here – http://www.blogabull.com/2008/12/10/688337/a-few-thoughts-from-last-n#10623822 – regarding this issue…but this is pretty disgusting.

How do guys become uncommitted and unprofessional from one game to the next? It’s not like they’re getting DNPs every single game…he’s playing them minutes one game and then they get a DNP the very next game. So where is this unprofessional crap coming from?

Vinny…you’re throwing shit against the wall here dude

still seems like a rookie. He just stood around like he didn’t know the plays. I was screaming from the 300’s ‘’move Noah!’’ Rose was yelling at him.

I like that Vinny Del Eggroll is benching them. Make them work for playing time. What can you do? By some of the comments these two are still kids.

Personally I think PJ Brown was big for Tyrus. But I don’t see many vet bigs like PJ Brown out there. I miss professionalism on the Bulls. I don’t think I take anymore kids. No more projects please. I hate all the baby sitting.

“Commitment is coming in with energy every day, with focus, trying to get better, lifting weights, being on time, paying attention in meetings, being ready to play, knowing what your role is, who you’re guarding, what their strengths and weaknesses are, how you can affect the team in a positive way,” he said. “Commitment is being a professional, working every day to get better individually. As that happens, the team gets better.”

so why are we so quick to make assumptions?……. VDN has made mistakes during games and will continue to make mistakes during games….he is a rookie remember…. but even though he is a rookie, he has, IMO, made a lot more good decisions then bad ones….. I think that he is trying to bring order to the bulls….. if benching players for lack of effort or commitment is what it takes…than i’m all for it…. lets not be too quick to judge… noah and TT both act very immature sometimes…..and when they have gotton PT they havent done a lot with it… good plays here and there, but nothing worth having them in the rotation on a regular basis…..especially when the bulls are having success (a lot of success compared to last year) with the core of players that are getting playing time…. considering that the first half of this season was suppose to be a “work in progress”, i think VDN is doing a pretty dam good job….. lets quit assuming we would do a better job than VDN (or paxson for that matter) and lets give him a chance…..at least wait until all star break before we start calling for his job…..

but why are we apologizing for them at all? These two are each making millions of dollars to play a game, and if they can’t get their shit together, why should we even give them the time of day. There’s no question that they are big contributors and explosive players, but only when they are playing like they give a damn. Noah seems completely lost on plays, and Tyrus still won’t sprint down the court. There has got to be a point where enough is enough. Every year it seems to be the same story, and with a new coaching staff this year you think more blame would be shifted to the players, but no, “we aren’t giving them enough attention so that’s why they aren’t playing to their full potential because their confidence and feelings are hurt.” That burden is on them, not the coaches. We can’t see what goes on in practice, but it obviously must be something for these two to constantly get benched. The apologizing needs to stop.

Bracing myself for stupidity, which never came. I dont get why i should get upset. It doesnt seem like vdn has said anything wrong at all. I think matt’s biggest complaint might have been the jerking around of thomas and noah, b ut i dont think its that obtuse at all. Maybe thomas goes into a game, and puts up good numbers, and comes in the next day a bit cocky, like many 20 year olds are that play basketball. The team doesnt have a kg to set that player straight, or a jordan to punch them in the mouth. It doesnt mean that tyrus or noah are busts or anything, or that the team doesnt want them.

Part of development is developing the habits that help you succeed, you can develop moves all you want, but without someone restraining your bad behaviors you may become a zach randolf or an eddy curry.

I think tyrus and noah are still immature, i think they are learning, i think they want to win and play and get better, but i dont think they are able to portray that to the coach. I think they may get bored during practice, they may fool around when its time to work and be serious.

