Earth to the Bulls Front Office: Your Team Isn’t Championship-Caliber

Somebody should tell the front office of the Chicago Bulls that their roster isn’t that good. That’s what I’m planning to do.

The Chicago Bulls led the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final seconds of Game 4 in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series last May.

You may or may not know how this ends.

Simply put: It’s the game where LeBron James hit the dagger that basically brought the fatality of Tom Thibodeau’s career as Bulls head coach.

The Bulls lost Game 4 after James’ improbable game-winner, then lost the next two games and were sent home by the generation’s best player for the third time in the last four years.

Thibodeau’s departure was inevitable after the Bulls were eliminated. The buzz around Thibodeau’s status with the Bulls front office — specifically Bulls general manager Gar Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson — was absurd.

So, after falling short against James again in the playoffs, what did the front office do? They fired Thibodeau.

They didn’t just fire him, however.

They tried to ether him.

The press release of Thibodeau’s termination felt like a moment where you can say, “Damn, OK. We get the picture already.”

When Forman helped introduce Fred Hoiberg as the new head coach of the Bulls this past June, one thought from Hoiberg stuck out more than some of the others on how much he “loves this roster”.

“A lot of coaches don’t walk into this roster, which is a roster with championship potential,” Hoiberg said.

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He wasn’t talking about the Bulls, right?

That was just a misquoted soundbite from Steve Kerr‘s intro as Golden State Warriors head coach prior to last season?

Well then.

To be fair, Hoiberg’s correct. A lot of coaches don’t walk into a roster like the Bulls have.

Not only did the Bulls have a former MVP and the reigning Most Improved Player in the same backcourt, the Bulls had a two-time NBA Champion and a former Defensive Player of the Year in the same front court.

But, championship potential? Not quite.

If this roster was a title contender, then how come they were watching James and members of the Island of Misfit Toys try and topple the almighty Warriors instead of playing against them? The Bulls lost three straight in a series and lost to a team without Kevin Love and a severely banged-up Kyrie Irving.

So of course, the Bulls don’t make a move (more on this matter in a few) throughout the offseason — other than properly signing Jimmy Butler to a max-deal and Mike Dunleavy to a cheap veteran deal to keep him away from their rivals in Ohio.

But as the old saying goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Before Hoiberg even coached in a game, Mike Dunleavy had back surgery (and then a setback from the surgery) and Derrick Rose took an errant Taj Gibson elbow to the eye and was forced to have orbital bone surgery after the first practice of the season.

Rose’s injury issues have flared up throughout the year — a common trend since 2012 — while Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah have all faced injuries at some point this season.

That’s not even including the latest mess with Nikola Mirotic‘s appendectomy that brings into question what the Bulls doctors are actually doing to help their players heal. (Remember Luol Deng‘s spinal tap that wasn’t?)

Thanks to the countless injuries this season, the Bulls are left with Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and rookie Bobby Portis to help their core right the ship and stay in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.

So, a third-year wing that does virtually nothing and two rookies (McDermott missed a bunch of time last season with a knee surgery in his true rookie year)? That’s not a title team.

Even before Mirotic’s extended hospital stay and Noah’s arm falling apart in what could be his final year in Chicago, the Bulls are a mess.

There’s plenty to observe over this season:

• Gasol’s defensive effort has been that of a chicken with its head cut off. (And the Bulls want to re-sign him!)
• Rose’s unbelievably-bad start in the first few months of the year.
• Butler is still playing Thibodeau-like minutes under Hoiberg.
• Hoiberg’s late-game lineups have been an issue.
• The Bulls are 26th in offensive efficiency. (“Hoiball” is, well … what is it?)
• Mirotic’s streakier-than-streaky shooting.

The Bulls are just bad.

The only people that can change that don’t see it and that’s the issue.

Here’s a solid example of how out of touch the Bulls front office is:

Notice the dates of these tweets.

As nonsensical as the Bulls are, everyone basically knows what they’re going to do; meaning that the front office will continue to sit on their hands and do nothing.

One of Thibodeau’s oldest phrases was, “We have more than enough to win.”

Coincidentally, that’s what the Forman/Paxson duo appear to be thinking and it’s the farthest thing from the truth.

During an interview with ESPN Chicago’s Waddle and Silvy this past Wednesday, ESPN NBA insider Bryan Windhorst spoke with the duo on the future of the Bulls. A couple of the topics were on what the Bulls were going to do with Pau Gasol (who has a player option for next season) and are they considered any moves to improve their current situation.

“I haven’t heard any Bulls rumblings,” Windhorst told the duo on the Bulls making a move. “I could probably educate and tell you about trade options for about 26 teams and the Bulls ain’t one of them.”

Of course they’re not.

Wait, what?

To recap: The Bulls are in an utter free fall from the playoff picture and don’t plan to shake things up at all to give the franchise a much-needed boost.

Why won’t this team ever make sense?

Sure, there’s the whole thought of, “Well, who would they even trade away?”

Outside of Gasol, the options are quite limited; if there’s any at all. Butler’s about as untouchable as you can get, Rose’s current money situation (and past injury situation) is a red flag for any team and the Snell/Portis/McDermott trio is worth about as much as a bag of sunflower seeds right now.

But, with Gasol still being able to produce on one end of the floor, it makes him a viable option for a contender. (Reminder: Gasol considered Oklahoma City and San Antonio before signing with the Bulls prior to the 2014-15 season.)

Why not at least try and get something for him, since you know he’s going to opt-out of his current deal anyway? It’s not all the Bulls need, but it’s a start.

And yet, the Bulls want to re-sign him.

Astonishing.

Next: Taj Gibson Calls Out Hoiberg, Bulls After Embarrassing Loss to Hawks

Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation‘s Blog a Bull nailed this piece on why the Bulls shouldn’t re-sign Gasol. It’s quite simply actually. Gasol can’t defend a traffic cone, his priorities are all over the place and the Bulls have much bigger needs at the current moment.

Since it’s the Bulls, let’s just throw it out there that no one knows what will happen after the All-Star Break ends.

But, with Butler, Mirotic and Noah on the shelf with a lack of production and effort from everyone else that can actually suit up and play, I can probably give you a glimpse into what to expect.

In the immortal words of Pete Campbell from AMC’s Mad Men, “NOT GREAT, BOB.”