What the Jim Boylen extension really means for the Chicago Bulls

Although Jim Boylen receiving a contract extension seems odd to most Chicago Bulls fans, there’s a bigger problem that exists here.

Late on Saturday night, when it was announced that the Chicago Bulls had signed Jim Boylen to a one-year contract extension, immediately, the entire Bulls fanbase was sent into shock. After the firing of Fred Hoiberg, most thought that Boylen was merely going to be the Bulls head coach until the end of the 2018-2019 NBA Season.

Thus, the Bulls’ front office consisting of Gar Forman and John Paxson would soon use the offseason to bring in a new head coach. Had Forman and Paxson done this, the two would’ve hired their sixth head coach since assuming front office positions for the Bulls in the early 2000s.

After the Bulls fired Fred Hoiberg back in early December, many thought that it wasn’t Hoiberg who failed the team, rather it was the mismanagement of a front office that’s long been under fire by the fanbase and the national media.

For the last few seasons now, Bulls fans have called out and cried for Forman and Paxson to be fired. The two have done more harm than good for the Bulls. They shipped out Luol Deng, a fan favorite, back in 2014. Nearly two summers later, they would ship out hometown star Derrick Rose. And the following summer? Say goodbye to Jimmy Butler during the 2017 NBA Draft.

Essentially, Forman and Paxson were the main reasons Hoiberg’s Bulls never showed any progression. They never gave Hoiberg the type of players that he needed to run his high octane offense.

With just over a month on the job, Forman and Paxson giving Boylen a contract extension means only one thing: GarPax are here stay.

With every move that GarPax make, it seems as if the two are bound to get fired by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf any moment. WIth the Bulls heading towards another lottery pick, fans are under the assumption that maybe, just maybe this will finally be the year where the two are relieved of their duties.

It’s really odd, how the Bulls operate. Jerry Reinsdorf rarely makes any media appearances which means that he’s never actually answered a question about why his team has been stuck in the NBA’s mediocrity chamber for most of the 2010s.

It seems as if he’s given approval to Gar Forman and John Paxson to go ahead and make any decisions whatsoever when it comes to the Bulls.

After opting to give Jim Boylen a one-year contract extension, it’s clear that the two are here to say until at least the conclusion of the 2019-2020 NBA Season. Unfortunately, it’s not the news that anyone wants to hear, but at the end of the day, Paxson and Forman have the final say, as much as people hate to see it.