RSS
Home
Interview with Rick Telander
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Watching the Bulls (18-26) getting 20-pieced by the Toronto Raptors (17-28) was very disheartening. Mainly because the Raptors were losers of seven straight, but it may have been the worst I had seen the defense non-existence all season. The loss at Portland will stand out like a sore thumb, surely, but I see some bad signals from this team. The same ones I noticed last season.
If you have been keeping tabs, you know that I am a huge reader of the Chicago Sun-Times. I read it during the commute to work and sometimes during work, but that's between us.
I'm mainly a Sports section guy and of course I keep up with the coverage on the Bulls. In most of the losses, I noticed a pattern of repetition in the players stances on the teams defensive struggles. The main thing is miscommunication. After a loss, you'll be sure to see that.
Before Fridays game, Sun-Times columnist, legendary sports journalist and Illinois native Rick Telander wrote how the Bulls problems start from the top on down. Meaning Paxson, Vinny Del Negro and so forth. I decided it would be great if I could catch up with him about the Bulls struggles and he was much happy to oblige.
Here is our conversation in it's entirety and no I didn't get to ask him any questions about Heaven Is a Playground, but there is always next time.
Paxson has been trying to build a team of selfless players, sort of like the Detroit Pistons, with that haven't panned out yet, Derrick Rose is now the focal point, what do you think Paxson is now looking to create?
I think his biggest problem is, he can't exchange the car he's driving right now. People say go and get some big man to put down low. OK. How do you do that in the middle of the season? You can make a trade, but I'm not sure this is a fixable problem right here, right now. I think he's kind of stuck here. He's got to figure out what's wrong with the team defense and why this team doesn't play as a team. I'm not sure why they don't, but it's pretty obvious
With no identity on both the offensive or defensive side. Paxson has taken the blame for the current state of the team, but does this fall under the players or the coach?
Obviously it's fifty-fifty thing. The coach needs to motivate the players, but these players are adults. They're men and they need to hear what the coaches say. If they can't listen to Vinny Del Negro tell them how to work, well there's only one of two things; He doesn't know how to tell them or he doesn't know what to tell them. You can't fire the whole team, so you end of firing the coach and than you just start the cycle again. I think at some point here, Paxson will have to trade some players just to change the chemistry of the team. It may not even make the team better, but it will make a difference and obviously what they have now isn't working.
Back to what you said about the team defense, a lot of the players point the problems on that side of the ball as "miscommunication." Could this be attributed to the lack of vocal leadership? A lot of the guys are lead by example, silent, there's is no talking on that side of the ball. Could it be lack of leadership, or lack of effort?
One problem I think they have to overcome is, they have players from every kind of background. Including South American, Luol Deng whose from London, you got Derrick Rose who is 20-years-old and he's supposed to be the leader? You got Joakim Noah who is very young, a lot of young guys and then you have Kirk Hinrich who like Rose is very quiet. Rose is very quiet. You can do that in high school, he played one year in college, but you have got to somehow take charge and the point guard is generally the man to take charge. It might be too much to ask of him. At least now.
Larry Hughes has been benched and Paxson is looking to trade him. Realistically, what can they get in return in trading Hughes?
They might not get much, but that's the main guy right now that getting rid of him is the point. You may get someone six-nine, six-eight. You don't need another guard and just if he's not that good of a player, it might fit your team right now more than Larry Hughes does. If they got a guy that's a tremendous defensive player and rebounder, that would be great, or just a great defensive player. They don't need anymore shooting guards.
In your opinion, has not making moves for names like Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett hurt this team?
Those have hurt the team tremendously because the Bulls and everyone knew those players were out there and the Bulls don't pull the trigger. So, the players on the team are thinking maybe they're traded, they're upset and by not going after those players, the team is showing that they're not trying to get that superstar who could put the Bulls over the top. Someone who can make them better than what they are right now. It hurts them double and it hurts them thirdly by not getting one of those guys. Gasol and Garnett, Kobe is obviously staying where he's at, but Gasol and Garnett have changed everything. I will say some of those guys don't really work. Shaq went to Phoenix and it didn't work. I'm not sure Jason Kidd has made that big a difference as a lot of us thought he would. It doesn't always work and you can't just take a superstar and throw them in there, but if you don't get them in there, you will never know.
Some of the people I speak with, mostly fans, they have kind of written the season off and are either happy with a high draft pick or a Derrick Rose Rookie of the Year consolation prize.
