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Zen653 · December 5th, 2007, 01:39 PM

The Chicago Bulls are last in the Eastern Conference with 4 wins and 11 losses. Many experts picked them to reach the NBA Finals. Are the Bulls a lottery team this year, or will they rebound to respectability and reach the playoffs? Why are they off to such a bad start? Is it time for Scott Skiles to get the ax?

My theory is that John Paxson made a series of blunders during the last couple off-seasons. First, he traded Tyson Chandler away to the New Orleans Hornets and did not receive anything of significance in return. Second, he signed an aging, one-dimensional and now ineffective Ben Wallace to a massive contract. Third, he failed to pull the trigger on potential deals for Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and other alpha-dogs that could have turned the Bulls into legitimate title threats. This trio of mistakes meant that Paxson wanted the Bulls to do what no other team had done before them - win with mostly homegrown players who are secondary stars.

The players might be tuning Skiles out at this point, but I think the bigger culprit in Chicago's struggles is John Paxson. If someone should go, it ought be Paxson.

December 5th, 2007, 01:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zen653 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 7,274	What's going on with the Bulls? The Chicago Bulls are last in the Eastern Conference with 4 wins and 11 losses. Many experts picked them to reach the NBA Finals. Are the Bulls a lottery team this year, or will they rebound to respectability and reach the playoffs? Why are they off to such a bad start? Is it time for Scott Skiles to get the ax? My theory is that John Paxson made a series of blunders during the last couple off-seasons. First, he traded Tyson Chandler away to the New Orleans Hornets and did not receive anything of significance in return. Second, he signed an aging, one-dimensional and now ineffective Ben Wallace to a massive contract. Third, he failed to pull the trigger on potential deals for Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and other alpha-dogs that could have turned the Bulls into legitimate title threats. This trio of mistakes meant that Paxson wanted the Bulls to do what no other team had done before them - win with mostly homegrown players who are secondary stars. The players might be tuning Skiles out at this point, but I think the bigger culprit in Chicago's struggles is John Paxson. If someone should go, it ought be Paxson.