The Chicago Bulls have had a turbulent 2016-17, with things only appearing to have gotten worse since the trade deadline. So what gives? And who is to blame?
What a year it has been for the Chicago Bulls.
Things seemed to be on the rise for the organization this summer. After all, the front office not only managed to keep Jimmy Butler around, but also got rid of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, bringing aboard Robin Lopez.
Never mind the fact that they shortly thereafter signed Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade.
So not only did they rid the roster of toxicity by removing Rose and Noah, guys that unfortunately were both bringing Butler down and no longer seemed interested in the Bulls period, but also finally attracted some big names to the city.
For once, management produced results, making the summer of 2016 an active one for Chicago. A move that left many fans hopeful for the upcoming future.
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But, ah, how quickly things can change.
Now, as the Bulls hold a 31-34 record, it is clear to see this season has been anything but smooth sailing.
Currently on a four-game losing streak, Chicago has fallen to 10th in the Eastern Conference.
And with teams such as the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks playing some great basketball lately, there is a chance the Bulls may fall out of playoff contention once again. For the second year in a row.
So how did Chicago get here? And why?
Well, those are certainly great questions. Questions that unfortunately, do not necessarily have clear answers.
Yes, there are major issues within the front office. So much so that fans have recently started a "fire Gar/Pax" campaign, aimed at general manager Gar Forman and vice president John Paxson.
With no clear direction as to where they want to take the franchise, both parties have made numerous head-scratching decisions over the past few years; the latest being trading away Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott for an obviously low return value.
And it is true that head coach Fred Hoiberg still has not gotten a grasp of coaching professional basketball. While Hoiball may have been a strong offensive strategy in college, it has failed miserably so far with the Bulls.
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As has Hoiberg's attempts to gain control of the team. With Butler having publicly called Hoiberg soft last season, it is clear he and his teammates still do not totally respect their leader.
Which leads into the roster itself, a group that houses a fair share of individual talent but as a unit, lacks an identity. Resulting in zero chemistry and little trust between guys, ultimately making it hard to succeed as a team.
Now it is bad enough that outsiders cannot make heads or tails of what is going on with the organization, but what is worse is that the team itself cannot either.
When asked what the No. 1 problem is, Butler replied with a candid, "I don't know."
However, he did insinuate that the lack of consistency in rotations and playing time is certainly a glaring issue.
"I think everybody's trying to play their role. It's hard because we are playing a lot of guys. Night in and night out you don't know what it's going to come down to. Who is going to play what minutes with what lineup. I think that's hard. We've just got to keep playing, man. No matter what your role is on any given night, you've got to be a star within that role. It's tough. I'm not going to say it's easy, but everybody's got to be ready."
That's also something that Wade touched upon.
"It's tough because guys don't know how many minutes they're going to play. Jerian played two minutes, came out; mentally it's tough for guys as well. When you've got younger guys doing that, it's hard to bring them back. But we stick with it, man. We're a team. We win together. We lose together. No matter who Coach puts out there on the floor. We've just got to be prepared for — he's trying to figure it out. It's tough for the [coaching staff] as well, with making the move at the deadline and trying to figure out guys, who to play. So we've got to take some lumps. And it's a part of it, it's a part of the youth movement."
Or just poor coaching and even more terrible management.
Regardless, at this point, there is not much good to focus on.
And as rocky of a season this has been for Chicago, things seem to only be getting worse as of late.
So will the Bulls even make the postseason? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: there is plenty of blame to go around for the team's 2016-17 failures.
