Derrick Rose is at the center of the basketball universe. It's a few days before Christmas in 2011, and the shy, 23-year-old point guard finds himself in the middle of a suburban Chicago shopping mall as throngs of fans scream for his attention. A few hours earlier, the Chicago Bullsformally announced that they have signed the reigning MVP to a max extension worth close to $100 million. The future was bright for one of the NBA's most prominent franchises. "I'm tremendously blessed, and I don't take anything for granted and I appreciate everyone," Rose says at the news conference. "And I think I can finally say this now, 'Mom, we finally made it.'" Now, as Rose makes his way to a table in the middle of the mall, chants of "MVP, MVP" ring out around the complex. Security personnel, some holding guns visible, try to make sure that Rose doesn't get overwhelmed by the adoring public. Six years later, dreams have given way to a litany of injuries, centered on Rose tearing the ACL in his left knee in the first game of the 2012 playoffs. The organization hasn't been on stable ground since. read more http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21082183/story-chicago-bulls-downfall
It started when Paxson was hired. Well, it started when they chased the key players on the dynasty out of town, and PJax, too. What should have happened is they replace Krause with PJax and let him have the coaching job, too. Paxson was adding insult to injury.
#1 in the referenced article was April 28, 2012, the day DRose blew out his knee. The article goes on to name another 11 contributing events, but I'm not sure that those 11 "others" combined were as significant as that first, awful blow.
