NBA 2015-2016

[LBRod]

It seems kinda strange to say the Warriors at the Hawks is the regular season match up of the year, but records don't lie.

[beantownbubba]

It's unfortunately difficult to pick any single moment as THE low in the Knicks' history over the past couple of decades, but James Dolan telling a fan to "go root for the Nets" has got to be a top contender.

On a different subject, LeBron calls out Kevin Love on twitter and at least as far as i can tell from espn this seems to be regarded as a sign of good leadership. Is that the way it is these days? That's a question not a rhetorical comment: Is that considered not just acceptable but positive behavior as opposed to, say, pulling the guy aside and saying what you have to say?

[Tequila Cowboy]

It's unfortunately difficult to pick any single moment as THE low in the Knicks' history over the past couple of decades, but James Dolan telling a fan to "go root for the Nets" has got to be a top contender.

On a different subject, LeBron calls out Kevin Love on twitter and at least as far as i can tell from espn this seems to be regarded as a sign of good leadership. Is that the way it is these days? That's a question not a rhetorical comment: Is that considered not just acceptable but positive behavior as opposed to, say, pulling the guy aside and saying what you have to say?

I don't know if it's good leadership or not but James is in a difficult position. The Cavs are essentially uncoached with rookie head coach David Blatt in way over his head. LeBron is really the coach and he's not much more qualified than Bratt. Still they are improving and he has to do what he thinks is right. I don't know if I'm qualified to say if a Tweet qualifies.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Derrick Rose is still bad but the Bulls have won two in a row.

[Zip City]

It's unfortunately difficult to pick any single moment as THE low in the Knicks' history over the past couple of decades, but James Dolan telling a fan to "go root for the Nets" has got to be a top contender.

On a different subject, LeBron calls out Kevin Love on twitter and at least as far as i can tell from espn this seems to be regarded as a sign of good leadership. Is that the way it is these days? That's a question not a rhetorical comment: Is that considered not just acceptable but positive behavior as opposed to, say, pulling the guy aside and saying what you have to say?

The "go root for the Nets" part of the letter was the least offensive part.

[beantownbubba]

It's unfortunately difficult to pick any single moment as THE low in the Knicks' history over the past couple of decades, but James Dolan telling a fan to "go root for the Nets" has got to be a top contender.

On a different subject, LeBron calls out Kevin Love on twitter and at least as far as i can tell from espn this seems to be regarded as a sign of good leadership. Is that the way it is these days? That's a question not a rhetorical comment: Is that considered not just acceptable but positive behavior as opposed to, say, pulling the guy aside and saying what you have to say?

The "go root for the Nets" part of the letter was the least offensive part.

Agreed, but the Nets part was probably the least PR savvy soundbite wise.

[beantownbubba]

Anybody watch the all-star game or any of all-star wkend? I saw LaVine's dunks on tape. Impressive doesn't quite do them justice but I don't feel like i missed much by not tuning in to the whole show. Just seems old or something.

Why is Amar'e Stoudemire leaving the Knicks such a big deal (or is it only ESPN making a big deal of it)? The guy has (had?) talent for sure, but he didn't do much for the Knicks in the big picture, the Amar'e-Melo show never went anywhere and the guy's been nothing but hurt for years. Is it because it's assumed that as a supporting part on a good team he can play impactful short minutes or do people think he can still be a major player on a major contender?

[beantownbubba]

RIP Jerome Kersey. He always seemed like one of the good guys and I always liked his game. At 52, he was way too young.

[Clams]

The Sixers traded away MCW at the deadline. Can't say I saw that one coming.

[Zip City]

The Sixers traded away MCW at the deadline. Can't say I saw that one coming.

Seems an odd way to rebuild

[Tequila Cowboy]

The Sixers traded away MCW at the deadline. Can't say I saw that one coming.

Seems an odd way to rebuild

Yes, odd. I heard they have 7 first round picks in the next three years though. Makes the Bucks pretty good.

[rlipps]

Man, Derrick Rose with another meniscus tear. Surgery to follow. Such bad luck with the injuries, wonder how many more comebacks he has left.

[cortez the killer]

This fuckin' guy...

[Cubfan06]

He went from being a douche, to becoming more likeable, to becoming a mega douche again. Both he and DRose need to listen to their publicists, and if not hire new ones.

[Tequila Cowboy]

LeBron just doesn't bother me the way he does some. Yes he loves himself. Hell I'd love myself if I were LeBron.

This Bulls thing is the craziest situation I've ever seen. Rose is bad, then he's hurt. Butler is great, then he bad, then he's very good and then he's hurt. Taj Gibson is just hurt. I mean they can barely field an NBA team at this point and ye when it's all said and done Tom Thibodeau will be coaching elsewhere and John Paxson and Gar Foreman will still be in charge after 11 years and no Championships.

