Chicago Bulls Rumors: Snell In D-League? Thibs At It Again

Man! I didn’t think things were this bad! I think I’m going to change my recaps from three lessons learned to three Chicago Bulls rumors!

In my preseason recap “Three Lessons Learned” against the Milwaukee Bucks, my very first lesson declared that Tony Snell was on the trading block.

Tony my man…you in trouble!

Let’s go back to an important excerpt in that article before we get into the latest of the Chicago Bulls rumors concerning Tony Snell.

"Doug “Ray Ray” McDermott got his first start of his professional career on Saturday night. Snell’s training camp has been exposed like  a roach with the lights turned on in the middle of the night. Whatever ground Tony Snell gained in the NBA Summer Leagues is now GONE! Now there are comparisons of Snell’s success floating around to Marquis Teague."

Well Pippen Ain’t Easy’s  Ernie “Pay-Day” Padaon might think things in store might be worse for Tony Snell. He could be headed for the D-League.

THE D-LEAGUE!

Dec 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Tony Snell (20) practices before the game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

If this is one of the Chicago Bulls rumors that is true…Tony my man, you in trouble.

This situation is so bad for Tony Snell right now because there may be no way out of the doghouse for him at this point. It’s shocking to me because I watched Tony Snell and Doug McDermott play in the Summer Leagues in Las Vegas. Snell played just as well if not better at times than McDermott. Tony seemed to glide along the court with the confidence to show everyone in the Chicago Bulls organization the work he put in this offseason. I mean you can see that he worked out in the gym. The jump shot was a topic of importance because he showed the ability to knock it down as well. He was pulling up on the break and knocking down threes.

Oh well, Tom Thibodeau looks at Tony Snell’s body of work I guess like some other fans…

It’s just preseason.

With the Chicago Bulls having an embarrassment of riches when it comes to depth so we all knew Tony Snell was really looking at an uphill battle to start with. But now other things have come in to play that may put Tony Snell so far down on the Bulls bench that he’ll need a subscription to NBA League Pass to watch the games.

What they are Pippen Peoples, I have no earthly clue. Because I feel that Tom Thibodeau is to blame.

Tom Thibodeau has no idea how to develop young talent that the Chicago Bulls draft. I am willing to bet that someone in the Bulls front office (Hello Gar Forman!) had a nice LOOONG chat with Tom Thibodeau armed with a math book about how important it is for Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott to see the floor (A LOT!) this season. If that is the case someone has to fall on the sword.

Let’s walk Tony Snell up to the plank please.

Check out what one of the Pippen Peoples, Lloyd Brodnax said on the situation in the Pippen Ain’t Easy comments section…

"IMO Coach Thibs have issues with going all in on developing young talented players. Dang, what is wrong with the love of these old  and slow veterans that are no more than shells of their former selves. Don’t get me wrong, some veterans are contributors and that’s a good thing, but all were rookies at some point and some coaches were educators and developed their rookies and other (coaches) prefer to have them sit and learn from watching, albeit that’s not conducive to developing the player to his maximum. But hey, I’m just a fan that has an opinion."

No Lloyd, that’s not an opinion, that’s an observation. Plus, I can read between the lines. I can consider you a part of the Hall of “HinBricks”, a collection of people who thinks Kirk Hinrich is wasting a roster spot.

But I digress…

One of the reasons the Chicago Bulls got run out of the playoffs by the Washington Wizards besides the anemic offensive plan of Tom Thibodeau, was the lack of a bench. Let’s move Taj Gibson and D.J. Augustin out of the equation for a second. The only bench players Thibodeau used the ENTIRE series was Nazr Mohammed, who I think had more fouls than minutes and  Tony Snell. Tony Snell looked lost out there the whole series because Thibodeau failed to give him consistent minutes during the regular season. Sometimes on the job training helps from time to time.

Just sayin.

Understand that Tom Thibodeau never plays rookies. That is unless the sky is falling and he has no choice. Jimmy Butler played in his rookie campaign…um nope that didn’t happen.

How about Taj Gibson? Nope! Unless you count Carlos Boozer getting hurt and leaving Thibodeau no choice.

Marquis Teague? Sorry Bulls fans for bringing him up, but we need him for this discussion. Nope, plus didn’t he see the D-League before he was traded to Brooklyn?

I know what some of you are thinking…Tony Snell played in the fourth quarter of the Atlanta game?

So what!

When the regular season starts, do you really believe that Tony Snell will be able to sniff the polish finish on the floor in the fourth quarter? This is Tom Thibodeau we are talking about right? The starters will be on the floor piling  up minutes unless Taj Gibson and Kirk Hin”Brick”…I mean Hinrich is out there. At this point Thibodeau’s obsession with Hinrich will eat up Aaron Brooks’ minutes.

Furthermore, Thibodeau has already put Snell on blast on his work habits and what he has done in training camp.

Check out what Thibodeau said according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Tony Snell’s not so glowing progress…

"“He has to continue to work and study,” Thibodeau said. “His biggest challenge is to be consistent. He had some good moments and he had some moments where obviously he can do a lot better. We want to make sure  he moves in the right direction.”"

What did K.C. Johnson get out of that? Let’s see what he put out on Twitter.

"Thibs “doesn’t sound high on Snell” and this bodes poorly on his season outlook, as Thibodeau isn’t afraid to run his starters heavy minutes at the expense of backups. With Jimmy Butler locked into the SG position and both Mike Dunleavy and Doug McDermott at SF, there isn’t much upside for Snell.Sep 30- 3:54 PM"

If that is the case here, where do you put Tony Snell? The Chicago Bulls have basically bombed his confidence to the point that he looks like he doesn’t want the ball on offense. If you saw his drive to the basket in the final seconds of regulation against the Detroit Pistons, you know what I’m talking about. How many people are willing to bet Snell closed his eyes and prayed before he shot the ball? No takers? Now Snell will be on the move, the Bulls have tendencies on how they treat their players when their time is running out on their tenures in a Bulls uniform. Look at the exits of Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Marquis Teague.

But if the Bulls want to move him they have to show that Snell has the talent to be acquired in a trade. Where would that be?

There’s only one place where Snell is going to get some time on the floor and that is the D-League. Does he deserve this? No. I believe he has been set up to fail ever since he shook Tom Thibodeau’s hand. But at this time, Tony Snell’s career is falling like a brick and he needs a change of scenery before his confidence is completely gone.

Well Pippen Peoples, this latest and more polarizing of Chicago Bulls rumors is not going away. Tony Snell is in trouble and on his way out-of-town. Who’s fault is this? Is it Tony Snell’s or Tom Thibodeau’s? Leave your comments below and let your voices be heard. Keep it locked to Pippen Ain’t Easy to get in-depth information and analysis on all things Chicago Bulls. Pippen Ain’t Easy is your best source  for Chicago Bulls news, previews and reviews.

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