If you’re a Bulls fan, you might be feeling a bit nauseous this season.  It has been a roller coaster of hot and cold streaks that has us pining for some sense of consistency.  I know we are in a “playoff race” right now (I use the term loosely considering we can’t beat the lowly Nets and even if by some miracle we make it, the Cavs will eat us alive), but something happened after last night’s catastrophe of a game that should make us step back and take a look at some bigger picture issues regarding the Bulls front office and how they deal with personnel.

Just to provide a little background, the Bulls lost a double overtime game to the Nets last night.  Noah, who is on a strict minutes count due to his plantar fasciitis, was only allowed to play 35 minutes.  This game was the second of a back-to-back in which Noah played 33 minutes the night before.  Also, back on February 26, Vinny took a lot of heat for playing Noah 27 minutes when he was told to keep him to 20 minutes or below.  Last night, in double overtime, Noah was pulled after playing a little over 35 minutes.  The Bulls got smoked in the Noah-less OT period and went on to lose the game.  And the controversy begins:

“He has a 35-minute limit, so I had to get him out of the game,” Del Negro said.

But general manager Gar Forman said that Del Negro could have played Noah more.

According to Forman, who was at the game, player development assistant Lindsey Hunter, who sits behind the bench, approached him after regulation and asked if Noah could play additional minutes.

Forman said he called executive vice president John Paxson (who was home) and was given clearance for Noah to exceed the limit. Forman also said that message was relayed to Del Negro on the bench.

So what’s the big deal?  It was a simple miscommunication, right?  Maybe.  But why would Gar go to the media with this before even talking to Vinny about it?  Here’s why.  This is part of a pattern of management strategy the Bulls (and many teams, frankly) employ when they are trying to cut ties with a member of the organization. 

Before I give the list, I want to make clear that I’m not saying any of these guys were in the right or that the Bulls should have made stronger efforts to keep them.  I’m just saying that management has used a very shady and backstabbing strategy in recent years to justify sending people out of town.  Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and to a lesser extent, Tyson Chandler.  What do those names have in common?  Most likely it’s that Bulls fans were relieved to finally get rid of them after drama/injuries that surrounded them.  But ask yourself: Who created that drama?

In Ben Gordon’s case, it was well-known that both him and Deng would be negotiating new contracts at the same time and that the Bulls would unlikely be able to afford both of them.  This became especially true after all that money was thrown at Ben Wallace and the Bulls cap flexibility was strained.  Reinsdorf always preferred Deng and Bulls management did everything in its power to hang Ben out to dry and make him look bad.  He was riding the bench for years while far inferior players were starting (see: Chris Duhon).  And then when he essentially told the Bulls he would not accept a certain amount, they offered it to him anyways.  He of course rejected it, but even after he tried to reconsider, the Bulls didn’t give him a chance (presumably because the offer was a ploy in the first place to make him look bad).

Tyrus Thomas was a similar situation.  Sure he was a head case in his own right, but the Bulls knew the kind of person he was when they drafted him.  Instead of giving him guidance and support, they hung him out to dry at every turn.  The Bulls management continually splashed quotes all over the local media about how immature and unfocused he was.  Why not keep that internal?

Here’s why:  The Bulls were building a case to justify moving these people out of town.  If you are a Bulls fan, you are sitting there thinking “I didn’t need to be convinced, those guys sucked”.  Maybe you are right, but that didn’t stop the Bulls from making sure to vilify these people so that they could avoid any sort of fan backlash.

Which brings us back to Vinny.  Sure he should be fired, and I’m the first one who will tell you that.  But there are some around the league and even in Chicago who feel he has not only improved significantly this year, but that he has done a good job with an injured and depleted Bulls team whose front office is essentially trying to tank this season for summer of 2010 free agent frenzy.  Doesn’t it seem strange that Gar would make those comments to the media?  Why not keep something like that internal?  Because Vinny is on his way out, and apparently the Bulls front office believes they must build their case once again by disparaging its own personnel while they are still employed with the team.

I wouldn’t want to work for an organization like that.  Would you?

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Tags: Ben Gordon, Bulls Management, Gar Forman, Joakim Noah, Minutes, Shady Management Practices