Blog a Bull: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Around SBN: Recapping Granger's Desert Dagger Bar-right-arrows



Gordon and Hinrich vs. Boylan

A pretty interesting take from the ESPN Weekend Dime on why Tyrus skipped practice:

There's no excusing Chicago's Tyrus Thomas for his methodology. Skipping a practice is always going to be a suspendable offense, especially when practice is skipped without at least calling the team first to let someone know you'll be absent, thereby sparing your bosses from fearing the worst.

However ...

I'm told that Thomas legitimately believed he was going to prevent another distraction in a Bulls season filled with them when he didn't show for last Wednesday's workout.

The story, as I hear it from one team insider, is that Thomas had recently witnessed heated confrontations between Bulls coach Jim Boylan and two of Chicago's more veteran players -- Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich -- that wound up pitting multiple players against the coaching staff. I'm also told that Thomas figured he was heading for a similarly nasty blowup of his own with Boylan, but that he also concluded that the punishment for an argument with Boylan would be a lot steeper than what Gordon and Hinrich faced, given where he stands in the Bulls' pecking order and the growing stress of a tension-drenched season.

What, you mean these guys don't like being jerked around like this?

And who said anything about a pecking order in "work hard or take a seat next to me" land?

Star-divide

So Thomas -- confused by recent nine-minute stints against Washington and Memphis after being told he'd be getting steady minutes off the bench in the wake of the Bulls trading away Ben Wallace and Joe Smith -- decided that the smartest move was taking a one-day leave to clear his head. He couldn't understand why his minutes had declined so sharply soon after posting a big stat line (18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals) in a victory over Denver. But he preferred staying away to presenting his case directly to Boylan.

Not smart. It was obviously flawed thinking from the start, which Thomas conceded in his subsequent apology to his teammates. He had to handle this better, either through his agent or by taking his concerns to Bulls general manager John Paxson if talking to the coach right away was so uncomfortable.

Thomas, however, almost certainly wouldn't have been suspended two games had he simply called in with some sort of story about an illness, car trouble or a dog eating his Berto Center swipe card. That way, Bulls officials wouldn't have been moved to dispatch police officers to Thomas' home after failing to locate him until Wednesday afternoon.

But the inevitable focus on Thomas' lack of judgement shouldn't obscure the fact that the Bulls have been Blowup Central this season, during and since the departure of the famously demanding Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve. Which is why you probably have to expect another coaching change in Chicago before next season -- barring an unforeseen postseason run by the Bulls -- even though Boylan has a passable 17-21 record since taking over to keep them in playoff contention.

Skiles has been gone for almost three months -- and numerous Bulls players (most recently Chris Duhon after L'Affaire Tyrus) have undeniably added to this season's issues with their immaturity -- but the tension never left. Easy as it is to presume that Gordon and Thomas will be traded in the offseason, it's far easier for a franchise to fashion a fresh start with a new staff.

In other words, we've got one reason to like these players.  They probably all hate Boylan as much as we do.

FanPosts are user-created posts from the BlogABull community, and are to be treated as the opinions and views of that particular user, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

0 recs | Comment 35 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Boylan isn't good, but he's not horrible
What's so bad about Boylan really? This team is one that will always have a few guys complaining since it is made up of 9, 10 serviceable players. But, Tyrus should be playing 35 minutes a night barring foul trouble. Boylan should cut off minutes from Noce, Gooden, and Hughes.

by armstrong2389 on Mar 15, 2008 9:14 PM CDT   0 recs

Well
I think you answered your own question.
Noah is a hussle machine, and Matt Duhon is our best guard.

by preverbal on Mar 15, 2008 9:22 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

You are exactly wrong.
He is below terrible.  

He may not only be worse than anyone else you can put out there, he might be worse than no one coaching at all.

by MarketMaker on Mar 16, 2008 3:42 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Actually
We could bring back the player-coach.  Now if only our players seemed to know basketball....
BAB Tyrus Love-Meter -- 7 - Unhealthily making excuses for missing practice

by cubbybear on Mar 16, 2008 4:48 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

More reasons
why Boylan will be gone after this season. Good for Kirk and BG for standing up to him. What a f*#*ing mess.

by sue369 on Mar 15, 2008 9:44 PM CDT   0 recs

Would be nice to hear this from the beat writers
What exactly do they do?  They sure don't break stories like this one.  You'd think that they'd have some special insight since they're around the team on a daily basis, but if they do they sure don't show it in the papers.

