Bulls Year End Wrap Up: Part II

Alright, time to do Part II before I go to bed.  Since odds are David Haugh will have a bad thought by the time I wake up tomorrow, I'm going to do this piece by John Jackson. 

Am I nitpicking because its basically just a sloppy list of possible coaches for the Bulls?  Or just list of basketball coaches period?  Probably-- there's just some odd thoughts in there.  And I always love to do my John Jackson tyrade:

I think he might not actually exist.  He was the secondary beat writer while Brian Hanley was doing most of the reporting.  Jackson's stories then were always the "Young Player Making Stride" or "Coaching Staff Happy with Player's Effort" or basically a bland beat report that was fed by comments from a coach or player or GM.  I figured that Jackson was just a pseudonym for Hanley-- an "Alan Smithee" for stories he didn't want to put his name on.  But then Hanley left for the Notre Dame football beat and his morning radio show on WSCR.   Jackson kept writing, killing that theory. 

Now, I've never seen or heard Jackson interviewed.  I don't remember him breaking any Bulls' stories. His picture may be on the Suntimes site (I think it is) but I can't remember what he looks like.  And his articles sometimes seem like he's not watching the game.  But that's just all part of my crackpot theory that has really no basis or meaning to anything really.  I just enjoy thinking of him as a concept-- like how some people believe Shakespeare was many writers working under his name.  Except this is for Bulls beat reporting.

Anyhow, here's an article and more new Hold Steady.


Del Negro likely on way out
By John Jackson
May 2, 2010

Although it's not yet official, it's clear Bulls management doesn't want Vinny Del Negro as the head coach of the team any longer. It's only a matter of when -- not if -- the change will be made.

The more intriguing question is, who will replace Del Negro? Do the Bulls go with another young, inexperienced coach to bond with a young roster, or do they look for a more veteran coach to bring some experience to the bench?

Actually, its the only question right now.  Unless you want to look past that to free agents, first things first- what is the Bulls coaching move.

Whichever direction management decides to go, the new coach will be under more pressure than most new coaches.

Um, how so?  New coaches are usually brought in to make things better as quickly as possible.  

While Del Negro had his faults, nearly everyone -- with the possible exception of Bulls management, that is -- thinks he did a good job this season in getting the team to the playoffs despite a rash of injuries and other issues.

He did okay.  But the goal really wasn't the playoffs- the goal was developing Derrick Rose.


The new coach also will have to deal with the fact that Del Negro had a good relationship with all of the players, especially All-Star point guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah. That's not insignificant in the NBA.

Yeah, but that's only one small part.  And Derrick Rose will most likely accept whoever comes in-- everything he does seems like he doesn't care about anything besides playing basketball.

The other issue for the Bulls is the list of candidates appears underwhelming at this point. Of the candidates with head-coaching experience available, the biggest names are Mike Dunleavy, Mike Fratello, Avery Johnson, Byron Scott and Jeff Van Gundy. Other names include Lawrence Frank, Kevin McHale and Sam Mitchell.

It is a bit underwhelming.  But there is some quality in there- just not big names.  They can be a point A-B coach.  Not, as Rick Morrisey wisely pointed out, a point A to Point A coach (Good sports thoughts in that article). 

Dunleavy is well-regarded throughout the league, but he will be a tough sell as a recycled candidate. Fratello is another candidate out of the recycling bin and doesn't seem like a good fit because he is more of a defensive-minded coach. Frank, who was fired from the woeful Nets earlier this season, would be a really tough sell, and the emotional Mitchell probably isn't the kind of coach management is looking for

Wait, a defensive-minded coach would be a bad fit?  The Bulls, in fact, are allowed to play defense.  Actually, good defense tends to win a lot of games. 

And who would Frank be a tough sell to?  If the writers in this town are willing to make injury and lost player excuses for Vinny, sure they can find a way to make excuses for a guy who's team lost Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson.  Oh, there were some injuries too.  I'm not saying to hire Frank, but judge his coaching and not the raw record alone.

There has been talk the Dallas Mavericks' Rick Carlisle or the Los Angeles Lakers' Phil Jackson -- remember him? -- might become available. Either would be a no-brainer hire. But right now, the best veteran candidate might be Doug Collins, who appeared to have the job two years ago before chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's hesitation caused him to withdraw.

Good points here.  I'd like to point out the fact that Doug Collins withdrew.   This may be used in someone else's article. 

It's doubtful the Bulls will reach down to the college level -- unless, of course, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is interested -- but one name to keep an eye on is Kentucky's John Calipari, who coached Rose at Memphis and has previous NBA experience.

Why would you want Coach K?  The college to pros thing really doesn't work.  And Calipari has pro experience so its a decent idea.  And the NCAA can't make the Bulls vacate any titles.

Whatever happens, it seems the Bulls will consider many options before selecting a new coach.

And the article ends with a state the obvious contest.  I'll try that here: Plants have green leaves in the summer.