Nick Friedell and other media negativity thread

[MisterRoy]

(Forgive me if this conversation is already ongoing elsewhere...)

After listening to his comments on the Wade presser yesterday, I think it's time for him to move on from covering the Bulls. Very seldom does anything positive ever comes from his mouth. I know I am tired of the local media not supporting the Bulls recently (and I can't be the only one), but I cannot remember the last time I heard anything supportive come from him regarding the Bulls. I know it's his job to give his opinion, but when things are this bad, maybe it's time for him to cover another team.

Thoughts?

[rtblues]

Agreed.. He's always snickering when he's speaking about them too.
Annoying. He seems to not like this new lineup either. You know,
the lineup that him and nobody else has seen.
Asshat

[Proven_Winner]

Friedell is never all that positive about the Bulls but he has cut down a bit on the negatives. He usually tells the truth in his reports. Other times he just tweets about how we have problems and how stuff won't work out for us. I think he should try to get to Miami or New York.

[ImSlower]

I don't want another Sam Smith - whom I cannot even follow with his absurd puff pieces and high-school level writing. I don't think Friedell and his bizarrely negative attitude are very useful, either. Then again, this forum has me spoiled. Nearly every day, I read a post or conversation here that is as informational or interesting as most professional sports blogs. We're a lucky online fanbase.

[BeatDaCavs420]

He was awful when Lebron was on the heat and we faced them.

But do you happen to have what he said about the presser?

[musiqsoulchild]

He's probably lost all his sources. And therefore, his marbles.

[GetBuLLish]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

[weneeda2guard]

Him with several other beat writers clearly have a vendetta against the bulls front office and this leads to the plethora of bad press the bulls receive from these writers. And honestly when dealing with C-list writers Being negative is how they get hits and any notoriety.

Not that the bulls didn't deserve a ton of criticism, as I for one was torching them post after post especially post rose injuries, on imo their poor building of the roster and seemingly having no direction as it pertains to future plans, and definitely the scrimmages through the nba bargain bins grabbing guys half way out the league and never seeming to land quality free agents and never pulling off a quality trade..

But even I have to tip my hat to their moves this off season. And maybe the criticisms is what pressured them to finally have a off season that can make the back pages. We have a team that can at least be interesting this season, who knows we could be in the ecf, but most importantly we have the cap flexibility to make legit plays for elite players next off season with great players to sit at the negotiations table to recruit in jimmy and dwade. We could be a super team next off season. Even if this season is a bust who cares we still a prime landing spot for blake griffin, westbrook, especially cp3 who wade can really recruit. Really no down side here unless you want to be overly critical over the fact they couldn't successfully build a true contender this off season and can't view this year as I do which is a stop gap. I never believed in tanking didn't feel like the 5-8 years of being horrible and hoping to land 1 superstar, this way we took, we can land 2 superstars next off season and free agency next season was even hinted towards at wades press conference showing that was the plan. If we can land cp3 and blake next off season, or westbrook, or in 2018 land boogie, how can anyone hate on garpax putting us in that position?

[RememberLu]

Friedell is always right, he's negative because the Bulls never give any reason for positivity.

But you're wrong, he was positive about the Bulls beginning of last year. And lo and behold, the Bulls underachieved and disappointed. Making anyone who was positive on them look like fools. Lesson learned.

[Mbrahv0528]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

Uhhh so is his job to be the complete opposite then? I don't understand your post.

Sent from my LGLS991 using RealGM mobile app

[the ultimates]

For me it's not about him being to positive, negative or being a team cheerleader. I haven't read or heard an original thought from him that isn't espn group think. I want objective rational analysis and coverage not cliff notes from what everyother talking head has already said.

[RememberLu]

For me it's not about him being to positive, negative or being a team cheerleader. I haven't read or heard an original thought from him that isn't espn group think. I want objective rational analysis and coverage not cliff notes from what everyother talking head has already said.

