A rift between the Bulls in the office and the Bulls on the floor is nothing new. The franchise has had a negative reputation around the league since the contentious exit of Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson in 1998. That reputation has only advanced following heated relationships with former coaches Scott Skiles, Vinny Del Negro and now with Thibodeau.
I understand Paxon and Gar having a problem with the long minutes played by starters leaving minimal playing time for guys like Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott. It's easy to get frustrated with Thibs riding his players in an out of conference November game like it's game 7 of the NBA Finals. The approach is tough mentally and physically on the players. It can also be dangerous. The knee injury that turned MVP Derrick Rose into the guy wearing number 1 on the team this year is evidence of the franchise altering implications of these decisions.
Tom Thibodeau is who he is. A deeply intense man bordering on obsession who expects the same from those around him. John Paxon knew it, Gar Forman knew it, the entire NBA knew it. This is what they signed up for when they hired Thibs and now are getting mad at the cat for shedding.
There is a problem in any work environment when a boss hires a person to do a job but doesn't trust the job to be done. Micromanaging stretches the boss too thin, can crush an employees confidence and blocks the flow of outside the box thinking. If the Bulls front office can't get along with coaches it shows that they can't hire the right coaches for them. Which in turn shows a lack of judgement and ability to build a cohesive team.
If this team continues to falter down the line and heads toward another one and done in the playoffs , Jerry Reinsdorf should look to George McCaskey for inspiration and do what Chicago's fall disappointment did, clean house.
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