Full Court Press

Nothing is wrong with Noah. He was eccentric in Florida and they won back to back National Championships. Wallace gets Flip Saunder fired and points fingers at Noah. Thats a laugh.

Pax gets a pass if he can pull of a deal for T-Mac. Open the roster and make it work.

Does anybody know what Noah said? It had to have been pretty explicit since the whole team voted to suspend him a game and it doesn't sound like any punches were thrown.

Then again, I guess what he said really doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that their starting PG (in his 5th year) still makes dumb mistakes like fouling his man when he's shooting from beyond the 3-point line, their starting center is averaging 4.5/9.1 while making nearly $16 million, their best "shooter" is shooting only 41%, and their best player continues to get injured.

Is it possible to take a mulligan on this season? Better yet, where is Pax? Has he been on vacation since Christmas Eve? Okay I'm done; this team frustrates me to no end.

Like I said... exactly what appeal does the NBA have?

Three (maybe more) teams will make it into the Eastern Conf playoffs with losing records.

Sounds like hockey, which is ... errr... uhhh... popular?

Can Ben Wallace spank Joakim "the Scream" Noah in public? It might be his only useful act this entire season.

how dare Noah show some emotion and get fired up, the Chicago Bulls will never recover, boo hoo. get a grip people! he crossed the line and received his punishment, please move on. if you checked the collective pulse of the Bulls recently it would probably indicate a coma. I am glad we have someone who can push the team to do something. I only wish he would have punched someone. I am serious. I have tried very hard to watch the Bulls this year and the past few years. this season is toast and if the mighty "Pax" can't bring in Kobe by next year it will be many more years of mediocrity. I love them, but they suck. the games are so boring they make me angry. I can't figure out what is wrong with the mentality of this town. the whole blue collar, grabowski thing is getting old. we should change gears and go after every problem child any sport has to offer just to break the monotony. sports is competitive entertainment not a friggin like-ability contest. I would rather watch a egotistical athlete who gets the job done than some johny do good who can't. when a city hopes it's teams will win instead of expecting them to win it gives license to the owners and management to prey on those hopes while they line their pockets with our time and money.

how dare Noah show some emotion and get fired up, the Chicago Bulls will never recover, boo hoo. get a grip people! he crossed the line and received his punishment, please move on. if you checked the collective pulse of the Bulls recently it would probably indicate a coma. I am glad we have someone who can push the team to do something. I only wish he would have punched someone. I am serious. I have tried very hard to watch the Bulls this year and the past few years. this season is toast and if the mighty "Pax" can't bring in Kobe by next year it will be many more years of mediocrity. I love them, but they suck. the games are so boring they make me angry. I can't figure out what is wrong with the mentality of this town. the whole blue collar, grabowski thing is getting old. we should change gears and go after every problem child any sport has to offer just to break the monotony. sports is competitive entertainment not a friggin like-ability contest. I would rather watch a egotistical athlete who gets the job done than some johny do good who can't. when a city hopes it's teams will win instead of expecting them to win it gives license to the owners and management to prey on those hopes while they line their pockets with our time and money.

What a joke this team has become..WHY HAS JOHN PAXSON TAKEN NO HEAT IN THIS TOWN(outside of a few selected journalists)?! HE IS A BUM, WORST FREAKIN GM IN CHICAGO, AND MAYBE THE NBA SAVE ISIAH THOMAS..GET RID OF THIS JOKER!

This is a bad team and organization at this point and no one is in charge. Where is the coach? Where is Paxson? WHAT HAPPEND TO THIS TEAM OVER THE SUMMER? The original sin was even drafting this guy. He has zero offensive skills and is a head case. Paxson is on the clock with this team and it looks like his days are numbered as the GM in Chicago. Trading the future ALL-Star Tyson Chandler for Wallace and not drafting the players you need is costing this team. I know Kobe is glad he stayed in LA.

we'll disagree on the point of the team adding a game. if you wrote something inappropriate, or constantly came in late, would you be ok with your fellow columnists fining you or suspending you? Isn't that management's job?

the comical part is Wallace calling the team meeting...the biggest malcontent on the team.

This is clearly a case of Pax and Adams asleep at the switch...again.