by Big D on Mar 15, 2008 10:29 PM CDT   0 recs

Multiple players vs Boylan?
God, I'm hoping for a mutiny.  What would happen if the entire team decided to ignore Boylan and call their own plays (besides that fact that they might win more games)?  You can't suspend an entire team.  Is there a single player on this entire team that even respects Boylan as a head coach?  Maybe Hughes and Gooden, since they just got here, but they'll be getting jerked around soon enough.

by Big D on Mar 15, 2008 10:42 PM CDT   0 recs

Dang, beat me to it
I'm gonna leave mine up for the other topic.
"to the children: Fuck the Bulls." - Matt

by NittanyBull on Mar 16, 2008 12:13 AM CDT   0 recs

I get it
Reading this story makes me take an entirely different perspective of Tyrus' "See you Thursday" comment before he disappeared.  I can totally empathize with his frustration.  And if this entire situation (reported above) is true - the other Bulls probably don't feel that Tyrus let them down in the same way that KC Johnson et al would like to intimate.

It would really warm my heart to read a story about Tyrus Thomas tooking Boylan straight in the eye and saying "C U Next Thursday" with a wink.  I can dream.

by BullsFanInSeattle on Mar 16, 2008 12:23 AM CDT   0 recs

Uh
Can we take a redo and get Pete Myers to be the coach?  At least the players liked him.
BAB Tyrus Love-Meter -- 7 - Unhealthily making excuses for missing practice

by cubbybear on Mar 16, 2008 1:28 AM CDT   0 recs

God, no.
It's not enough that your players like you.  It's can you make the tough decisions, and will players respect those decisions.

I'd rather not see any  of our assistants promoted for next season.  This coaching staff has lost its players.

by YaoPau on Mar 16, 2008 2:50 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Tough decisions?
What's worse, trying to avoid making tough decisions because they don't want to piss people off, or making obviously wrong decisions and pissing people off even more?

by balta1701 on Mar 16, 2008 3:41 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

They're both bad
It's sad we're even discussing this.  I thought this was supposed to be a first-rate franchise...

by YaoPau on Mar 16, 2008 10:14 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

On the other hand...
This is one side, that we're hearing third hand (or maybe second hand? There's enough detail there about Tyrus' motivations to make me wonder if HE'S the inside source). But I wonder if the coaches leaked their version--if Pete Myers or Ron Adams gave us insider tidbits on what the players say & do--what it would sound like. Doesn't excuse Boylan's rotations, but I'm just sayin'.

by T Maple on Mar 16, 2008 8:20 AM CDT   0 recs

The thing to ask
How high of standards does this newspaper have?  Specifically, would they actually run the article if they couldn't get any other source other than Tyrus, and do so without naming their source?

by balta1701 on Mar 16, 2008 7:56 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't care
About Boylan's side on any matter - unless he has been somehow blackmailed into these rotations.

by jpx7 on Mar 16, 2008 8:05 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

One thing for sure
this Bulls 07-08 team sure gives you excitement completely off the basketball court.

Each week there's something new....

I can't wait to here the next big thing on BaB?

by exult463 on Mar 16, 2008 8:12 PM CDT   0 recs

That's freaking hilarious!!!
Other breaking news flash, Tyrus Thomas plays key minutes....

Oh wait it's Boylan and our "playoff push"....

by majoyenrac on Mar 17, 2008 11:04 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Holy shit Boylan is incompetent
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080316-sam-smith-nba-draft-guards,1,6527402.column
Sure,   Chris Duhon was wrong to leave the Bulls in his apparent depression, but he said something interesting that I always wonder about since it is rampant in the NBA: Coaches don't talk to their players. Duhon said the brass had not discussed his situation with him, and I hear similar complaints around the NBA, about how little coaches communicate with players. It seems so simple to talk to an employee regularly, since everyone wants to know or be assured they matter. Yet bosses rarely do.

So it gave me further reason to believe Reggie Theus will be a good NBA coach. The Kings have done better than expected this season, but there have been whispers of some internal issues, one between Kevin Martin and Theus. So Theus asked Martin to offer a written list of requests that would help his happiness level and his game. Martin was thrilled.

"I really haven't worked like this after practice since (former Kings assistant) coach [ Pete] Carril was teaching me stuff," Martin told the Sacramento Bee. "It's good to be taught other parts of the game. I'm having a lot of fun." Remember, NBA players are people too.

