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Chicago Bulls roundtable discussion: Welcome to the regular season, Bulls fans

By Michael Whitlow

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 13: Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls and OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors dives for a lose ball during a preseason game at the United Center on October 13, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 13: Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls and OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors dives for a lose ball during a preseason game at the United Center on October 13, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Fred Hoiberg, head coach, Chicago Bulls
NEW ORLEANS, LA – OCTOBER 03: Head coach Fred Hoiberg of the Chicago Bulls reacts during a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on October 3, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

MW: Personally, I’m eager to see Markkanen just like a lot of others. A guy I’m also curious about is David Nwaba. Is he a one-year guy or can he actually stick to an NBA roster? I think he’s got some solid tools that could take him a long way.

OK, gents … simple, yet not-so-simple question here: Is Fred Hoiberg the right man for the Bulls job moving forward?

DG: Fred Hoiberg should take his talents back to college. He is the wrong man for the job. Maybe he can take his friend Gar Forman, too.

DB: It’s hard to tell. This will be the first season the Bulls have the actual “personnel” to play the pace-and-space system Hoiberg wants, even though the talent isn’t there to run the system at a high level. It’s hard to envision a scenario in the next few seasons where the Bulls start to make strides and become a legitimate contender in the East, which leads me to believe Hoiberg will be gone soon.

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    • CB: Man, when Hoiberg got the job I rejected him like a bad kidney. I just didn’t see how he made that group any better. But for the first time, he has a group of players to call his own, rather than trying to manage Thibs’ guys. So I’m giving him a shot, the same way the Sixers are sticking with Brett Brown. Hoping he builds a bond with this group of guys the same way Thibs built his bond with Rose, Butler and Noah.

    WL: It might not be fair to judge most coaches by two months of progress, but Hoiberg has to be a candidate for in-season firing. He could be perfect for the job, he could be terrible for the job. The indicator I’m watching for is the difference in fourth quarter performance between the first two months. The Baby Bulls don’t have to win to grow quite yet, but it’d be good to see them compete. I want to see this team turn 30-point losing margins into 10-to-15-point losing margins. If this team isn’t competing, then I don’t know if Hoiberg helps them in the long run.

    NN: I can’t remember where I read it, but somebody compared Hoiberg’s future to that of Scott Skiles before Thibs came in, and I think that comparison is pretty spot-on. Fred will be great for building a positive culture and work ethic in the young guns, but I haven’t seen enough from him to think he’s the coach of the future.

    MO: For the time being, yes. Fred Hoiberg hasn’t shown much in his first two seasons at the helm. At the same time, the front office has been trying to jam a square peg into a round hole with the personnel he’s been given. At Iowa State, Hoiberg employed lineups where all five guys could shoot, and versatility with lineups where the tallest guy out there was 6-foot-6. Last year, he had nobody in his starting five that could shoot and no versatility. If preseason results are any indication, this young Bulls team is a little bit more willing to buy into what Hoiberg is selling. They jacked 3s at a rate equal to some of the NBA’s best shooting teams last season and whipped the ball around in Spurs-ian fashion on certain occasions. I don’t necessarily think Hoiberg will be around by the time the Bulls are good again, but for the time being, I’m willing to let him grow as an NBA coach as the team grows. It can’t hurt.

    MP: Honestly, I think Hoiberg has the potential to be a strong head coach one day, but after all of the drama that he has been a part of here in Chicago, I do not see him as the right man for the Bulls moving forward. Hoiberg has built a reputation as a soft coach who can’t really keep his players in line, and our favorite off-season incident (the Niko-Portis altercation) doesn’t help alleviate him of these claims. If the Bulls do end up giving him the next couple years to “build his culture” and put into play Hoiball, I could maybe see it working out, but I don’t think it’s likely success would happen anytime soon.

    DC: So, a quick recap: Fred Hoiberg probably isn’t the coach everyone hyped him up to be. He’s been completely unable to deal with superstars like Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade. He makes a lot of very questionable play calls. He’s also been completely undercut by management at every turn. He didn’t as to coach Wade or Rajon Rondo. He probably expected to get a team like the one he has now, lots of pieces that might fit his system and don’t exceed his system. So maybe his system ends up being broken, but we don’t know yet.

    Caught up? Alright. So here’s my take on moving forward: Hoiberg can be a good coach eventually, but I don’t think he’s got acumen for long-term excellence. He’s the kind of guy I could see coaching the Sacramento Kings in a couple of years, or maybe the Phoenix Suns. His coaching is a precarious thing. He probably belongs back in college. In his defense, I don’t think there is a good coach for this Chicago team moving forward. The front office is wholly incompetent and has no firm direction of their own. No coach could be dropped into this blender of a roster, market, and ownership with any sort of bearing on what the future looks like. The right coach for the next good Bulls team won’t be clear until we see their draft results from 2018 and 2019.

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