National Basketball Association

Bulls GM Forman won't detail Del Negro's future

Published Dec. 29, 2009 12:00 a.m. ET

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Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman said Tuesday night he won't discuss reports that coach Vinny Del Negro's job is in jeopardy or go into detail about internal evaluations of staff, players or coaches.

Forman made his comments after an ESPN report late Sunday said the Bulls had decided to eventually fire Del Negro, who is in his second season.

``Vinny is our coach. Our goal is to get better each and every day,'' Forman said, adding that everyone, including fans, is disappointed by the 11-17 start that has included some embarrassing losses.

``We are as a management team exploring all options in order to get better,'' Forman said. ``We expect our coaches to work each and every day to get this team better.''

Asked if the Bulls had committed to allowing Del Negro to finish out the season, Forman said: ``I feel that we shouldn't talk about evaluations with any personnel that we do internally. We are all being evaluated at all times. That goes from me to our management staff to our coaching staff to our players. And those are things we keep internally.''

Forman said the team does not discuss ``specific articles or rumors that may cross the Internet or the newspaper or TV.''

``That's been a philosophy that's been in place for a while,'' he said. ``We're not going to talk about trades. We're not going to talk about personnel. We're not going to talk about negotiations. And that's where we are at.''

Asked if the organization was behind Del Negro, Forman responded by saying the organization was behind what it was trying to accomplish and optimistic of where it is headed.

``There is a lot of season left this year. OK?'' Forman said, adding that the Bulls are still in the playoff picture.

``So with 50 some odd games left to play, we're still optimistic. We like our young core. We like our players.''

Forman said the Bulls need to develop a sound defensive base and use an up tempo offense with last year's Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose pushing the ball and young players like Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas running the floor.

The Bulls had hoped to build on a promising finish last season, when they came on strong in the second half and lost to Boston in a dramatic seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, after losing leading scorer Ben Gordon to the Detroit Pistons as a free agent and with Thomas and Kirk Hinrich battling injuries, they've been beaten badly several times.

In one eight-day stretch, they got danced on by LeBron James during a loss to Cleveland, lost by more than 30 to Toronto and Atlanta, got blown out by Boston and fell to the lowly New Jersey Nets.

The biggest indignity, however, came Dec. 21 when they led Sacramento by 35 in the second half, only to fall 102-98 at home.

That just increased the speculation that Del Negro was on shaky ground. And when Forman didn't come out Monday and give Del Negro a vote of confidence, it became an even bigger deal.

``People are more concerned about all that other stuff than I am. I'm just focused on tonight's game,'' Del Negro said Tuesday before Forman made his comments.

``You get to the point where it's ridiculous to keep talking about this stuff. It's a waste of time, really,'' he said, adding that he talks with Forman and executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson every day.

``When they want to come out with something, they will. If they don't, I'm just going to keep working and doing my job and helping this team get better. That's my approach.''