A conundrum that the Chicago Bulls front office could face if this situation gets worse heading into the 2020 offseason is what to do about HC Jim Boylen.
Of the moves that all the Chicago Bulls fans would love to see go down in the upcoming 2020 offseason, one of the first would have to be the front office parting ways with head coach Jim Boylen. Since the Bulls hired Boylen, they haven’t inspired any confidence with their play on the floor night in and night out. The Bulls also can’t beat any good teams with Boylen at the helm.
There’s a whopping one win that the Bulls racked up over an opponent with a winning record so far this season. That one win came in miraculous fashion over the Los Angeles Clippers at home at the United Center back in December. But that win was anything but decisive and the Clippers were without superstar forward Kawhi Leonard in that game.
However, at least one move at the trade deadline for John Paxson and Gar Forman would at least inspire more confidence in the direction of this franchise in the third year of the rebuild than staying silent did. The Bulls had players that were on the trade block it seemed, but GarPax didn’t pull the trigger to send any of them out of the Windy City.
Among those players the Bulls could’ve worked into a trade deal included veteran power forward Thaddeus Young, shooting guard Denzel Valentine, and point guard Kris Dunn. Granted Dunn is currently dealing with a knee sprain that could keep him out of the rotation for a while.
One announcement that the Bulls management did make after the silent 2020 trade deadline was the reported job safety of Boylen as head coach. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times published a piece on that report earlier this week, and some of that included quotes from the Bulls president of basketball operations Paxson.
Here’s what Paxson had to say on the matter of Boylen’s job security.
"“It’s always hard for a coach,” Paxson said. “I think you guys have been around Jim enough to know that he’s a very positive guy. He keeps trying to grind it out. One thing I do admire is he doesn’t quit on these guys. He looks at them, and he believes in them.“Hey, in this league, every team faces injuries. We’re not the only ones. That’s why you have a 15-man roster. But Jim handles it very well. He’s trying to coach these guys and try to get them better.”"
Paxson continues to rely on the excuse of all the injuries that the Bulls mounted over the course of the last month and a half. But even when the Bulls had a fully healthy rotation at the first half of the regular season, they weren’t sitting in a playoff spot. The Bulls made a living out of sitting between the 9th-11th spots in the standings in the East so far this season.
And here’s what Cowley had to say on Paxson’s thoughts after the trade deadline.
"That’s not the kind of statement critics of Boylen want to hear right now.There seems to be very little middle ground when discussing him. When he took over for the fired Fred Hoiberg in early December 2018 — immediately calling out Bulls players for what he considered a lack of toughness and conditioning and then squashing an attempted two-player coup — fans and media quickly formed opinions about the long-time assistant coach. In most cases, those opinions weren’t favorable.Still, Boylen seemed to be turning things around slowly. The Bulls had a solid showing last February, and when the season ended, it seemed as though he had gotten his players to buy in. He was given a contract extension in the offseason."
It was a rare instance to see the front office personnel speaking to the media after a silent trade deadline during such a difficult part of the regular season. The Bulls aren’t realistic playoff contenders in the East this season, and Paxson’s words post-deadline don’t give any clarity to where this rebuild is headed.
The Bulls enter a key Feb. 9 matchup on the road against the talented and lengthy Philadelphia 76ers on the road with a record of 19-34. They are already sitting at a season-worst 15-games under .500. And that might get worse once they have to travel to face a nearly unbeatable team when they play at home in the Sixers.