So Paxson is going to be squaring off against Skiles in the same division. The Bulls have guys like Larry Hughes and a team that was pretty much in open mutiny for most of the season. Skiles is known for being a guy to whip people into shape, or at the very least, jettison malcontents. Its going to be interesting to see what the Bulls and the Bucks looks like, attitude wise, by the end of next season.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MikeDC @ Apr 23 2008, 09:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'd bet on the Bucks</div> I wouldn't. There isn't a Skiles player on the roster except for Gadzuric.
I'd bet on Redd practicing in a gym somewhere in NJ until his contract runs out. Or maybe Redd will get 26 minutes a game as 6th man, specialty scorer.
I'd put twenty worthless imaginary dollars (let's call them United States dollars) on the Bucks having a better record than the Bulls next season. Any takers?
Skiles first year for the Bulls was brutal. Paxson preemptively dumped the guy that Skiles would likely have a hard time with before they hired him. I wonder if Skiles has the same level of support from his new GM as he did under Paxson? I wonder if personnel decisions are going to be made revolving around Scott Skiles. They gave him a 4 year deal and the team was going nowhere. It almost seems like yes. Scott Skiles is the NBA equivalent to a corporate turnaround consultant, IMO. The Bucks seem like they are in desperate need of this, given their brutal showing last season. (so do the Bulls!) Skiles may be a very good NBA A to B guy, if he can work with all types of players. It may take 1 year for the Bucks to flush out the guys who can't deal with Skiles. Or, perhaps Skiles has grown as a coach and can now get through to most NBA players. Either way, it will be interesting to see. The Bulls are a bad scene right now. It will be interesting to see what a guy like Carlisle (or another hardliner, bc it seems like that is what Pax is leaning towards) can do. Most of these Bulls players were toeing the line under Skiles. Now they are openly firing away against the coach. Can a new guy take these existing guys and get them back to where they were? Unknown.
Perhaps Paxson dumped the guy that Skiles would have had issues with, but he apparently didn't give him much say in who to work with: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>More often than not, a new coach will try to surround himself with his “own’’ coaches, ones they have worked with before. That is apparently what Skiles will do. Skiles also had previous head coaching stints with the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls. “He’s a good coach; I have the utmost respect for Scott,’’ James said. "He told me this is the first opportunity where he’s been a head coach where he could bring in his own staff.</div> That's kind of interesting, especially coming on the heels of the various gripes that have come out about the organization not giving players the support they were asking for.