This is truly embarrassing I thought Pax was better than this yeah the players are quitters but who put this mess together. Biggest mistake was Ben [no offense at all] Wallace who historically runs coaches out of town, remember [Flip] Pax second mistake drafting a [2] projects on a team who was a few pieces away from being very good instead of accomplished college scorers. And last failure to pull the trigger and turn over this mistake citing unprovens as untouchables. Well Pax it's all yours no it's your turn to fix it or step down.

I like the way the players attempt to police a rookie but as Jay Mariotti said, "can't even hit jump shots" Leave Yokum Joakim Noah alone. He's about the only guy other than Thomas and Nocioni that have fire on that team. I don't care if a grenade is thrown at that starting lineup anyway. Ron Adams hmph#@%^!! He can bite the big one. I hope a trade does happen, and I could care less if Wallace, Hinrich, Griffin, or even Noce get packaged away. Imagine Griffin feeling like he can extend a one game suspension two. Too much power for a group of players that underachieve!!! Heck I'd be playing Noah, Thomas, Sefolofsha, and Gray a whole lot more than they play now if it were up to me.

Noah's not the problem. The Bulls have been awful in every game I'v watched this year. He needs more playing time - he plays with a tremendous amount of energy. He's still a rookie and isn't a head case. The problem with the Bulls is the lack of leadership from the top down. Pax, Skiles, now Boyles, and there is no leadership on the team. Noah's a great leader, but that's not a role that a rookie can play. Give him time and you'll appreciate what he brings to the table.

This is garbage I'm tired of watching the Bulls already. We are going to have another season where we don't have a single player representing on the all star team. It's been about ten years since the Bulls have had one. I don't know why the Bulls picked Tyrus Thomas over Lamarcus Aldriege. In that same draft the Trailblazers were able to come away with Brandon Roy and Lamarcus while the Bulls got Tyrus and Tabo. I feel that Paxson is not agressive enough and way too cautious to make moves. This team needs to be improved they need a big guard that can play defense and score, along with a low post scorer. I never thought I would say this but it's clear that Krause is still a better GM than Pax. I don't know why Paxson didn't keep the two 7 footers' that Krause left him. Now the team is going to be rebuilding again. Well, I hope the organization drops it's ticket prices because Whitney Young is more exciting to watch than the Bulls!!!!

They have it all under control. Bulls are going to struggle until they bear down and start playing 48 minutes of quality Defense. Teams are shooting too well against us. Atlanta was at home, but what scared me was Portland who came in the UC and seemed to shoot 90%! And every guy they played was splashing shot after shot like Phoenix. Boylan has his work cut out, but it can be done. Like you said, a lot of balance in the league and we are still in the playoff picture. Noah has been checked, but Boylan needs to make sure his assistants are in check too. We just cleaned up the UNECESSARY tension. They need to be working with the players - not against them.

Players have been late under the GREAT SCOTT SKILES and always will be late. Chicago loves keeping "Athletes" on a short leash. They are in the NBA not the Marines. And most of these guys are under 25. The folks that we all work for - who happen to be rich like NBA players can walk in the middle of a board meeting smoking a stogie and sipping on a drink with a golf shirt on and NOT one of us will have a stammering word to say about it! And you might see these jokers once or twice a year! But Jokim better be on time!!!

I don't feel sorry for Pax .I wrote a email to Mariotti saying that the only player the bulls should have drafted 2 years ago was Brandon Roy but my advise wasn't listen to. We could have had D Wade if Pax had dealt Donyell Marshall to Toronto during his draft year but Pax wouldn't make the deal, then the Bulls made the deal after the draft getting us Kirk bad passing no jumpping no speed no penetrating worst point guard in the world Hinrich. Pax was given a pass then and he is give one now. Pax needs someone like me to assist him with the draft. There is a young kid on the Pistons name Avril Smith I think can help the Bulls investigate it pax. We should have drafted the kid out of Boston college who New jersy stole in the draft. Tyson chandler should still be on the roster. Pax do something or leave in disgrace.

The Chicago Knicks? This team is a joke. The White Sox and The Bulls need new ownership.

Wheres Mike? Scottie? Horace? Dennis? BJ? This is a bad acid trip! These cant be DA Bulls! Heaven help us all! Take me back to 91-93 or 96-98..I cant take all this losing anymore! Aaaahhhhhh!

Teams influenced by Reinsdorf are built to maintain the bottom line which is fiscal viability not championship caliber.

