Derrick Rose/Jimmy Butler Tension Marred Game 6: A DOUBLE SMEAR!!!!

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/05/18/bernstein-derrick-rosejimmy-butler-tension-marred-game-6/

This is one of the better smears I've seen from the Bulls Org. We all know they smeared Rose during his injury rehab, leaking that he was "medically cleared to play." And of course, we've all seen the smear applied to Thibs this season, as Paxson slithers behind the scenes trying to undermine his authority with the players and turn the public against him.

This smear smears Rose and Thibs at the same time! Rose seems selfish and Thibs "allows it all to play out."

Some people get mad at Rose. Some get mad at Thibs. Some at both. GarPax? Not even mentioned. Butler, who the org is about to invest in, also comes out of this looking decent.

Well done Bulls org. They really are quite good in certain areas.

 

Really.

And I thought Rose tweaked his sore wrist in the first half and it hurt to shoot. Or it altered his shot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5917554
Derrick Rose suffers sprained wrist

 

Its not tinfoil hat stuff, organizations do this stuff all the time, as you know transplant.

"Medically cleared" was a leak. There has been a constant stream of leaks over the course of this season re: Thibs. If its JVG talking you know where its coming from for the most part. If its the Bulls beat writers save Cowley you know where its coming from for the most part.

 

Well, I'm not sure about "organizations" -- as in plural -- but this organization certainly seems to do this stuff all the time, and I'm tired of it. You want to know the craziest part of it all? I don't think this was a mindless hit job. I think whomever leaked this story actually believes the reason Rose stopped shooting wasn't injury but a "passive-aggressive reaction."

Who thinks like that?

I've been pretty happy with Gar Forman's rosters over the last half decade, outside of the fact that he can't seem to put a trade together. But I'm tired of being continually put in the position of asking, why is the front office so weird? Enough already.

 

Oh, and if you're looking for motivation for this smear -- I don't think it's an accident that it follows immediately on the heels of D. Rose giving public support to Thibs.

 

Why would Hoiberg want to come here to coach?

Why would anyone?

 

Because jobs with contenders rarely become available. Even with pretend contenders.

 

Surely if he's good he can get a job with an organization that's not so dysfunctional.

Dysfunctional isn't even the right word for it. It's too kind.

 

Being good or bad has nothing to do with it. Hoiberg is still a largely unknown quantity and he's not going to get the same opportunities or paycheck until owners see what he can do.

 

Teams recruit college coaches all the time. Who's the coach at OKC now?

Some jobs aren't worth it, even if we'll paid, if the working conditions aren't fun.

If a coach thinks he's good, why go where management historically undercuts the coach, bad mouths him in the press, fires his assistants, etc.? Glutton for misery?

 

Well I've given you my theory. If you reject it, you could ask Thibodeau why he agreed to coach the Bulls in the first place. (And for less money than other teams were offering him.)

My guess was that it had nothing to do with his confidence in his coaching abilities.

 

Ask him why he waited months to sign his contract extension. Wasn't it almost a year?

Indicates he regretted taking the job to a large degree.

He weighed factors like loving the city and rapport with the players against working for assholes who were mostly in the way of winning.

How did you like Gar's roster season before this? Vinnie's last season?

 

Yeah, it was dumb. But how else do you explain this article? I think there may be some jelousy between Rose and Butler, or probably more accurately, both believe in their abilities and want to help the team.

This article suggested something totally different though. Rose's ability to move his arm was limited. A casual sports fan could see that. The only tinfoil surrounding this article is the fact that management apparently believes it's star would throw a playoff game.

 

And if this is from Gar as well as Pax, you guys can put me on the fresh slate leadership change bandwagon.

 

Thibs had Rose's back the whole time Rose was doing #TheComback v1.0.

Rose is still a Thibs fan and wants him back.

It's looking more and more like the toxic atmosphere created by meddling with the coach and coaching staff and minutes limits did us in.

 

They already have with "medically cleared" when he was doing his knee rehab.


There is still much animosity between Team Rose (Reggie / BJ / etc) and the Bulls org, IMO. Its handled in the same way as Bulls Org / Thibs. Passive aggressiveness and the Bulls use the local media to their advantage.

If Rose really did pull a mini-1.8 during the last playoff game, I'm sure GarPax were infuriated by that too. Only two years left on the deal for a player that is backed by a support team more than willing to thumb their noses at management as well. We all know how Paxson reacts to that.

It really is a toxic organization Paxson has created here. What an awful mess.

 

You know, I'm not sure I'm ready to make that jump yet. I understand what you're getting at but JVG is such a weird dude that I don't think that stuff is necessarily coming from Thibs. My guess is there's a grain in it that comes from Thibs but the rest is him speaking on behalf of himself, which to his credit, is exactly as he characterizes his words.

 

I'm not sure I'm ready to jump to that conclusion, either. Rose has said some moderately favorable stuff about Thibs in the press lately -- which granted is unusual coming from a star right before a coach is fired -- but the defining story line coming out of preseason was the fact that Thibs and Rose were not on the same page. I also think Rose is the type of person who would want to avoid being characterized as a coach killer. I'm sure this will be bandied about around here for the next decade, but I don't think you can say without reservation that either Rose supports Thibs or wants him back.