Is it really that difficult to talk to a player and let him know that his playing time is going to be cut?  Or was Boylan just too much of a pussy to face Duhon man-to-man?  It's at least common courtesy to let a player know what his role is going to be.

by Big D on Mar 16, 2008 10:41 PM CDT   0 recs

otoh
if you're duhon, how can you NOT know that you'd be the odd man out behind hinrich, hughes, gordon, and sefolosha?  he's a former 2nd round pick who was lucky enough to make the team and somehow stick around all these years.  not to mention he's an unrestricted free agent and is clearly not going to be a part of the team next year.

by Jaina on Mar 16, 2008 11:29 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm sure he knew it
But it's about respect.  He's been in the rotation here for the past four years.  They don't have to kiss his ass, but is it that difficult to call him in and let him know that he's out of the rotation?  I've bashed Duhon as much as anyone on here, but any player at least deserves to hear from their coach where they stand.

by Big D on Mar 16, 2008 11:37 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

i agree
that it's not cool to not talk to him, but then you get quotes from duhon like this:
"At first, I thought Jim was trying to get a feel for the new guys. He apologized after the [Feb. 24 Houston] game for not getting me in."

so either he had expectations he might play, or boylan led him on, or boylan honestly thought he might get playing time which is completely moronic too. :P

by Jaina on Mar 17, 2008 7:22 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Agreed
But as Smith points out, Boylan is hardly unusual when it comes to this.

by Sports2 on Mar 16, 2008 11:52 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Boylan is a pussy, plain & simple
In a REAL franchise, with head coaches who have brains and balls, here's how this goes down:

Boylan would tell Duhon face-to-face that his time is going to be slashed down to nothing.

Duhon says "Well, coach, that totally sucks.  I'm going to the Duke game tomorrow night in North Carolina."

Boylan says "Okay, but keep a low profile and show up for the game the next day, okay?"

It's called communicating.  Boylan and the team would know ahead of time that Duhon is on a side-trip and they wouldn't need to fine him and break a story to the newspapers.

The entire thing would be kept in-house and nobody would know a damn thing happened.  The TV cameras would catch Chris Duhon at the Duke game, but nobody would know that he was late the next day.  Instead, the team feels the need to fine and embarrass an ballplayer who already put in his time for the team and who is understandably upset.

I blame Paxson for this total f-ing mess, to the extent that he allows the prick Boylan to continue to self-destruct the entire franchise.

by BullsFanInSeattle on Mar 17, 2008 1:35 AM CDT   0 recs

which word?
just curious
Noah is a hussle machine, and Matt Duhon is our best guard.

by preverbal on Mar 17, 2008 1:54 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

"communicating"?
Noah is a hussle machine, and Matt Duhon is our best guard.

by preverbal on Mar 17, 2008 1:54 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Hehehe
Yeah, no way that word should ever be used in a diary about Boylan, unless there's a "not" in front of it.

by Big D on Mar 17, 2008 2:46 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Gordon denies incident
In today's Sun-Times, Ben says this didn't happen:
I didn't see [the report]....  There's no validity to that. I don't know where [the reporter] got that from.

by paxson43 on Mar 17, 2008 7:13 AM CDT   0 recs

He did
an interview with CSN last night too and denied it.

by sue369 on Mar 17, 2008 9:34 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Gordon has to say that....
....regardless of what happened.

He's stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He's in a contract year.  And he's stuck with an complete moron as a head coach who is ruining his free market value.

Ben is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.  He can't appear that he's a coach-killer in his contract year, even if his coach deserves a big wooden stake through the heart.

Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but I wouldn't take what Ben says about it too seriously.  The poor guy has to eat a big shit sandwich, then turn around and ask if he can have some sprouts on it, too, because it tastes so good.

by BullsFanInSeattle on Mar 17, 2008 9:49 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

not surprising
Bucher or Broussard didn't write the story, so I'm going to believe it.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Mar 17, 2008 9:50 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

neither did Sheridan
We've read KC's report that Aaron Gray sniped at Boylan. So why not Gordon and Hinrich?

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Mar 17, 2008 11:02 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to the SB Nation blog about Chicago Bulls.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
Tyrus Thomas era needs to be over
Small
Why has Pax re-created the 2003 Bulls?
Small
Bulls drinking game
Maya_small
Putting this Year's Team in Context

Recent FanPosts

Small
A couple ideas for boozer
Parkview_small
My rebulid Our Bulls Plan
N507876138_1185887_5795_small
Paxson on Score. Wants to move the ball more.
Small
Minnesota trade idea (Hinrich-Thomas for Miller-Love and first rounder)
Small
Have you seen ticket prices recently?
Bulls-2a_small
How much do you love Noah? (Bulls/Sixers)
Small
4 Way Trade Proposal
Parkview_small
Bulls/Kings rumor
Roc-sign_small
Going all in for 2010. . . (Bulls/Rockets/Kings)
Parkview_small
Tyrus Thomas - NBA defensive player of the year

Post_icon New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini


Guy who does everything

Blogabull_s_small your friendly BullsBlogger

ad

Site Meter