John Paxson, Gar Forman speak with reporters for end-of-season diagnosis

On Wednesday, the front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman spoke with reporters on the 2016-17 season that was for the Chicago Bulls.

The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Chicago Bulls.

Wednesday brought one of the few times that John Paxson and Gar Forman come out of hiding in the Bulls front office to speak with reporters on the season that was for the 41-41 Bulls, who were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics last Friday.

GarPax spoke for about 40 minutes or so on Wednesday about an array of topics ranging from Jimmy Butler, to the young guys they invested in, to the status of Fred Hoiberg moving forward and what the future holds for Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade in Chicago.

Let’s take a journey through another entertaining press conference featuring two of Chicago’s most favorite people. (If you caught my sarcasm here, just know that we’ve barely started with that aspect for this.)

Paxson did most of the talking today

During the early portion of the press conference, it was almost as if Forman wasn’t even in the house. Paxson did most of the talking throughout the presser on Wednesday, opening with some remarks before questions were taken.

“We saw inconsistency in our play and a team searching for an identity all season,” Paxson said on the Bulls this year. “From ownership down, we’re committed to working through issues we face. Gar and I are committed to reshaping roster with discipline.”

If you’re not a fan of Fred Hoiberg, shield your eyes

That should be interesting to see how many react to that. (Hoiberg still has three years left on that five-year, $25 million deal he signed two summers ago when he left Iowa State.)

If you’re not a fan of Rajon Rondo, keep your eyes covered

If there was any winner of the press conference on Wednesday, it was Rajon Rondo. Rondo, who has a partially-guaranteed deal that runs through next season, was injured during Game 2 of the Bulls’ series with the Celtics and was actually playing some good basketball in the process. The series changed when he got hurt.

However, throughout most of the season, Rondo was a liability more than an asset. Nothing is guaranteed as of now, but it sounds like Rondo will be back for the 2017-18 season.

Also, a reminder:

“We don’t have great shooting,” Paxson said when discussing the roster’s construction. “Outside of Rondo, our point guards didn’t play with pace.”

That sounds like they want him back.

The “young guys”

One of the hot topics at Wednesday’s press conference was the Bulls committing to 10 young guys on their roster with three or less years of experience.

To be fair, the rotation looked more like a roulette table with Hoiberg at the helm. Paxson mentioned that they’d like to see more consistency with the rotations moving forward so that the front office really knows what they have with their youth.

But, wait a second…

Cameron Payne should be looking for a couple new looks from his tailor towards the end of this summer because he’ll probably need a new suit or two for the bench appearances.

Oh, and there’s more on that:

And yet, they mentioned that Payne could be the point guard of the future after the deal that sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to Oklahoma City this past February.

There were also minor mentions of guys like Denzel Valentine and his injuries and lack of chances, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio and Paul Zipser. (By the way, Felicio is a free agent this summer.)

“We value Niko”

Barring a massive offer sheet that the Bulls don’t want to match, it definitely sounds like restricted free agent Nikola Mirotic will be back.

Forman also mentioned that they want to bring Mirotic back into the fold next season and that Mirotic and his family feel comfortable in Chicago, which is why a few comments from Paxson on Mirotic were weird.

So, did they not watch Jimmy Butler win a gold medal with Team USA, I take it? Did they get invited to Reinsdorf’s private resort of mimosas while Butler was playing?

Speaking of Butler, it doesn’t sound like the Bulls even know what to do with him

The hottest of hot topics for the Bulls in recent years has been whether or not the Bulls should trade Jimmy Butler.

OK, that’s fair. Butler may not be a good fit for Hoiberg’s system offensively.

But, what about building a roster that fits what Hoiberg and Butler can do. You know, what the NBA is doing these days? Spreading the floor with shooting and letting Butler conduct an offense with actually floor spacers?

Let’s take a look as to what Paxson had to say about that:

Throughout the press conference, Paxson mentioned that the Bulls didn’t really have many options because they don’t what they have in their young players, along with adding two more for this coming draft.

Meanwhile, Forman stated that the Bulls still have their flexibility moving forward with no long-term contracts on their books like some other teams added this past summer. Flexibility with what? What stars want to come to Chicago at this current juncture?

It’s clear the Bulls have no idea what lane they’re in still to this point.

Thoughts

To be honest, you really didn’t miss much. It sounds like the Bulls are going to run back this season next year and “see what they really have” with Hoiberg at the helm, a 30+ year-old point guard with an injury history, a bunch of young guys that probably aren’t that good and that vaunted flexibility that they don’t really have.

Only the one and only … Chicago Bulls!