That's a tough one because writing off the season means you just have to wait until next year and getting a high draft pick means you have to be really bad. The Bulls aren't nearly bad enough to get a high draft pick. They got to get down there and scrape the bottom of the barrel with the Clippers, the Grizzlies who are just wretched. If you don't have one of the top five picks, it depends on how great a pick you can really get. Even than, you may be able to get a really good player at number ten, but with that kind of thinking you might as well close up shop for the year. Getting Rookie of the Year, I don't know what that means, unless there's some kind of promise that will be fulfilled in years to come.
Derrick Rose shooting percentages have steadily gone down each month, he's now playing less minutes with the return of Kirk Hinrich. He may skip the Skills Challenge, is he showing any signs of fatigue?
Well, I would guess so. This is about the end of any season he has ever played. Teams have played 40 plus games so far. He's never played this many games in his life and obviously it wears you down. You're not playing against high school or college kids. The hardest thing about the NBA is, when you're playing a team in college, you always know you're going to get a breather when you're playing against an easy team. A team that you're just going to smoke. I just was watching Northwestern playing Chicago State, just in the middle of the Big Ten season, well that's nice. They're going to play Indiana which has a bunch of walk-ons. Those are breathers. You don't get that in the NBA. If you're an average team like the Bulls, you never get a night off. Not once and that will wear out a young man. That will just wear you out mentally.
Moving forward, past this season and into the summer, Paxson is obviously in need of that low post presence everyone is hopeful for. What needs to be done to improve this roster?
I think it's pretty obvious that they need a big guy that's a force. He needs a superstar that can play multiple positions like center, power forward, small forward. He doesn't have anybody like Garnett, or Tim Duncan and they don't grow on trees. So, unless you pull the trigger on a huge trade like Chris Bosh, if he's available. If you make up your mind, Chris Bosh is who we must have, well you might have to mortgage a hell of a lot, but somehow you better do it right. Boston got Kevin Garnett. Somehow the Lakers got Pau Gasol and didn't lose everything on their team. He should rule out any guard anywhere at anytime right now. Unless you think you can find a six-five shooting guard, somebody like Michael Redd is the answer, but I don't think it is. It's sad, Luol Deng. I don't know if he's gotten any better at all. He looks awkward kind of. He's certainly not a guy you fear coming into a game and that's too bad. He's a real long guy. He's got long arms and long legs and he's not real muscular. He's not real blazing speed. He just needs to be a complimentary player who if he's open in the corner can take that fifteen foot jumper. He's got an all-around game, but he's not that big guy. That star. He's just not and never will be.
I hate too look forward, especially this far, but with everyone talking about the summer of 2010 with all the big names that will be available, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire Dwyane Wade, Tyson Chandler. Paxson also doesn't want to look forward and would love to win right now. Does Chicago have a shot at going after one of those guys?
I would guess you always have a shot to go after them. It might be that the Bulls don't have enough to trade to anybody, but if you identify who it is that you want, if you really think that its Stoudemire or Bosh, I have my doubts about Dwyane Wade, but I'm not a general manager. A general manager gets paid a lot of money to make that decision. Than you have to get that guy. Say it is Dwyane Wade, well, look at your roster and say 'I'm getting rid of every guard we've got except for Derrick Rose and I'll trade.' If you decide its Chris Bosh, than you have to make decisions about a guy like Noah and Tyrus Thomas. They are probably the biggest question marks. You don't want to get rid of these guys. You just have to decide which of those guys you want and you just have to make it happen.
Agitated fans have been calling for Paxsons job. How long do you see Jerry Reinsdorf sticking with Paxson if the team can't progress?
I think he's under a lot of pressure. Reinsdorf is very loyal and doesn't mettle very much. There has only been two general managers from 1978 until 2003. that was just Rod Thorn and Jerry Krause and Paxson has now been there six years. Actually under Reinsdorf, he's the second general manager since he took over the team in 1985. That's pretty amazing. Even Reinsdorf must have his limits and Paxsons' record isn't very good right now. It's going down, it's going back wards. I've have to figure since he picked the coach, and he assembled this team, that is doesn't reflect well on him at all. Reinsdorf doesn't fire guys, but if Paxson was fired after this season, it wouldn't surprise me. And, I wouldn't say that he didn't deserve it.
The Bulls embark on a seven game road trip starting tomorrow as they get set to play the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-27)
You can usually find his thoughts on the back page of the Sports section in the Chicago SunTimes or you can check out www.ricktelander.com
Much apprecitaion Mr. Telander.
Related Articles:
Comments