The real problem with the Bulls is that everyone has figured them out. The Nets and Detroit always killed them by being bigger in the back court. Now everyone does it and attacks,Duhon, Kirk and especially Gordon. I believe if you looked at game after game, Gordon is now toasted by a taller offensive player and mismatch in the back court on defense. Johnson at 6'7" shot over everyone until Deng and Thabo got on him. Can you see some team putting a 6'3" player on Deng or Nocioni? Were is the coaching and doesn't Paxson see it? It is why we have lost game after game. You need the one tall guard ALWAYS on the court, it is how the game is played. Sending Gordon to the developmental league would make this team better. Start Thabo next to Kirk. We are not losing games because of Wallace or lack of a post up player, we lose because it is too easy to score on our guards. Gordon will not get 50 million from anyone!

Noah has to grow up. Now.
I wasn't one to think he was a wasted draft pick but if
his attitude and emotions don't mature he might end up as
part of the Bulls' trade package before the February deadline.
Adams was on Noah for not knowing the plays.
NOT KNOWING THE PLAYS?!?!
How long has Noah been on the team?
At what point is he going to realize that this isn't college?
At what point is he going to realize that he's a PROFESSIONAL
athlete and knowing the plays is part of his JOB?
And all this stuff that some sportwriters are saying about the
"inmates running the asylum" is b______t.
They agreed unanimously.
They went to Boylan.
He could have said no.
At least the Bulls are showing some kind of team unity at this point.
Message to Noah: NBA = Not Boys Anymore
Either pull your own weight or go play somewhere else.

Dean...agree with pretty much everything you said but lack of a post game (easy baskets) furthers the problem of an outside shooting team who isn't hitting their shots.

Can someone explain to my how the Bulls' issues relate to someone showing up smoking in a board meeting?

Dean, I disagree. The Bulls are averaging 97.7 PA PG. It's a far cry from where they were last year, but hardly the reason why they're losing now. Their losing continues to be related to their inability to score, particularly at the end of games. Granted Gordon is a big reason for this; as we've seen recently he can't even get a shot off when the clock is winding down. But you're right that teams have figured him out. Last year, bigger guards would back off him which allowed him to shoot open jumpers, or he would get a jump-start on driving the lane where he would do that running floater. Now they're playing up on him and refusing to let him get any open looks. For whatever reason, the Bulls offensive sets with the end-arounds and weaves haven't created any space for him either. What would help is another true scorer, which they don't have. Teams can cheat on Gordon because there aren't any other options. This pretty much eliminates their half-court offense. It's a problem that's always been there, but was masked in previous years by opponents not playing up on Gordon in their half-court defensive sets.

"Teams influenced by Reinsdorf are built to maintain the bottom line which is fiscal viability not championship caliber."

Perhaps, but I could have sworn they offered Deng and Gordon multi-year contracts in the $50MM range. And I also thought Wallace had a $60MM multi-year deal? This isn't a case of being cheap, it's a case of being unable to lure a true superstar to the team and overpaying the non-superstars.

Keith your last paragraph is priceless...I won't waste time ridiculing each comment but I can only assume you have years of experience in board rooms to base that (among several other) idiotic comment on.
Please idulge me on how us chicagoans keep athletes here on a short leash.
Yeah, how DARE we ask people to show up on time, stay out of trouble and do their job! It's not like we're paying their salaries or anything.

I just want the Bulls core three (Deng, Gordon, Hinrich) to play well at the same time. All these internal squabbles would magically go away. It was working fine the last couple of years.

When will Chicagoans learn?Listen untill you Bears,cubs,bulls and whitesox fans protest the owners of your teams you will never get to a championship!!Jerry riensdorff is the cheapest owner ive ever seen!The Mckaskeys their the second cheapest ive even seen.As for the tribune the cubs speak for themselves,!00 yrs without a championship.Its great that chicago fans are loyal but NOW CHICAGO FANS ARE JUST GULLABLE AND NIEVE!!!Wake up fans protest at hallas hall or at the united center or the tribune building!How much losing is this city supposed to take?

Oh By the way Kirk hinnrich is not a point guard.Jhon Paxson is not a good GM and thier team wont to anyware until Riensdorff and Pax are gone.Come on they got rid of So many good players the last few years. I dont believe they could have had alot of great players and never did a thing.Pax why dont you be aggressive with signings?Could of had Garnett, kobe ,Gasol ?