[cortez the killer]

LeBron just doesn't bother me the way he does some. Yes he loves himself. Hell I'd love myself if I were LeBron.

It's pretty much a given that all professional athletes, let alone superstars, have massive, massive egos. You are missing the point and/or glossing over the level of clown "King James" is.

[Zip City]

Getting rid of Thibodeau is going to hurt bad. It's on par with the 49ers running Harbaugh out of town. Just asinine.

Then again, the Bulls are well known for running great coaches out......they tried getting rid of Phil Jackson almost every year he coached there

[Tequila Cowboy]

LeBron just doesn't bother me the way he does some. Yes he loves himself. Hell I'd love myself if I were LeBron.

It's pretty much a given that all professional athletes, let alone superstars, have massive, massive egos. You are missing the point and/or glossing over the level of clown "King James" is.

Maybe, it's probably also colored by the fact of how big a fan I was of Michael Jordan and by the end of his career how clear it was that his image or what have you was a carefully crafted lie. Dude was, and is, a sociopath. Didn't make him any less great but sure made him less likable. In comparison James just seems quaint.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Getting rid of Thibodeau is going to hurt bad. It's on par with the 49ers running Harbaugh out of town. Just asinine.

Then again, the Bulls are well known for running great coaches out......they tried getting rid of Phil Jackson almost every year he coached there

I agree with the Thibodeau thing but the Jackson situation wasn't the same, he brought so much of that on himself and Jerry Kraus was one of the great GM's of all time, the two headed monster that is Garpax is not.

[Zip City]

Getting rid of Thibodeau is going to hurt bad. It's on par with the 49ers running Harbaugh out of town. Just asinine.

Then again, the Bulls are well known for running great coaches out......they tried getting rid of Phil Jackson almost every year he coached there

I agree with the Thibodeau thing but the Jackson situation wasn't the same, he brought so much of that on himself and Jerry Kraus was one of the great GM's of all time, the two headed monster that is Garpax is not.

Kraus was an egomaniac who THOUGHT he was one of the great GM's of all time, and he was going to prove it by dismantling the greatest team of the decade and rebuilding it. See how that worked out? The period between Jordan and Rose was one of misery for Bulls fans

[Tequila Cowboy]

Getting rid of Thibodeau is going to hurt bad. It's on par with the 49ers running Harbaugh out of town. Just asinine.

Then again, the Bulls are well known for running great coaches out......they tried getting rid of Phil Jackson almost every year he coached there

I agree with the Thibodeau thing but the Jackson situation wasn't the same, he brought so much of that on himself and Jerry Kraus was one of the great GM's of all time, the two headed monster that is Garpax is not.

Kraus was an egomaniac who THOUGHT he was one of the great GM's of all time, and he was going to prove it by dismantling the greatest team of the decade and rebuilding it. See how that worked out? The period between Jordan and Rose was one of misery for Bulls fans

That team was never going to win another championship and I would argue that the egos of those other guys played a huge part and yet Kraus get cast in the villains role completely undeserved IMO. Phil Jackson called him a troll in a radio interview while under his employ. Sorry, if it wasn't for Kraus and tweaking all the rosters they don't win six titles.

[Cubfan06]

For the record I like Thibideau and awful lot. He should take a lot of credit for his player development skills, although somebody that is always that intense on a day to day basis only has a certain shelf life. (See Doug Collins)
If a decision needed to be made by ownership, Gar/Pax ( who I am not in love with), could point to their successes in the draft of drafting Derrick Rose ahead of Beasley, drafting Butler at the end of the 1st round who is now an All Star, drafting the rights to Miritic late who was a former Spanish league MVP and with refinement could be an elite 6th man, drafting Taj Gibson late in the draft (who should have been 6th man of the year last year, going against the grain and landing Noah in the 9th spot of his draft, missing on Carmelo and having a back up plan with Gasol and Miritic, and the Doug McDermott trade up remains to be seen because Thibs refuses to play rookies.
The only huge black marks against Gar/Pax was the panic signing of Carlos Boozer, the Lamarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas trade, and being hamstrung with the Derrick Rose extension which at the time had not insight to predict how troubling it would become. They could make a case to Reinsdorf that they have drafted extremely well, although its impossible to quantify what Thibs's player development helped support their drafting successes.
Edited: Gar/Pax's deal with Ben Wallace was pretty lousy as well.

In the end the Reinsdorf's need to get management and Thibs in a room to iron out the situation to see if this can be repaired. I like Thibs more so I don't want to see him go, however there needs to be a chain of command that is followed. And if Thibs is insubordinate with that chain of command's thinking he is largely to blame with the rift. A perfect example is the overuse of Kirck Hinrich, when management only signed him to be a 12 minute per game guy, even when the influx of injuries was not occurring.

