Jim Boylen
There was little to no chance that Boylen was going to take over for Hoiberg with the Chicago Bulls and make such an immediate impact that this team found itself back in the playoff race. Boylen was not the head coaching hire that the Bulls front office would be looking for to pull something like that off.
However, what Boylen could’ve done that he did not is start developing some of the brightest young stars the Windy City has to offer and mold them into what the ideal style of play is for today’s NBA. Instead, Boylen mostly reverted back to old style tactics that used to work in the NBA and doesn’t really make anything happen right now.
Boylen has a very stringent style that focuses a lot on effort, defense, and fundamental play in the paint. Having a veteran center like Robin Lopez in the mix does play well to the strengths of Boylen’s coaching style, but that’s about it as far as this rotation goes. Lopez could hit the free agent market this summer too.
If Boylen doesn’t pull it together for the final three games of the regular season, an already fed up Bulls fan base could get even more impatient. If a solid coaching candidate emerges from either the NBA or college ranks, the Bulls could move on either way. Boylen’s days in the Windy City do seem numbered, but there’s a shot that he does come back next season.