questioned the Ben Wallace signing at the time as wasted money. And Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge? Horrible decision.

 

[GuessWho]

And Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge? Horrible decision.

Was it ripped as a horrible decision at the time? Serious question, because I can't remember. I saw both those guys play quite a bit in college and I'm not so sure I wouldn't have made the same choice. Of course, I'm not an NBA guy getting paid to make those decisions.

 

[Chi City 81]

And Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge? Horrible decision.

Was it ripped as a horrible decision at the time? Serious question, because I can't remember. I saw both those guys play quite a bit in college and I'm not so sure I wouldn't have made the same choice. Of course, I'm not an NBA guy getting paid to make those decisions.

No, it wasn't, which is why I always roll my eyes at this kind of Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Aldridge was viewed as soft and unable to rebound well or defend at all, and Thomas was said to have a much higher ceiling. Paxson rolled the dice, and it hasn't worked out yet. But Thomas is only 21; there's still time.