Who’s running the show?
Derrick Rose, Dime #32There are some books that, for whatever reason, I’ll start reading over and over but can never finish. Right now, that book for me is Michael Leahy’s When Nothing Else Matters, which chronicles Michael Jordan‘s front-office and eventual on-court comeback with the Wizards. One part I have re-read a few times already is after MJ hires Leonard Hamilton as the Wizards’ head coach, then seriously considers putting a walkie-talkie on the bench so he could tell Hamilton who to put in, who to bench, etc., during the game.
As far as meddling front-office types go, that’s on the extreme side even compared to guys like Al Davis and Jerry Jones.
How much input should a GM/owner-type have with a coach over basic personnel decisions like playing time and day-to-day team matters? Obviously the front office sets the direction of a team via the players it drafts, signs and trades for, and in that respect, it’s up to the coach to adjust for those players while still keeping a dialogue with his bosses so everyone is on the same page. And in some cases — like the Blazers figuring out how much they want to push Greg Oden in his rookie year, or how much they want Nic Batum to play — there needs to be consensus amongst the coach and the higher-ups.
But sometimes, it seems the front office guys step over the line. In Chicago, there’s an issue going on right now with Derrick Rose‘s playing time, which was again mentioned in today’s Chicago Sun-Times after last night’s loss to the Bobcats:
The game also did little to lighten (Vinny) Del Negro‘s spirits after a tough couple of days brought on by his decision to sit Rose for long stretches of the fourth quarter.
Bulls general manager John Paxson raised quite a few eyebrows when he said publicly in two interviews that he had talked with Del Negro and made it clear that Rose had to play in those situations.
Del Negro was reluctant to talk about the matter before the game.
”We talk almost every day, but I don’t like to get into what me and John talk about,” he said. ”I make decisions on the team in what I see fit for players, when they should play and when they don’t. I know my players better than anybody.”
But, as Paxson pointed out, Rose is the future of the team, and his development is the biggest priority this season — even more than the Bulls’ less-than-impressive playoff push.
”Derrick’s gonna be out there in the fourth quarter, and everyone is gonna be held accountable defensively,” Del Negro said. ”If I feel there’s an advantage for us to do certain things in the fourth quarter, those are the decisions I have to make as the head coach, and I’ll make them.”
It’s clear that Del Negro and Paxson don’t quite see eye-to-eye; the coach wants to play the best players for the situation on a game-by-game basis, while Paxson wants Rose out there no matter what, even if he’s having a terrible shooting night and maybe Kirk Hinrich is on a roll.
This isn’t 600-year-old Al Davis beefing with a young coach who feels like his owner is out of touch with the game. Here you have a situation where both guys played in the NBA not too long ago, on successful teams with some of the greatest players the League has ever seen; both Paxson and Del Negro surely think they know what they’re talking about.
No, he’s not texting in “PUT TYRUS IN NOW!!” from the owner’s box, but is Paxson being overly meddlesome here? Should he trust the coach he hired and let Del Negro guide Rose’s development? Or is he right to step in when he sees something playing out the way he doesn’t want it to?
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
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March 4th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Chaos says:
Theres a certain point where the Front office has to let the coach coach the teasm. thats what they hired him for. i know the front office looks to the future but you still wanna win games and if the younger player is getting beasted or has a poor shooting night then you put in the vet and let him win the game, or at least give you a chance to win the game
March 4th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
SteveNash says:
if MJ chirped me to do something… i’ll just chirp him back with “kwame brown”
March 4th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
karizmatic says:
I think in this case Paxson has a right to say something and I think Del Negro should seriously consider it. But I believe the final decision about in game specifics, ie playing time and all that should be a job for the coach. There is an easy solution for this, if Paxson doesn’t like the way Del Negro is coaching he’ll fire him and make sure the next coach understands coming in that Rose playing at the end of the game is non negotiable, but if he has faith in his coach he should go on and let him do his thing. But he has every right to disagree though.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Notorious says:
I don’t have to much of a problem with it, the GM and Coach should be in synch. Sometimes the GM may feel the need to let the Coach know the direction they want the franchise to go. Wanting to develop your star rookie PG early will help the franchise down the road.