Wallace and Griffin orchestrating this move is total Bull****, they haven't earned the right with their play as Bulls, I want Noah on my team over either one of them any day. He needs to show up for work on time, but that doesn't make him a bad player.

I was among the small vocal minority against the Wallace for Chandler "trade" before it ever happened. Wallace is a no talent brooding mope, a cancer who used to overcome his personality with effort, now he only puts out once a week if we're lucky which does not make up for his sour puss personality. Griffin should be collecting social security, not (not)playing in the NBA and calling team meetings and punishing fellow players.

Top Bulls players to keep; Deng, Nocioni, Noah, Thomas, Thabo, Gray, Curry
Top Bulls players to get rid of; Hinrich, Wallace, Griffin, Krapyapa, Duhon, Gordon.

Well NATE and Thomas P - As my buddy Lamont explained it to me yesterday - "NON-ATHLETES are the ONLY ones who complain about Athletes." And today the TOPIC/ISSUE of the blog is about Athletes and their tardiness - (for those of you who are having the problem understanding the relevence). Now I work in the corporate world and I know good and well what I'm talking about (and you guys know as well). White COLLAR businesmen make NBA salaries look like pennies in a bubblegum machine. And they show up late and go home early EVERY friggin DAY! And in the summer they leave and go play golf - with NBA PLAYERS! We say NOTHING and never will so cut these players some slack! And what is the WE PAY THEIR SALARIES - supposed to mean????? YOU DONT PAY JACK!!! AND MAYBE THAT IS THE PROBLEM - FOLKS THINK THEY OWN THE ATHLETES like slaves huh? LETS GET IT RIGHT, YOUR taxes pay for all the lazy, 4 hour lunch taking jokers on the golf course - who just stole your 401k with his blackberry! Thats who YOU should have on a short leash! Folks hold Athletes to standards they don't hold others to. Talking about act right! Probably got kids that don't act better than Jokim.

A rookie missing his assignments? Isn't that normal especially big guys? Since this was a Skiles coach, he probably be-littled Noah in a way that would cause anyone to react. The team has been upset ever since he called them out for their poor effort earlier in the year (accurately at that). Normally this is inappropriate for a rookie, but since none of the 'leaders' are doing the job he has to. Looking at his two NCAA titles tends to lend him my benefit of the doubt. Anytime I have seen him play it has been max effort, unlike Wallace and co. Why don't the players call out Gordon for playing for contract stats above team goals? Noah, Noc, and Thomas should stay all else are expendable. The lack of trades, might be the lack of pulling the trigger or it might be no other team rate our poor effort, undersized or soft (see Deng), poor ball handling (Gordon/Deng), as high as Pax does!!

They lost me for this year. What a joke. I actually want this team to lose now. I have never been this frustrated, even when they were a 20 win team at least there were no expectations. If they think this is acceptable they can get their fans from somewhere else. Even if they make the playoffs, what then. They should all quit and go home. I would rather see Noah and Tyrus playing than these soft players. They are weak physically and mentally. Gordon is gunning for a contract, he won't pass it to anyone.

If Wallace was really smart he would start a movement to have Aaron Gray removed from the team for the rest of the year because he has been the better center.
What a worthless, lazy cancer this guy has been.

HEy ThomasP, welcome to the post, and I love all the new posters, must be the short opening line ;) but BUDDY

OK, anyways...

Love all the new Posters, again...but the BULLS PROBLEM is very simple....

BAN HEADBANDS AGAIN!

TI

I think that saying that Pax Should've gotten KG is a stretch, because I am convinced that deal was made special for two old Celtic buddy GM's, not the guy that rode in with the guy who killed their Dynasty.

Also, Ban Headbands like I said, and also...Start Thabo and Gray.

Ship Noah to Phoenix...for that big kid from france with back to the basket moves and can score in the post. WE HAVE ENOUGH HI ENERGY GUYS.

oh..and more Hustle?

I hear ya though BigWay...I liked Chandler and Curry...thought that was a solid future in the middle.

Maybe I have my head in the Gray Clouds, but I swear this kid could revitalize us in the Middle.

What would be really embarrassing is if they made Joakim wear a dunce cap while he sat on the bench.

