Chicago Bulls Have Divide Between Veterans And Youngsters
The Chicago Bulls have a divide on the roster that has recently come to light with their struggles on the court.
The Chicago Bulls have had a tumultuous last couple of days. As the saying goes, winning is the best deodorant. The Bulls are running low on deodorant recently and things are beginning to stink in the Windy City.
Chicago currently holds the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Charlotte Hornets with a 23-25 record. But they have run into some tough times that have created some awkward situations both on and off the court.
Off the court, the Bulls front office is trying to decide which direction to take the team in. Do they want to commit to making the postseason with a flawed roster? Or do they want to blow things up and rebuild?
They have reportedly begun shopping some players already. Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic have both been shopped around on the trade market. Not surprisingly, both players have garnered little attention. Both Rondo and Mirotic are struggling on the court. Rondo has also caused tension around the team.
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Rondo was suspended one game in early December for conduct detrimental to the team. By the end of the month, Chicago removed him from the rotation altogether. Rondo was benched for poor play on Dec. 30, and Dec. 31 he began a five-game stretch where he did not play as he was removed from the lineup.
Injuries forced Rondo back into the lineup after that. While his playing time has been inconsistent, Rondo has remained a lightning rod for attention.
Earlier this week, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler were benched for the start of the game against the Miami Heat. Wade and Butler were very critical of their teammates following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, questioning their willingness to do what it takes to win and commitment to the team.
It caused a stir among their teammates, as Jerian Grant and Isaiah Canaan took to Twitter to respond. Rondo responded on Instagram with a lengthy post about the leadership of the Bulls veterans.
Rondo received plenty of text messages from his teammates about the post he said. He made it clear what his intentions were; he was standing up for his younger teammates, which brings up another problem with the Bulls.
On Saturday, power forward Taj Gibson acknowledged that one of the things bothering the Bulls is that the younger players would like to see more from Wade on the practice court.
“That’s one of the things in the meeting: Young guys just want a little bit more from him,” Gibson said, noting that Wade practiced Saturday. “And he brung it today. He pushed the young guys. And that’s a sign that that meeting did a little something.
“It’s all about positive. We’re not trying to have any negative aspects, anything like that. We got everybody against us right now. The only people who are going to help us out of this is ourselves. And we understand that. And [executive VP John Paxson] said it in the meeting yesterday, too.”
Because of their struggles on the court, things will carry a negative connotation involving the Bulls. Gibson admitted that Wade’s lack of presence at practice is something that bothers the younger players and has caused problems.
The Bulls players are trying to take the high road. Both Butler and Wade said they had no problem with what Rondo said.
“I don’t have any problem with Rajon,” Butler said Friday morning after shootaround, which was delayed because of a team meeting. “He spoke his mind. I spoke my mind. Move on.”
“Everyone gets opportunities to express themselves,” Wade added. “That’s how [Rondo] chose to express himself. … I have no hard feelings.”
Wade added that he will not take Rondo’s words as a personal attack, as that wouldn’t help him or the team. He mentioned that his veterans did things differently as well, which is true; if everyone did things the same there would be more successful teams in the NBA.
The Bulls clearly have some issues that they need to work through. It is tough to dissect what the core issue is, but there is a bit of a disconnect between the younger and older players.
If the Bulls could figure things out on the court these problems will be swept to the side. But, if they continue sputtering along and losing, the problems will become more persistent and changes will have to be made.
