It's official: Del Negro to be introduced tomorrow

I'm gonna go Pro-Vinny with the minute crowd. It's a done deal, my glass is always half-full, and Nate McMillan and Byron Scott had good coaching years, so there is a possibility Del Negro may surprise. The addition of Rose sure in the heck wouldn't hurt. Either way, the jury is out at least until December 1st; why even wrack our brains on a JR drop for one more nanosecond. Could he be worse than Boylan proved to be? Unlikely, and even if he is, Derrick will show, as did Roy and Paul before him, it takes one special individual to make all the hurt go away.

At least until a better coach becomes available.

I agree Roman. But after I've had time to think about it, Vinny will be good for Paxson as an assistant GM. Pax needs the help in the GM area and he needs someone he can trust, and who will not be adversarial. Pax is looking to get fired if things dont work out, and it will help to have a guy that is on board with you and your vision.

It'll be tough to spin this as a win for the Bulls, but if there's anyone who can and will do it, it is Reinsdorf because he knows how to manipulate the media and fans to buy into his stories and excuses. He did it with D'Antoni, he did it with his weepy rendition of disposing Doug Collins out of the coaching race and he will do it with Del Negro, no doubt about it and of course, plenty will buy into the stories and then take the "hmm, let's wait-and-see" approach with Del Negro because he continually expects everyone to kiss his a** for supposedly bringing us 6 Championship trophies in the 90's when it wasn't him, it was all JORDAN, the greatest basketball player of all time who was not even a Reinsdorf/Krause draft pick! But that's the problem here, not Vinny Del Negro himself.

So hey, it's now up to the rest of the fans from here to continually play as fools or to finally wake up and see Reinsdorf for what he truly is, a businessman with no respect for the sport of basketball. I've been a season ticket holder since 1999 and I will not renew my tickets and will no longer pay to watch this team at the United Center. Again, nothing against Del Negro. He could very well be the next great NBA coach because I am aware that he has a very good basketball and NBA background, but this coaching decision was NOT MADE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE TEAM. It was made because it was the last and cheapest alternative out there and that, I cannot accept from a greedy businessman taking advantage of the paying consumer to watch a product in a rebuilding mode and at the same time, raising ticket prices all because of lucky winning ping pong balls.

Roman: I couldn't agree with you more. This is not only a cost saving move it's a shot in the dark. Del Negro must have come in with some sort of plan that he sold them on, the problem is we won't find out what it is in a press conference that will be full of the traditionl BS, in how they found the right man by taking their time. The thing is is that right now we don't know what he brings to the table, offense, defense, what is the angle Paxson is trying to sell here. By getting a chance to get Rose in the draft, and making a smart move we could have contended again in the East. I'm beginning to think that the franchise has some financial problems we do not know about, as a Bulls Fan all my life watching them, now from a far, I am willing to say this will be Paxson's last hire.....

By the way how about bringing some of the old Bulls back who actually played here and have pride in the franchise to put on the bench....I wonder what Morm has to say about this hire???

How many people were talking about Mark Jackson and now are going to be critizing the choice of VDN? Then there are those that harped about retreads that never made it to the Finals. Granted at this point I would have waited a couple more weeks and talked to doubleT from Boston but considering how JR managed to screw up Pax's pevious 2 choices my guess is he would have screwed that up too, or maybe doubleT used some back channels to let Pax know not to even bother him because he wasn't going to put up with dealing with JR.

Meanwhile knowing Bulls fans VDN will have the first half of the season to emerge either as the Italian Stallion or Mr. Kotter's "sweat hog" Vinny Barbarino. Who knows maybe VDN can actually relate to the young players like Skiles and Boylan couldn't. Maybe in his interviews he expressed some interesting roster changes depending on which player is drafted #1. I would assume since the majority of his playing career was in the western conference he is likely to have a more up-tempo approach to the game which would suit much of the current roster.

OOPS, I meant to say Norm, sorry about the typo guys...

Said it a few weeks ago...just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now we'll probably draft Mayo, or trade down. Edgar, I gotta roll with you, the spin doctor will definintely be in tomorrow.

BOYCOTT THE BULLS!!!!!!!!!!

