DEERFIELD, IL — Not even two weeks. Newly minted head coach Jim Boylen has not been in the position for two full weeks and he may have already worn out his welcome the players. According to this report on Yahoo.com, players contacted the NBPA to complain about their new leader’s “extreme tactics”.
Those tactics included three two-and-a-half hour practices that included extra conditioning drills, military-style pushups, film session immediately after games and calling for practices after back-to-backs. Calling for a practice Sunday was reportedly the final straw.
Following a 9-15 start to the season, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson fired Fred Hoiberg and named Boylen to the post; omitting ‘interim’ from his title. Both he and General Manager Gar Forman have since come to the defense of Boylen.
The choice to go with Boylen is looking like the wrong one. Concerning when looking back on Paxson’s presser where he spoke on the team lacking “energy and spirit”.
Boylen has since refuted the initial reports; saying it was only a couple of players. It is an ominous development, nonetheless, and one Boylen is said to have been notified of. His response? Proceed as planned. This likely gets worse before it gets better. So who is really to blame?
On their umpteenth coaching hire — two this season alone — and poised to select another, it would be fair to wonder how much longer the front office duo known as ‘GarPax’ will get to besmudge the legacy the Bulls built.
Seemingly capable of building teams that compete but never seriously threaten — asterisk on the Derrick Rose era — GarPax are wearing thin on a passionate and increasingly vocal fanbase. Looking at the past tendencies of ownership, however, suggests a divorce is not soon to come.
