Chicago Bulls: John Paxson attitude towards rebuild prevents winning
Chicago Bulls executive vice president John Paxson refused to commit to a full rebuild for the team. That is a big part of the problem preventing them from becoming real contenders.
In his final press conference of the 2016 season, Chicago Bulls executive vice president John Paxson refused to commit to fully rebuilding the team.
"You’ve seen it around the league that teams do that and it’s six, eight 10 years to get back in the playoffs."
That attitude is a big reason the Bulls haven’t been real contenders since 2010 (hmm, that’s about six seasons, right?). A franchise with six titles under its belt is happy to scrape by, barely making the playoffs, then getting eliminated in the first round.
It’s been almost twenty years since the Bulls merely made an appearance in the NBA Finals, let alone win it all. In that time, we’ve seen some very bad teams on the court. Sure, the front office loaded up the team in 2010 and put together a pretty good team, but they only really had one season in which they had a chance at winning. Yes, injuries played a part in that. However, the front office did not go after some of the elite players to build around some good talent on the team. Joakim Noah was a nice player, but he was outweighed by 50-60 pounds every night. You knew it was just a matter of time before his body broke down playing center.
Also, let’s not talk about Derrick Rose. His injury history kept the team in limbo. If there was another elite player on the roster, that might not happen.
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Last offseason, Paxson talked about making the team younger, then signed Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. They aren’t exactly spring chickens.
Today, the Bulls are in a perfect situation to rebuild. They made the playoffs but spent most of the season on the outside looking in. The front office can’t be fooled into believing the team that played the final month is the team that we’ll see next season. Even if it is, though, it’s not a real contending team.
Do they keep Butler or do they trade him?
The only star player on the team is Jimmy Butler. No, I don’t include Wade because he is just a star, not a star player. If you saw some of his play late in the season and in the playoffs, he looked like he mailed it in early.
The Bulls haven’t even decided on what to do with Butler. Paxson wouldn’t talk about building around Butler, or even building with him on the roster. He says he wants to keep things open.
Well, it’s time to make a decision on that situation, no? Either commit to Butler as the team’s main guy or trade him for some treasure. Paxson felt some trepidation last year before the draft when he had a deal with the Boston Celtics on the table. He ultimately had cold feet and decided not to pull the trigger.
Now, with the Bulls eliminated, the rumors start up again. The situation is tiresome. Paxson and general manager Gar Forman keep Butler, the fan, and the franchise in limbo while they decide what to do. In the meantime, we see some very mediocre basketball played at the United Center.
Next: Bulls draft Luke Kennard in our latest mock draft
John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls need to just blow things up and rebuild from scratch. They should take advantage of a situation where they can pick up valuable draft picks to transform the team.