Nice comments, Edgar. It's good to hear that actual season ticket holders like you are finally fed up. You're dead on about Vinny - it's not about him at all. It's about Meddlesome, Money-grubbing, Petty, Self-aggrandizing Part-owner and his lack of regard for the sport. It's being reported that VDN is set to sign a contract that's about half the market value for an NBA coach (half of what Skiles signed for a few years ago, even). We fans deserve better than a discount bin, 50-percent-off coach. THIS IS THE MOTHER-FLIPPIN' CHICAGO BULLS, FOR CRUD'S SAKE! Doesn't Meddlesome, Money-grubbing, Petty, Self-aggrandizing Part-owner remember how this city responded to the six championships? Doesn't he remember the parades, people lining the streets, 100,000 people packing Grant Park?? Meddlesome, Money-grubbing, Petty, Self-aggrandizing Part-owner apparently does not hold us (i.e. we who PAY ever-escalating ticket prices) in such high regard. Likewise, I would suggest that he and his team do not deserve our support.

For all those "glass half-full" fans who are doing their best to spin VDN positively in their minds, I feel your pain, folks. I fully agree that it's possible he will become a good coach. Time will tell. I'm not going after VDN himself (to the contrary, I liked him as a player, especially in his NC State days), only the qualities he lacks (i.e. any experience as a coach on any level, any sense of ethos or cachet among players, coaches or refs around the league, etc.). As fans we need to demand better, not just blindly accept what's forced down our throats by a bumbling old businessman. We fans need to treat this move as the travesty it is. Our beloved Bulls are about to launch into a bold new era with a number one pick and a team stocked with young talent, yet the team's brass has decided to hire a coach that befits an expansion franchise, or worse - perhaps an NBDL squad! It's ridiculous, and in fact, it's a move that is being ridiculed, and will likely continue to be ridiculed around the league unless the team jumps out of the gate like the Celtics did this past season. So, unless you die-hards are willing to take that leap of faith, be prepared to take your lumps for quite some time...

Well once again Reinsdorf has stuck it to us Bulls fans, after all is said done we may as well kept Jim Boylan as coach. This is nothing but a slap in the face to all Bulls fans who are paying the 4th highest ticket prices in the league that'll end up watching a Charlotte Bobcats talented team with a head coach that has no coaching experience what so ever.You tell me after 2 months this is the best they could do. And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know why D'Antoni or Collins passed on the Bulls. It's a damn shame that Chicago being a first rate city is stuck with such a third rate owner. It wouldn't surprise me if now the Bulls traded down the # 1 pick to just cut corners there as well, with the excuse that neither Rose or Beasley suit their current needs & you can forget about them signing Gilbert Arenas as well cause that's never gonna happen. I've thrown in the towel, until Reindorf sells the team or does a Bill Wirtz I'm threw supporting him I guess if I want to go watch some NBA games I'll go to Milwaukee.

Every time I see a picture of Del Negro, I think of Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. Therefore, I think the Bulls should introduce him today with the Bee-Gees song "Staying Alive" playing in the background. The song is fitting for this "organization." Here are proposed lyrics to verse 1 (with apologies to the Bee-Gees):

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a basketball man, no time to talk.
Media doubt and fans forlorn.
I've been kicked around since I was born.
And now it's all right, it's O.K.
And you may look the other way.
We can try to understand
That Thibodeau coulda been your man.
Whether you're a brother
Or just looking for cover,
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Feel the city freakin'
And ev'rybody speakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha, (ah, ha, ha, ha, ha)
Stayin' alive.
Stayin' alive.
Ah, ha, ha, ha,
Stayin' alive.

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHASE THE BEST OUT OF TOWN, YOU WILL
ALWAYS DEAL WITH THE SECOND CHOICE, I HOPE VINNY WINS, BUT THIS
IS THE NBA NOT THE REC LEAGUE!
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

Yo.....

Matt Olsen and I have a new fantasy sports blog on the Sun-Times. Check it out.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/fantasysports/

SEEDY I AM CRACKIN UPPPP!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

when are you gonna blog on the tim donaghy game fixing story !

After watchig the press conference I will admit I'm more impressed with VDN than i thought i would have been. He did at least philisophically say a ll the right things. But what I think impressed me most was the way he discussed handling young players followed by Paxson's comment that he believed a big part of last season's problems was the lack of coaches (Skiles & Boylan)involvement with the players off the court. VDN is not the first head coach without previous coaching experience and rather than recycling head coaches that have not gotten to the finals maybe a fresh approach isn't as bad as it seems. I'm willing to give it a little time to see what if anything VDN can do with this team.

Does anyone else think Vinny looks like the skinny kid with the funny hair in high school that used to get beat up all the time?

Im making a list of anti-VDNites.

I will be watching and listening to you..

if you ever even try to say something positive about the Bulls new coach...I will be there to remind you that you were a TOTAL SELL OUT and you Flip Flopped faster than John Kerry.

Hiring VDN is the closest thing to having Pax coach the Bulls. VDN is Pax's sock puppet and will go out the door with Pax if things don't turn around this year. That said, I like the VDN hire because to have hired a D'Antoni or Collins would have given Pax an out. This way Pax is on the line. Either this team changes course and makes the playoffs next year or Pax is toast. VDN will have cast his lot with Pax, win or lose.