If thomas isnt dunking the ball, i would wnat to bench him too, if noah who is supposed to be a great rebounder and defender isnt keeping up with his man, or is lost on the defensive schemes then he should be punished. I think this is also what gooden was talking about. He is not a great defender by any means, but he probably understands at the very least where he should be when the coach calls a 1 3 1 box. And maybe noah still has no idea.

ahh its too late to make any real sense, i hope someone figures out the main idea of what i was writing, which is i agree with vdn, and i dont agree with anyone who thinks vdn is not coaching, or developing, or teaching the young pfs. I think vdn is just really new to the game and is having trouble, but he isnt doing anything wrong.

is the timing and consistency of Vinnie’s words. Had neither of them been playing at all, then everything makes perfect sense and I would take him at face value. However, it’s the constant jerking in and out which throws this out of whack. So is he saying that one day they were acting professional and the next day they weren’t?

So the nights that Tyrus plays 22 min, he must’ve acted professional that day. The nights that he plays 5 min or less, he must’ve been unprofessional that day. Is that how we are to percieve this?

At this point, I really don’t care if they get burn or not…just be consistent. Either give them 20 DNPs in a row or play them a few minutes every game. But if their playing time is being predicated on how professional they act, what accounts for so much inconsistency? I’ve never seen a person be unprofessional one day, the next day be professional, the next day be unprofessional, etc. People don’t act like that.

ALSO – how are we to perceive Thabo’s lack of minutes? Does that mean that he’s being unprofessional as well? What’s the excuse for his DNPs?

KC just keeps showing he’s a tool. I’ve notice similar quotes to the one below in a few of his stories and shrugged it off. This seems to be appearing in far too many of his stories this season. Should we now start referring to VDN as Vinny “who doesn’t make KC’s job easy by publicly ripping his players” DelNegro.

Publicly, at least, Vinny Del Negro has criticized players about as often as Michael Jordan passed up last-second shots.

And that is Thabo Sefolosha. Have we ever heard even ONE story about Thabo being unprofessional or unprepared? Okay … then why the holy fuck does he get a long string of DNP-CDs? What happened to VDNs initial comments about developing players?

It’s official. Tyrus is Barry Zuckercorn. Joakim is Maggie Lizer.

I encourage both players to ‘jump’.

of Vinny yelling @ QRich. I liked it, some people didnt. meh

VDN, like the other Bulls coaches and staff before him, are treating commitment as if it’s something that can be learned like riding a bike.

But commitment is a matter of trust and respect, not a matter of incentives or learning. What to do say to someone whose boyfriend or girlfriend shows no commitment to their relationship?

Do you tell them they just need to set the right incentives? Like… honey, if you bone the mailman again, I’m not taking you out to dinner Friday night?

That’s pretty obviously messed up and never going to work. I’ve never seen nor heard of a successful relationship where one side just taught the other to take things seriously and value the relationship. I’ve occasionally seen relationships where one side became more committed after gaining trust in the other, but that’s a pretty different dynamic. Trust doesn’t exactly come through carrot and stick lineup changes.

That right there should tell you that Pax might have a hand in this too ya know.

exactly how Tyurs is acting unproffesional. When I watch games I see an interested Tyrus on the sidelines, I hear he is the 1st one to arrive at practice and working on game with Thorpe during the summer…

amazing athlete, terrible baller

in his new mailbag:

What has surprised me about Tyrus’ latest trip to the doghouse is that it comes on the heels of fairly solid back-to-back games. I asked around to see if Tyrus had done something nutty like blow off a practice or a shootaround or something and was told no. All I can go by is what people tell me. From what Del Negro said following Wednesday’s practice, he takes issue with Thomas’ lack of focus and professionalism.

As for Gray, he might be the second-most polaziring figure on the team behind Hinrich in terms of fan e-mail I receive. Plenty of people love him. Others feel the same as you, although perhaps not as humorously. It is shocking that Gray, a second-round pick, is playing ahead of lottery picks like Thomas and Joakim Noah, but that tells you what the staff thinks of Thomas and Noah.

Aldridge has this look and demeanor that just says, im young, and im a pro. Tyrus has this look on him that says im young and im stupid. THats just going by looks though

Aldridge though also plays like a play on the offensive end, nothing special on the defensive end but his little post hook…he does it without looking at the rim at all…..very nice.