The news broke on Friday afternoon that Tyrus Thomas had been suspended for Friday night’s game and fined an unspecified amount for conduct detrimental to the team.  The initial reports from the Tribune and other sports sites did not elaborate on the conduct but one could guess that it had to do with his lack of recent playing time.  Maybe he was pouting in front of the team, refusing to practice or pay attention, or maybe he made his displeasure known to others in the organization, but there’s no way that he would have cursed out a coach. We all know that Adrian Griffin and Ben Wallace eliminated such behavior from the Bulls back in 2008 when they took the tough love approach with Joakim Noah.

The Honorable Lindsey Hunter now presiding. Next up: Vinny Del Negro v. Tyrus Thomas.

Now as more details come out about Thomas’ outburst, it appears he went off on Vinny Del Negro (the head coach, not an assistant like two years ago) and used language that would make even Joakim blush.

Time will only tell if the Right Honorable Lindsey Hunter convenes the Bulls’ Senior Panel on Player Discipline and extends Ty’s sentence to Tuesday’s game against the Pacers. One would think that this staff wouldn’t allow such a spectacle, since the rookies, Taj Gibson and James Johnson, seem to be pretty damn mature and won’t be swayed by Thomas’ immaturity.  Although, you can’t blame VDN for taking action since James Johnson just had to sit the entire game while NBDL call-up Chris Richard earned 20 minutes of playing time in Friday night’s win.

Now that Ben Gordon is gone, what will we argue about around here?  Oh that’s right, we’ve still got Mr. Lightning Rod of Controversy Tyrus Thomas.  Ever since Pax drafted him, he has proven to be nothing more than a waste of god-given talent.  Although its still  bit early to say he’s busted, I think we are all sick of hearing how he has so much potential.  With the exception of some 5-10 game stretches (which he flashes out about once a year), he has been extremely frustrating.  Vinny Del Negro has clearly lost some faith in him so far in this young season, choosing to play him a combined 92 4th quarter seconds.  Apparently Lindsey Hunter, also known as “The Ghost“, had some harsh words for Tyrus:

As Bulls practice ended Monday, veteran Lindsey Hunter stepped up and directed some pointed advice toward Tyrus Thomas in front of all his teammates and coaches.

But what could possibly have been said?  The Tribune does not say exactly how Tyrus was dressed down, but if I were Hunter and had the opportunity to give him some pointed advice, I would probably tell him this (we all know I would shit my pants and not say any of this, but bear with me):

Stop shooting f#$%ing jumpers!  Okay? I see you making about 1/3 of them in practice every goddamn day, what makes you think you’ll do better than that in the game?  You are possibly the most athletic player on the team, pay attention to the game and you could be a star!  You’re in a contract year.  Do you know what that means, you f#$%ing idiot?  You are literally hurting your value every time you step on the court.  And don’t even get me started on getting out in transition.  Do you forget, or just not feel like it?  Because the few times you do it, you get easy buckets.  Any f#$%ing intelligent human being would think “wow this is working well, I should do it more” even if the coaches weren’t telling you to do it every goddamn night (which they do, by the way).  And where is the defense?  You get worked on the block, you get worked on the wing, you don’t rotate, what the f#$% are you thinking out there on the defensive end? Sure you have an exciting block or two per game, but you should be getting 4 or 5 with your vertical.  Stay in position and rotate on the weak side every time you’re supposed to and you’ll get yours!  God you are such a f#$%ing moron.

Whew.  That was perhaps a little over the top and harsh, since he hasn’t been all negative and I do like him sometimes, but its been a few years building up inside me and it was good to get it out.  In fact, everyone should have the therapeutic experience I just had.  This is officially the “Bash Tyrus Thomas” thread, so have at it.

***UPDATE: Tyrus missed today’s practice with “flu-like” symptoms.  With his extension deadline passed and the recent trouble, I’m assuming “flu-like” either means “injured pride” or “sent home by coach”.  More on this story as it develops.