Why Have Chicago Bulls Remained Quiet in Free Agency?

Thus far, the Chicago Bulls front office has chosen to watch from the sidelines as other NBA teams add new players via free agency to improve their roster. The Bulls have opted to approach the 2015 offseason as an opportunity to re-sign their existing players and keep the team that they had last season. This approach indicates an extreme confidence in the abilities of the existing group of players.

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In addition, it is a clear sign that somebody else besides the players is almost entirely being blamed for the shortcomings of last season.

On Thursday, Bulls forward Jimmy Butler officially signed a five-year, $92 million contract extension with the Bulls. Butler headlines a group of players that will be returning to Chicago next season after becoming free agents this summer.

The Bulls front office has been busy this summer negotiating contracts to keep the same group of players that were on the roster last season. ESPN writer Marc Stein reported on July 1 that veteran sharpshooter Mike Dunleavy agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract extension to stay in Chicago. This past Tuesday, Stein also reported that the Bulls agreed to a deal with backup point guard Aaron Brooks to return to Chicago.

On June 29, veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich picked up his $2.8 million player option to return to the Bulls for another season.

Jan 15, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau huddles up with small forward Mike Dunleavy (34), shooting guard Jimmy Butler (21), center Joakim Noah (13) and teammates against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that “as of now [June 10], the Bulls plan to keep Cameron Bairstow and E’Twaun Moore.” Veteran center Nazr Mohammed became an unrestricted free agent this summer. Mohammed remains on the current Bulls roster, but hasn’t signed a contract for next season yet.

The Chicago Bulls have elected to keep their roster from a season ago because of a strong belief that the existing group of players can get the job done this season and that the source of the Bulls problems last season wasn’t a result of the players, but rather former head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Despite falling short last season, the Bulls front office has internalized a belief that the current roster is good enough to win a championship. On Thursday, Bulls general manager Gar Forman reiterated his belief that a major overhaul of this roster isn’t needed for the Bulls to make the next step towards winning an NBA championship.

Gar Forman at Butler press conference: " We believe in the core of our team; our biggest priority was bringing back key pieces."
— Sam Smith (@SamSmithHoops) July 9, 2015

In early June, new head coach Fred Hoiberg said in his introductory press conference that he’s excited to work with the guys on the existing roster.

"“I love this roster. I love the versatility of the players, the different lineups we’re going to be able to play.”–Quote obtained by Chris Emma of 670 The Score, an affiliate of CBS Chicago"

As of June 10, the only new addition to this Chicago Bulls roster was draft choice Bobby Portis. The Bulls haven’t tried to change their roster to accommodate for the drastically different system that Hoiberg plans on running next season. This further illustrates the confidence that the Bulls front office has in the existing group of players.

A number of players that fit Thibodeau’s defensive-oriented system will stay on the roster next season. Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich thrived under Thibodeau because of their ability to buy into his high energy, defense-based style of basketball.

However, these players don’t fit as cleanly in a faster paced setup that values offense over defense. These three players essentially are leftovers from the Thibodeau era, and there are many questions about whether they will conform with a drastically new system; especially this late in their respective careers.

Veteran Pau Gasol is another player that may struggle to transition into Hoiberg’s style of offense. At this stage in his career, a large part of his productivity depends on his mid-range game. Hoiberg virtually eliminated the mid-range game from his offense at Iowa State. According to college basketball analyst Dylan Burkhardt, only 8.5 percent of shots taken by the Iowa State Cyclones last season categorized as “mid-range jumpers”. Despite this, Gasol will undoubtedly stay in Chicago for another season.

Again, there hasn’t been any serious attempts by the Bulls front office to move any of these players despite doubts about their ability to conform with the new system. This further illustrates their confidence in the ability of the existing roster to win a championship next season.

Perhaps, the front office chose to keep the roster intact because they understood the importance of having veteran leadership on this team. While guys like Noah, Gibson and Gasol may not fit cleanly into what Hoiberg is trying to run, they will stay on this roster because the Bulls front office is confident that they can help this team win. It all ties back to the belief that the existing group of players is good enough to win a championship, and attempting to break up this core group reduces the likelihood of reaching this goal.

Jun 2, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; New Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg (right) speaks during a press conference at Advocate Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

But, this same group of players had a chance to win a championship last season and they fell short. Why then is the Bulls front office willing to give these players a second chance without attempting to tweak the roster even a bit? The answer has to do with more than just raw confidence in the existing group of guys.

The front office has preserved a roster that lost in the second round of the playoffs after beginning the season with championship aspirations. Clearly, they attribute the failures of last season to something other than the players on the roster. If you have followed the Bulls since the beginning of the offseason, it is pretty obvious who the Bulls have laid the blame on for the failures of last season.

This roster hasn’t retooled this summer because they believe that Thibodeau held the players back last season. On multiple occasions, Forman blamed Thibodeau for the Bulls failures a season ago.

"“When Tom was hired in 2010, he was right for our team and system at that time, and over the last five years we have had some success with Tom as our head coach. But as we looked ahead and evaluated how we as a team and an organization could continue to grow and improve, we believed a change in approach was needed.”–Quote obtained by the Associated Press"

In the above quote, Forman blatantly discredits Thibodeau saying that the Bulls enjoyed “some success with Tom” as their head coach. In a statement, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf blamed Thibodeau for creating an inter-organizational culture that ran counter to the goals of the franchise.

"“When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture.”–Quote obtained by Ken Berger of CBS Sports"

The “blame game” is blatantly one-sided. Neither Forman nor Reinsdorf gave suggestions for their own improvement or acknowledged their own mistakes.

Forman doesn’t mention that he fired one of Thibodeau’s top assistants (Ron Adams) in an immature attempt to undermine the head coach. The players on the team almost entirely escape blame despite quitting in Game 6 of their second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thibodeau’s coaching flaws were blamed for the struggles last season; not a group of players who thought they could cruise through the regular season and flip a switch when the playoffs rolled around.

Obviously, Thibodeau deserves some blame for the Bulls struggles last season. He was passionate to a fault and his unwillingness to deviate from his set ideals proved costly at the end of the season. He refused to expand his rotation; wearing down some of his best players, while stunting the growth of his younger players. His offensive system lacked imagination, instead relying on outdated and predictable sets that led to long scoring droughts at the worse possible times.

However, pinning the entire collapse last season on one person seems a little far-fetched. Nonetheless, the Bulls have approached this off-season with the thinking that getting rid of Tom Thibdoeau while preserving the roster would rectify all the problems.

After all, why fire the coach and keep all the players unless there is a belief that the former is entirely at fault?

The existing roster does have the talent to win an NBA title, so the strategy of maintaining this group of players is a solid approach. The failures of last season fall on Thibodeau, the players and the front office. Nobody is exempt from blame.

The Chicago Bulls need to develop accountability within their franchise to make that next step towards winning a championship. The development of that accountability begins now, and it starts with the front office recognizing that they need to improve as well.

Next: Jimmy Butler believes that he and Derrick Rose are the best backcourt in the NBA

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