Then they could make him swear that he would never do that again. Kind of like Clemens during the 60 Minutes interview.

Didn't Pax play with Rodman? Joakim's blow up had to be pretty tame by Rodman standards.

Look this is a decent team that went way farther than it should have last year in the playoffs. Each of the last two years, it's been apparent that the Bulls lacked a "go to" or even a "possible go to" player during the playoffs. Pax didn't address that issue in the off season. Plus he drafted Joakim Noah-Game, which gives the Bulls a monopoly on low-post, non-scoring players. He complemented these two by pairing them with soft small-forwards who really want to be fade away jump shooters in Thomas and Deng. Then he topped it off with Hinrich, Gordon and Duhon. They are small, slow, and can't drive to the hoop or create their own shot. They don't have a defender that can take the other team's top player out of the game. They also don't have a player that other teams have to account for. Last year they hounded teams like a pack of rabid pitbulls. This year, they play more like chi-hu-a-hu-as, as Les Nesman would say.

This organization is soft, from Pax down, I expected more from them as men and players. this team full of "good guys" have no fight in them and it's not surprising that they suspend a player as a team for arguing with a assistant coach, this kid is a winner and is very emotional, I feel sorry for the kid, he is stuck with a bunch of players who have no fight in them NONE. this has to be driving him crazy. he won 2 championships in school and had a team full of hard working winning players, now he has to come to work and watch these lazy "VETS" do nothing. the only thing they did all season is suspend a young guy for being just that, where was the leadership up until that point?
They should suspend themselves and give back their checks, they should apologize to Noah for using him as a pawn in an attempt to show the media and the fans that they are a real team, then this "real team goes out and gets smoked by the Hawks.... maybe they should vote to suspend gray for laughing too much, maybe the deflection will work this time. shame on you PAX!

I am a chicago fan. Lived there for 28 yrs.But i am appauled at chicago FANS!Jerry Riensdorff is a cheap horrible owner and BULLS AND WHITE SOX FANS should protest and complain at the berto center or the house that Michael built NOT Reinsdorff!Paxon is blundering everything!WHY?Why dose he consistantly make bad decisions?Get Rid of the GM AND OWNER!!!

I have no problem with Boylan sitting Noah down for a game, but there isn't one player on this team that has shown they have the right to lead and mete out punishment. If Adrian Griffin wants to be a leader, then maybe he should at least play well enough to see the court when games are still in doubt - when Boylan is looking for veterans to play to their full capabilities so they can get on a roll.

Fact is that it's time to move the team in a different direction. How this team can not have a big man coaching the young bigs is beyond me. Blame Skiles and Pax for that, but I don't see Boylan bringing one in either.

I'm not sure that Aaron Gray is the answer at center, mainly because it's been so long since we've seen someone as fundamentally sound as he seems to be there that maybe he just looks good by comparison, but he needs to play a lot more to find out.

Tyrus has to play more too, but with his back to the basket - he's shown some nice low post moves and he can jump over anyone to get his shot off. His problems come when he tries to face up and drive. Here's where a big man coach could really be a help, although Joe Smith seems to have been a good influence on Tyrus.

I really believe that the real reason that Boylan is playing the vets is because the only way to increase their trade value is to play them until they start playing better. Until then, no one will want them. Ben Wallace and Kirk Hinrich need to go. We already have a younger, better free throw shooting non-scorer in Noah to replace Wallace (if you're not going to play Gray) and Duhon is a true point guard not looking for his own shot first like Kirk does. After 4 years in the league, it amazes me how 1) Kirk still commits stupid touch fouls, and 2) they keep calling stupid touch fouls on him like he's a rookie. Maybe if he's just raise his hand and shut up he'd get a few breaks.

I have no problem with Ben Gordon, but we just don't need two undersized spot-up jump shooters (Hinrich and Gordon) playing together. That said, BG will probably bring more back in a trade, so if he has to go then he does, but it'd better be for a big scoring guard (TMac would do nicely) or a low-post scorer. Still like to see Thabo get more time and, if you really need a short scoring guard, then bring back JamesOn Curry from the DevLeague. Seems to me that when Pax drafted him, it was with the idea that either Kirk or BG would be gone.

I realize this is long and scattered, but I could write 5 more pages and not say it all.