The Chicago Bulls are not having a good year, which was to be expected by most any impartial observer when taking a look at their roster entering the season.
However, the dysfunction within the organization has been far greater than most anticipated, and things hit a new low in Chicago over the weekend with new coach Jim Boylen. The Bulls lost to the Celtics on Saturday night by 56 points, the largest loss in franchise history and tied an NBA record for the worst home loss in league history. In that game, Boylen mass-subbed all five starters on two separate instances, the second of which drew confusion from his players and led to some frustration after the game.
Boylen announced that, despite having just played a back-to-back, the Bulls would be having a full practice on Sunday, something that almost never happens in the NBA. What ended up happening was the players arrived early for a players only meeting, which turned into a two-hour long meeting that superseded practice once the coaches arrived as everyone aired their grievances.
However, as was reported later in the evening, that wasn’t the Bulls first plan. Players reportedly discussed no-showing practice in a group chat on Sunday night, essentially planning a minor mutiny against Boylen’s new heavy-handed, tough love regime. According to The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, who confirmed the plan was briefly in place, it was Robin Lopez and Lauri Markkanen that convinced the Bulls to go with the meeting approach, with the veteran Lopez explaining to the less established young players what going along with no-showing could do for their reputations.
After that initial idea was shut down, Mayberry notes another plan was discussed before settling on the meeting.
Another idea discussed centered on players walking into the practice facility Sunday morning as a unified group before turning and immediately walking out.
The meeting is, certainly, the least extreme of the options they discussed and is the one that all parties are more likely to be able to work through. Boylen will continue to push for a better culture, made in his vision, to be established in Chicago, but he at least has heard the concerns of the players.
The players, possibly, got some answers from Boylen and the staff as to the method behind some of the madness that has been the last week, featuring a number of grueling practices. What makes all of this so interesting is that Boylen isn’t in an interim situation, as he’s set to be the coach at least through the 2019-20 season so there’s a commitment to him as well as many of these players. That makes it imperative to get on the same page.
It’s possible this meeting accomplished it, but it’s clear everyone is on edge in Chicago and if things don’t get better it’s possible more drastic measures are taken by the players. They’ve already apparently been discussed.