I am not overly optimistic about the Bulls getting to the Eastern Conference finals and getting out, but I think its important to see the way this thing unfolds before the final judgement is provided. Remember, when having their complete roster start games this year the Chicago Bulls are 16-3. Rose and Butler should be ready for playoff action. I just hope that they can get into the swing of things quickly upon return. If the Bulls play at even a B+ level they have a CHANCE to win the East. I wouldn't expect this ahead of Cleveland or even a struggling Washington team, but they have a chance.

[Cubfan06]

Mr. Gavney, I know your love for Jerry "Crumbs" Krause. He did help assemble 6 NBA championship teams. And he gets a little overlooked in for doing so, but at the end he also made some moves that set the organization back for 4-5 years. The Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler deal didn't reap benefits with his time in Chicago. Followed by the drafting of Eddie Curry. The signing of Ron Mercer.

[Zip City]

Kirk Hinrich is statistically a top 3 worst player in the NBA, yet Thibs uses him constantly. So maddening. It's like Dusty Baker's overuse of Neifi Perez

[Cubfan06]

Kirk Hinrich is statistically a top 3 worst player in the NBA, yet Thibs uses him constantly. So maddening. It's like Dusty Baker's overuse of Neifi Perez

Wow. Nefi Perez?!

[Zip City]

Kirk Hinrich is statistically a top 3 worst player in the NBA, yet Thibs uses him constantly. So maddening. It's like Dusty Baker's overuse of Neifi Perez

Wow. Nefi Perez?!

Both are prime examples of "gritty/srappy" players who are truly awful, but who coaches fall in love with

[Cubfan06]

Kirk Hinrich is statistically a top 3 worst player in the NBA, yet Thibs uses him constantly. So maddening. It's like Dusty Baker's overuse of Neifi Perez

Wow. Nefi Perez?!

Both are prime examples of "gritty/srappy" players who are truly awful, but who coaches fall in love with

Oh I agree. I just had hoped to never hear that name again.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Mr. Gavney, I know your love for Jerry "Crumbs" Krause. He did help assemble 6 NBA championship teams. And he gets a little overlooked in for doing so, but at the end he also made some moves that set the organization back for 4-5 years. The Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler deal didn't reap benefits with his time in Chicago. Followed by the drafting of Eddie Curry. The signing of Ron Mercer.

Oh I'm not forgiving him for the Tim Floyd era. I'm just saying he gets way to much blame for the ending of the championship era without getting the requisite credit for its successes. The ending was a clusterfuck of epic proportions caused in part by each of Jackson, Jordan and Kraus. I just think Kraus gets a disproportionate part of that blame.

[Zip City]

And let's not forget that Krause benefitted mightily from Portland making the worst draft pick in NBA history

[Tequila Cowboy]

And let's not forget that Krause benefitted mightily from Portland making the worst draft pick in NBA history

Actually Rod Thorn benefited from that gaffe as he was the GM who drafted MJ. Krause did draft Olden Polynice and turn him into Scottie Pippen though.

[Cubfan06]

Mr. Gavney, I know your love for Jerry "Crumbs" Krause. He did help assemble 6 NBA championship teams. And he gets a little overlooked in for doing so, but at the end he also made some moves that set the organization back for 4-5 years. The Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler deal didn't reap benefits with his time in Chicago. Followed by the drafting of Eddie Curry. The signing of Ron Mercer.

Oh I'm not forgiving him for the Tim Floyd era. I'm just saying he gets way to much blame for the ending of the championship era without getting the requisite credit for its successes. The ending was a clusterfuck of epic proportions caused in part by each of Jackson, Jordan and Kraus. I just think Kraus gets a disproportionate part of that blame.

We can definitely agree on that. So in theory though, if Thibs is being insubordinate against his management's vision of how the team should be run, you cannot completely fault Gar/Pax for making the switch. There cannot be this much of a disconnect between coach and management and have that last long. I am far from a Gar/Pax apologist though. The Skiles firing on Christmas Eve and Paxson choking Vinny DelNegro with his neck tie speaks to their lack of character.
That being said Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf are loyal guys. And in their court of management can show their positive draft moves and Thibs's insubordination in order to state their case. Keep in mind that this was Tom Thibideaou's first head coaching job for likely a reason. And the reason that he had been bypassed previously likely didn't involve his basketball IQ. Thibs has yet to exemplify the ability to have his team's fresh and playing at their highest level when playoff time roles around. It's hard to view the Rose, Butler, and Gibson injuries as a positive, however if there is a silver lining with them they at least won't be overused going into the playoffs. I take that back, Gibson is expected back next week, so that would still allow Thibs to bleed him dry.