In Defense of Chicago Bulls Executives Gar Forman and John Paxson

Picking Sides

May 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

I’d say it was around March when Gar Forman and John Paxson officially entered what I’m calling the “Goodell Zone”. The Goodell Zone is a place a sports figure reaches where anything they do, good or bad, the media is going to criticize them for it. Anything Roger Goodell does for the next 30 years is going to relate back to the Ray Rice suspension. He made the perfect decision on how long to suspend Tom Brady (four games) and somehow got killed for it. The media picks and chooses whom they like and don’t like, and they have chosen to dislike Forman and Paxson. Could it be that people resent Paxson because the Bulls chose the wrong “White-Shooter-Role-Player” from the 90s to head their franchise (Go Warriors)? Or is it because Gar Forman’s name is Gar? Nobody will ever know.

Let’s just forget what Forman and Paxson have done in the league for a minute and focus solely on the firing. Ignore all the junk the media and fans have been throwing out for the past few months and ask yourself a simple question: Why did Thibodeau get fired? The answer doesn’t need to be cross-examined 15 times by every writer, radio host, and blogger associated with the NBA during the entire second half of the season.

He was fired because he defied his bosses—publicly.

It is really that simple.

If you ignored what your bosses repeatedly told you, and instead did the exact opposite, how long would you have a job?

Conflict Over Evolution

Apr 30, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) celebrates following a play during the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks in game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Why were the people open to change and the evolution of the NBA—Forman and Paxon—the one’s getting blasted?

Somehow the case is being mad that Forman and Paxson should have kept their mouth shut and let Thibodeau coach the way he always has. Bulls management saw the evolution of what teams are now succeeding with and wanted to adjust. Thibodeau wasn’t having any of it. His case was basically what he does has worked his whole career and will always work. He continued to overplay his stars and run an inept offense, rebelling against his bosses and evolution simultaneously.

I’m sorry what league is this again? I’m pretty sure this is the NBA, where every team that doesn’t innovate collapses. I’m pretty sure the Warriors closed out the Rockets and beat the Cavs in Game 1 by playing 6’7” Draymond Green at center. I’m pretty sure the final four teams left in the playoffs ranked first, second, fourth, and seventh in three-point attempts, the symbol of change in the NBA. I’m pretty sure Phil Jackson, the man who has the most championships ever, had a tweet trying to degrade teams who take a lot of 3s. I’m pretty sure that same man was in charge of the NBA’s worst team, and I’m pretty sure he traded the Cavaliers J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, two players whom the Cavs would have not beaten the Bulls without for… a future second-round pick. The guy who most people consider top three in “Greatest Basketball Minds Ever” is getting embarrassed by the NBA in 2015.

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It’s not all that surprising that Jackson can’t win anymore because this isn’t the same sport he was a head coach in. Evolve or die. Be a team that embraces change or get rolled over by the teams that do. I know some people in the Bulls organization wanted to embrace change, and I know Thibodeau wasn’t one of them. If these head coaches are so smart, how come they run the same scheme for 30 years? Why it is so unreasonable that an NBA head coach learns something new that works today which didn’t work 10 years ago?

If Forman and Paxson kept their mouths shut and listened to Thibodeau’s plan, what would we be saying about them? (Goodell Zone Alert) “Bulls management is too soft. They let a great regular season coach that doesn’t have a championship run the entire show. Why are they so afraid to confront their subordinate? Who cares if he wins during the year? The playoffs are all that matters.”

Next: Why The Lack of Trust in Management