The Chicago Bulls are a mess.
There’s just no other way to say it. Despite the fanfare surrounding the team, most knew that signing Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade to join Jimmy Butler would not work well. That’s exactly what has happened.
The team can’t shoot. Rondo has been benched. Wade and Butler have vented about teammates’ lack of passion. Rondo vented about his vets. It suffices to say that the Bulls have been anything but a stable team this season.
Chicago’s issues go beyond the 2016 offseason, however, and fans have long put the blame on its two main front office pieces: general manager Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson.
Throughout all of the duo’s issues in surrounding elite talent with pieces to truly contend, they have been able to have remarkable job security. That doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
Following via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
Despite some outside perception to the contrary, the jobs of executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman are safe, sources familiar with ownership’s thinking told the Tribune. In fact, ownership’s trust in Paxson and Forman remains so intact that they would be retained even if the Bulls miss the postseason for a second straight season, one source said.
It’s well-documented that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and son Michael, who runs the business side as president and chief operating officer, are loyal and long have favored front-office continuity. But there’s also inherent trust in the roster-building process that Paxson, Forman and their staff have in place.
There’s not much to unpack here. The Bulls have not made changes necessary to creating a contending team. Reinsdorf has been unwilling to move on from front office members who have been sub-par and is apparently citing their good “roster-building process” after they signed about forty non-three-point-shooters. That’s not to mention his reputation as an owner who is not willing to spend a lot of money to create a good team.
It’s not clear what Gar Forman and John Paxson would have to do to lose their job security. But apparently creating a roster with fit issues and personality issues is not it.
