Chicago Bulls od Wigilii mają nowego trenera. Jest nim Jim Boylan. Jednak dla nikogo nie powinno być tajemnicą, że Boylan pozostanie na stanowisku do końca sezonu, a w przerwie letniej "byki" będą usilnie się starać, by pozyskać jakiegoś trenera z prawdziwego zdarzenia. Boylan był asystentem trenera Scotta Skilesa, od 2004 roku. Przed trafieniem na ławkę trenerską w NBA, Boylan trenował w latach 1982 – 1986, szwajcarską drużynę Vevey (a raczej grał i trenował, bo był grającym trenerem), z która zdobył mistrzostwo kraju. Od 1986 roku pracował w USA, jako asystent trenera, a nawet jako skaut. Teraz stara się przekazać swoją wiedzę "byczkom", jednak nie wszystkim się to podoba. A tym malkontentem jest Scottie Pippen. W wywiadzie dla Chicago Tribune, Scottie powiedział:
"What’s my disadvantage? No NBA coaching experience? Scott Skiles’
record with the Bulls wasn’t that great. It doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to do what you’ve done your whole life. I’ve played
basketball, run teams and won. … What’s the key to this good ol’ boy
system they have? You’ve got to go to Europe and coach two years? Sit
next to someone for a year? … Guys like Skiles have never been there.
Can he give a motivation speech like someone who’s been in those games?
I’ve played for championships.
Trochę to brzmi buńczucznie i agresywnie, ale jest w tym trochę racji. Scottie zna się na rzeczy jako zawodnik, te wszystkie tytuły, osiągnięcia, to wszystko jego zasługa (złośliwi powiedzą, że bez MJ’a, Pippen nie dałby rady tego wszystkiego osiągnąć). Ale patrząc na chociażby Isiah Thomasa, można wysnuć teorię, że kariera zawodnika i trenera to dwie różne sprawy. Zawodnikiem można być wybitnym, ale żeby jednocześnie być gwiazdą koszykówki i "trenerki" to raczej mało prawdopodobne. To jeszcze nie koniec, bo Pippen w tym samym wywiadzie, "ocenił" paru zawodników ze składu Bulls.
"It’s his shot selection. You take those bad shots, you’re sitting
down. He’s out there shooting for a contract. Offensively, they can be
as good as last year. But their shot selection is horrible. [Luol] Deng
also is playing for a contract. There’s no flow to their game. Gordon
has to make plays. If there’s two, three guys running at him, he still
wants to make a shot. Those shots are out of position, your teammates
don’t expect them, you are not in position to rebound and get back.
Taking bad shots is a sign of a lack of respect for your teammates. You
think I’m going to run back if I know B.J. Armstrong is jacking it up?
My shot is just as good as his. That’s what players think."
"He just needs direction. He’s guarding Kobe, Tracy McGrady, the best
players. He’s not that talented. Let him run the offense. But you can’t
have midgets running your backcourt. Little guards always put you in a
vulnerable position. You’ve got to send help. It puts too much pressure
on the defense. I’d tell Kirk to try to control the game, don’t force
shots, but late in the game be ready. Early, I’d have him off the ball."
"He can be a defender and a shot blocker. You don’t want him taking
those ill-advised shots, jumping and trying to pass the ball. He
dribbles better with his left hand than his right. He must have broken
his arm when he was a kid. He shouldn’t be dribbling. He should be a
fetcher. Like Ben Wallace, [Joakim] Noah, go get the ball. They don’t
have enough athletes. I could see why they went for someone like
Thomas. He’s athletic, but he doesn’t know how to play the game. He’s
great from the neck down. What can he do? Have him do that."
"I’d say I need more effort from him. I need positive numbers in
rebounds, deflections, charges. He’s not playing with four All-Stars
anymore. He plays defense every night or Tyrus Thomas is out there
playing. You don’t pay a rebounder $15 million. OK, they did. He
doesn’t know the game like Dennis Rodman did. Dennis knew how and why
he got rebounds. So you keep on him or he doesn’t play."
"He’s solid. But he doesn’t have enough speed. He plays more upright,
so it’s tough for him to go out and guard smaller guys. I think Deng is
on the verge of being a star. But all that money talk added pressure.
Now he’s trying to show 28, 29 teams what he’s about instead of going
out and playing. When the reality is maybe one or two would be looking
at him."
"I’d sit down with him and say, 'Show me you’re a winner and play like
it. Not with those crazy antics. Make your hustle work in a positive
way.’ He’s turning into Rasheed Wallace with the kinds of things he
does on floor. It makes the officials turn on the whole team. And you
stop getting calls. Don’t shoot those ill-advised shots. Don’t look to
get bailed out by the refs."
Scottie widać bardzo się przejmuje losem Chicago Bulls, może John Paxon dostrzeże starania i zatrudni go? Póki co, trenerem jest Jim Boylan, który komentuje sprawę w taki sposób:
"Right now, I’m standing here, I’ve always been someone who wasn’t afraid of a challenge.And the challenge for me right now is to do a great job and make the Chicago Bulls hire me long-term. That’s my goal.”
