Gar Foreman Doug Collins BJ Armstrong Jim Stack Someone else? I'll put the case forward for Collins. While I don't believe the theory put forth by Pax apologists that Reinsdorf really was calling every shot taken over the past several years, I do belive the GM needs to have generally the same philosophy, needs to have the respect of the owner, and needs to command enough authority to be able to steer him in the direction the GM wants to go if there's a divergence. Or be flexible enough to tailor his vision to one that's compatible with what the owner wants. Hearing Reinsdorf talk about Collins as the smartest basketball guy he's ever met makes me think Collins has that all-important quality (at least potentially) being able to guide Reinsdorf if he needs guiding. The downside I see is Collins' famed emotionalness. But perhaps viewing the game from the luxury boxes instead of taking part as a coach will be enough to calm his passions a bit.
Jerry only likes working with people he really knows. My guess is that it will be Collins, maybe even as Coach/GM combo.
Collins as coach would suck. On the other hand, perhaps as a short-term thing? He coaches the rest of the year to get a good feel for the players (with the trade deadline past, it's not like he's going to miss a whole lot) and then hires someone fresh this summer. Might not be a terrible way of righting the ship. Especially if the alternative is keeping VDN, because you know damn good and well he'll be auditioning for whatever his next job is, not developing Rose and the other kids as his job should be.
Isn't this just a strange time of year for this to be happening. The Bulls are making a slight resurgence and push for the playoffs. Their young players are stepping up so there is the possibility that this will lead to long term development. You wonder what sparked the fire? I'm hoping this comes out in the rumor mill.
One thing I'll say is most of the stuff about Reinsdorf is hard to pin on him. He's spending to within a hare's breath of the LT for a shitty team. All of the stuff about him playing favorites is, at the end of the day, unsubstantiated. It might be true but it's just as likely Paxson. What is pretty substantiated at this point is Pax has basically checked out. And rather than replacing him, Reinsdorf has let him continue to helm the ship while having everyone else do the heavy lifting. And it's pretty evident that Pax isn't even doing his job as the helmsman. Bump him up to Executive Vice President of Golf Outings and get it the fuck over with. Let the Gar Forman era be formalized.
It sounds like Pax isn't going anywhere, which is a relief because a new GM would just come in and shuffle things again.
Also a possibility. But those weren't earth shattering deals. Everybody knew Hughes would be moved. Noc needed to go, and Thabo just wasn't clicking. They had a deal for Hinrich and turned it down so they really didn't move any of their top 6 guys.
He said it hurt, didn't he? Pax is no fool, he saw the writing on the wall. Noc was a deal done to keep an important cog on a title contender. When the team imploded last year he became a luxury the bulls didn't need. And Thabo wasn't getting it done and was going to be buried. They got a decent pick for him, and they can use that pick to sweeten deals this summer or fill out the roster next year.
In light of my better understanding of the James situation, everything is pretty much unimpressive IMO. Going forward Noc ~ Salmons James/Thomas/Roberson ~ Hughes is basically exchanging our crap for someone else's crap with little to no financial or on/court ramifications. So when you get down to the actual move they made, it was basically trading Gooden, Thabo, and Ben Gordon for one year of Brad Miller and a 25-30 pick in a weak draft. That's a pretty steep price.
You know, as per the James/Thomas deal...it's good to have that big expiring contract of Hughes split in half for next summer/next year. It gives greater flexibility in putting a trade together.
You could at least wait a dozen games or so to see if Salmons can continue to play at a decent level. Playing next to Rose might actually pay off for him. I wouldn't want to accuse you of being close minded or anything...