Now I have a HUGE problem if the Paxson tells Del Negro to play him no matter what. Then the Bulls lose a lot of games and Del Negro gets fired for losing those games. I think that is some bull*ish. If I were coach, I would ask for some written contract of sorts stating just that. Fine, I will play him no matter what, but I come back next season no matter what.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
jzsmoove says:
GMs should make advises on what needs to be addressed(playing time, etc) but in-game situations should be coach’s responsibility.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
shake&bake says:
Derrick Rose should play 47:30 minutes a game. He is the best player on the team and their best playmaker.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Citizen B says:
Today, the HEAT got some Head.
March 4th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
JT$ says:
“maybe Kirk Hinrich is on a roll”….. That’s fucking hilarious. Obviously you havent watched a Bulls game in the last 3 years. He couldnt beat my toilet 1on1. DROSE IS SICKKKKKKK
March 4th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
doc says:
If Del Negro dont know Rose should be in the game hes a dickhead anyway.
March 4th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
sans says:
I thought Paxson resigned, who cares what he thinks.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
heartbreaker85 says:
bulls cant play D like they used to.
coach skiles, noce and captain kirk were the backbone of that playoff team not so long ago. with deng and gordon providing the highlights but no D.
bulls need to rebuild around rose, get a taller SG who can space the floor perhaps? as it stands, gordon and rose have equal perimeter games (not slashing of course, i’d take rose by a landslide), deng is good but not GREAT, tyrus sucks and brad miller is the free throw line big man the doctor ordered wc would allow rose some driving lanes inside.
March 5th, 2009 at 1:11 am
kapshhh says:
The VDN situation is an exception. He’s a bad coach, plain and simple. Fire VDN and get someone who can actually coach a team. The Miami/Chi game said it all. Bulls possession. One bucket to win the game. He removes Rose and puts in a cold Sefolosha. The Bulls lose. Why remove your best slasher, fastest player(in the league!) who can hit the mid-range consistently, a player who can draw a double team and get a foul for anyone?
March 5th, 2009 at 2:38 am
Rickdaruler says:
I Disagree only in the fact it was made public. I think Pax was succombing to the pressure of the media criticism. As a bulls fan I agree with those that say VDN stinks as a coach. But also I know that it also know when a team declines in performance it falls on the players. As a fan the most frustrating thing is that it’s hard to get a beat on this squad. Are they the team that went to the playoffs three straight years or the team from the past 1 3/4 seasons? Are they the team that came back from 17 down to beat the rockets and also blew out orlando? Or are they the team that gets blown out(in front of the president know less) by the wizards and the Bobcats? I could accept if they just flat out stunk but this inconsistency is killing me
March 5th, 2009 at 11:15 am
jay says:
this is a fine line! i understand both sides! vinny del negs has made some bad some mistakes but no one likes to be micromanaged either. on the other hand, paxson does have a point. if rose is the face of the franchise and pax should know the making of a superstar that everyone in chi-town things rose will be.you do not learn sitting on the bench. how many times is kobe, bron, wade have a bad shooting game but somehow go 8-8 in the fourth and pull a win out..gotta play through tough times and learn from em..i think that is what pax wants for his superstar!
March 5th, 2009 at 11:25 am
chris says:
owner, GM, coach roles will vary from team to team, and owner/GM/coach goals will change over time.
bulls just traded hughes/nocioni/gooden for salmons/thomas/miller (!). This means the bulls are trying to make the playoffs by working salmons and thomas and miller into the rotation as quickly and effectively as possible. crapping on the coach cos he’s got hinrich instead of rose in the game at a key juncture is irrelevant; bulls ain’t making the playoffs unless rose AND hinrich figure out how to effectively get the ball to thomas/miller/salmons, and play defence with them (ok, maybe not tim thomas).VDN is no worse a coach now than in october, and is making the same kind of substitutions; why call him out? bad move by paxson that undercuts his coach and reduces chance that his players will buy into the hard integrative work needed to give them a snowball’s chance of making the playoffs.