That said, I like the Bulls chances to turn things around for one reason only, Derrick Rose. He will make TT, Thabo, and Noah instantly better players by timely distributing the ball and not aimlessly dribbling in circles like Captain Kirk.

I'm going to reserve judgement on VDN's coaching skills until the games are played.

Seedy, thanks for the chuckle man.

Kinda looks like paxson just hired a version of himself, except for vinny has more hair.

Maybe Pax wanted to resign after the Dantoni/collins mess and the dorf got him to stay and bring in his replacement. Now watch vinny and pax hire the future bulls head coach as an assistant to vinny.

Bet the bucks finish ahead of the bulls this year?

Watching the first Karate Kid, Vinny looks more like Ralph Macchio.

Watching the first Karate Kid, Vinny looks more like Ralph Macchio.

Del Negro did not say anything that made me see why the Bulls thought that this is the guy. A lot blah blah blah about this being a process, having faith in others, surrounding yourself with good people.
The whole thing sounded like a promise keeps rally.
Paxson has not been any better since then by mumbling about the great support group that he has in his family, learning the ropes, I like myself!, I am happy with myself!, this is a defining moment, connecting with the players....
What a watered down bunch of crap this all is. There is nothing here to suggest that anyone in this organization had a clue about putting together a real NBA team.
Today Paxson was saying something stupid about how important it is for someone like the coach to take a player to lunch to show them you care. He claimed that the most important thing was for the players to “Get their spirit back” because they had lost their little ways under that mean old Scott Skiles who had the nerve to treat them like grown men.
Where we once had a great team with a killer instinct that was the most exciting team in sports we are now left with late night re-runs from the Life Time Channel.
Pathetic.
Take down those banners and ship them to Michael Jordan because the Bulls do not deserve to hang them.

Alright, so enough of the Reinsdorf rants from me for now. It's obvious that no one has been able to come up with any feedback to counter my last post and Organization's comments earlier because we're obviously dead on correct, so I'll assume that most of the fans in here are content with the Bulls' 3rd REBUILDING process since the Championship era. Now I'll move forward with Del Negro.

Tim Little, I watched the press conference at length also and now I understand how he was able to land this job. The man can obviously sell himself well (Tim Floyd sold himself pretty well also if I remember) and it will be curious to see how this all translates to the players on the roster. It doesn't matter if we buy into it, it'll be all up to the players from here on out. I personally think that our players deserve more a swift kick in the a-- than a players-type coach like Lovie Smith, but if that's what it takes to bring this team together quickly, then it's time to get back to business. Del Negro's path to succeeding will highly depend on his teaching skills and the strength of his assistants staff. He already implied in the press conference (Paxson later acknowledged this as well as an area of concern for VDN) that his weaknesses in the job will be the in-game strategies and the x's and o's. That's where credible assistants come in. Del Negro also said specifically that he wanted 1 assistant that specializes in offense and another that specializes in defense. Will that mean that Thibodeau might come here? I highly doubt it since he'll come at a high price tag and no way Reinsdorf will pony up that kind of money for an assistant. So for those still hoping for Thibodeau or a Bob Hill/Dave Cowens coming to the Bulls, keep dreaming. Who Del Negro selects (or is he even involved in that process?) as his assistants is the next important item to watch for before the NBA draft. It seems to me that the Reinsdorf is trying to emulate exactly what he did 20 years ago hiring Phil Jackson and his strong communication skills with players and arming him with quality assistants who came out of nowhere like Johnny Bach, Tex Winters, Jim Cleamons and such. We'll see if that works this time around without a Michael Jordan on the roster, but who knows, maybe Derrick Rose or Beasley might be that next great one. For me, I don't see it, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.

Let the clock begin on the Vinny Del Negro watch... he has 2 years (with a team option 3rd year) to make this right and win a Championship. Reaching the Eastern Conference Finals won't be enough or else he'll get fired just like Collins the first time. Good luck Vinny and go Bulls.

Did anybody see game 4 of the finals last night? My Celtics painted the rim a celtic color(Player of the game: Eddie House). And have you seen their coach? I've heard him speak in videos- he's no Phil Jackson. If the Bulls ownership can stop meddling for five minutes and let the coach do his job, then the Vinny Del-Negro experience could turn out to be both enjoyable and enlightening.

Del Negro wan't my first, second, or third choice.

But I've seen newbie head coaches catch lightning in a bottle before, so I won't write him off just yet.

If he starts the season 3/22; then I'll close the book on him.