Chicago Tribune Article on Fred & The Bulls

fsanford

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So the legends are true, you DO have to play defense in the NBA to be successful.

:spinny:
 

rholtgraves

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maybe so. But then they shouldn't be surprised that the fans are ****** and the media is attacking.

I I do think most can agree that the Bulls have more talent even with injuries than the Knicks and Orlando. Most everyone was back for those 3 games.

Eh. with butler and Gasol banged up they aren't very talented at all.
 

carvers4math

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Fred is a smart man but the move to the Bulls never made any sense to me. Minnesota is already rebuilding and I always felt Flip was just holding the spot for him. Expectations are much lower. Also close to home. I am guessing he didn't want to move his kids to the west coast for the Warriors job.

The booing and rampant hate makes me sad, especially for his kids. Kids can be cruel and no one is happy with where the Bulls are at this point. I have always disliked the Bulls but I feel bad for the Hoibergs, even though they are sitting on a large wad of money.
 

jsb

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Eh. with butler and Gasol banged up they aren't very talented at all.

thanks for setting me straight! They've obviously way over achieved and the fans should be thankful they are only 2 games out of the playoffs with 10 to play.
 

ribsnwhiskey

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Whether that article represents the actual situation in Chicago or not, one thing is for sure. The old dude who wrote it should probably be put to pasture soon. Terribly written/edited. Par for the course for Chicago media.
 
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NorthCyd

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I've said from the beginning of all of this "Fred to Chicago" talk that I wasn't sure if he realized what he was getting into. This town is one of the most jekyl and hyde cities when it comes to sports there is. They expect championships and with an aging, injury prone team, you could see these types of things coming from a mile away. I wonder if Fred was so blinded by his dream that he couldn't see what most every one else did. Hell, there were few fans and media who liked the hire from the start, let alone after the mess it's become.

Fred had to know what he was getting in to with the media. He played in Chicago for Floyd post Jordan era. That had to be a bloodbath in the media. The question is was Fred so confident in his abilities that he thought he could win with this roster, even though pretty much everyone recognized it was talented but very flawed? Did he know this was going to be a **** show, and if so was he given assurances from Garpax he would have time for a rebuild?
 

VeloClone

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i would bet my life savings that if Fred wanted the Timberwolves job last year he could have had it. I think that flip probably wouldn't have minded going back to front office even if he hadn't gotten sick

Before Flip hired himself as Head Coach, the T-Wolves wanted Fred badly. My gut says you are right as Flip really didn't want to take over the Head Coach job, but it is hard to tell what actually would have happened when you got egos involved and in place in those cherished positions. I'm sure the T-Wolves lit a few candles and shed a few tears when Fred did actually take the Chicago job.
 

fsanford

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Fred did hire the defensive specialist from the Spurs. This Bulls team just isn't good.

They were pretty good on D last year. Face it, Fred thinks defense is an added inconvenience, and if the head coach is not willing to put some emphasis on it himself, don't care if you bring 10 specialist, its not going to happen.

Fred is one of the greatest offensive minds around, but when it comes do defense, his mind is the equivalent to the Peter Boyle's character in Young Frankenstein.

Maybe the Bulls thought Thibs, tough minded approach would stick on the defensive side and Fred would re-program them on the offensive side of things.

Fred and Bulls are lucky the do not play in the west.
 
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VeloClone

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Fred is one of the greatest offensive minds around, but when it comes do defense, his mind is the equivalent to the Peter Boyle's character in Young Frankenstein.
image015.jpg
 

AdamJGray

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They were pretty good on D last year. Face it, Fred thinks defense is an added inconvenience, and if the head coach is not willing to put some emphasis on it himself, don't care if you bring 10 specialist, its not going to happen.

Fred is one of the greatest offensive minds around, but when it comes do defense, his mind is the equivalent to the Peter Boyle's character in Young Frankenstein.

Maybe the Bulls thought Thibs, tough minded approach would stick on the defensive side and Fred would re-program them on the offensive side of things.

Fred and Bulls are lucky the do not play in the west.

The Bulls were 11th in defensive efficiency last year. They are 13th this year.

Defense hasn't been Fred's problem most of the year. It's been offense.

Also, you could say the same thing about every team in the East. They are all lucky to not be in the West.
 

niangstermvp

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After reading the article I would love to meet that "reporter" in a dark alley maybe deliver a message for Fred.
 

k123

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RedlineSi

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The way I see it, Flip told Fred he wanted to keep coaching. Speculation here was that Flip wasn't serious about giving up the coaching reins. He wanted to coach the team he built.
 

fsanford

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The Bulls were 11th in defensive efficiency last year. They are 13th this year.

Defense hasn't been Fred's problem most of the year. It's been offense.

Also, you could say the same thing about every team in the East. They are all lucky to not be in the West.

They are given up 5 more points per game this year. They rank 23rd in points allowed.
Probably not entirely a result of Fred's coaching, last year 5 teams in the East averaged over 100 points a game, this year its 10. So maybe the offenses are getting better, or then again maybe some of the defenses have regressed.

Anyway hopefully he gets it turned around. I don't think he will ever come back to the college game and coach. If this Bulls thing does not work out, guessing he will head back to a front office job.


.
 

ribsnwhiskey

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Maybe Fred just preferred going to Chicago vs. Minnesota. And he's got 25 million reasons too.
 

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