What analysis are you expecting? The Bulls' ceiling is Lebron and it has been for 10 years. Every year its the same story. How many times can a man get burned trying to be positive before he learns his lesson and stops. There was reason for positivity in 2012 and again in 2014, Nick and many other sports writers both local and national were positive on the Bulls. They placed them as real contenders going to the ECF to face Lebron.

But that's over. Any objective analysis on this team is going to underwhelm Bulls homers.

[DuckIII]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

His job isn't to be the opposite either.

Really, it doesn't matter that much to me because, as a poster noted above, realgm poster content is vastly superior to Bulls' reporting anyway.

But Friedell is pretty much the guy who is negative to draw attention to himself because he doesn't have another saleable hook. Technically, he's not a good or entertaining writer, and he never really reports anything because he hasn't cultivated legitimate sources. So he sells his negativity to the Bulls-loathing-Bulls-fans who love it, and he sells it to the fanboys who like getting mad.

I'm not a big fan of insincere tactics like that. He's not worth following, either to wallow in the negativity or to be upset by it.

[Ralphb07]

What I hate is when beat reporters try to become NBA experts which is a big difference. I don't look for KC, Nick, etc to give their expert advice as I feel many of us are smarter than them. I look for them to give us daily info regarding the team that fans won't see. Like DUCK said Nick is not good when it comes to actually reporting so he just becomes negative.

[Red Larrivee]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

Or a good reporter or writer.

[the ultimates]

For me it's not about him being to positive, negative or being a team cheerleader. I haven't read or heard an original thought from him that isn't espn group think. I want objective rational analysis and coverage not cliff notes from what everyother talking head has already said.

What analysis are you expecting? The Bulls' ceiling is Lebron and it has been for 10 years. Every year its the same story. How many times can a man get burned trying to be positive before he learns his lesson and stops. There was reason for positivity in 2012 and again in 2014, Nick and many other sports writers both local and national were positive on the Bulls. They placed them as real contenders going to the ECF to face Lebron.

But that's over. Any objective analysis on this team is going to underwhelm Bulls homers.

What? Nobody has got on his case for not picking the Bulls against LeBron lead teams. Here is objective analysis for you.

The Bulls are probably a 45-50 win team that other than Cleveland can beat or lose to any other projected playoffs team in a seven game series like. Rondo despite trouble with coaches is still a top passer and for the last two years has been better than Rose. With the signing of the older but more than capable Wade it moves Butler to small forward. That gives the Bulls quality production at two positions they were below average at last season in pg and sf. I could go on but I don't feel like doing Friedells job for him and typing an article on my tablet.

[transplant]

The Chicago media has gotten pretty comfortable in treating the Bulls as a joke. From what I can tell, they seem to be enjoying themselves. KC Johnson is an exception.

**** 'em.

While I don't like the direction the Bulls have taken this offseason, they're clearly trying to put a quality product on the floor without hamstringing themselves long-term. They don't deserve all the derision they're getting from these ass-hats.

[GetBuLLish]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

His job isn't to be the opposite either.

Never said it was, and he certainly is not. He has written countless articles praising the Bulls and various Bulls players over the years. In fact, just minutes ago he posted a glowing article about Butler: http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/17176900/nba-jimmy-butler-enjoying-chicago-spotlight-team-usa.

The problem (if you want to call it that) is that he doesn't share the same blind homerism that has become pervasive on this board and people don't like that. But his job is not to be a cheerleader or a homer. That's for guys like Sam Smith and KC. Friedell's job is to follow the team and give his honest opinions and analysis. As to his analysis, he has been pretty darn spot on over the past number of years when it comes to the major issues facing the Bulls. From the team's constant failings, to the rift between GarPax and Thibs, to Rose sitting out a year, etc, etc, he has been spot on (in contrast to the prevailing opinions of this board, which have been usually wrong).

And if Friedell is negative about the current team's prospects, then he shares the same view as the majority of analysts, who think that the Bulls won't be any good this year and that the FO's decisions this offseason made little to no sense.

Frankly, this board's constant need to attack writers who have any negative views of the Bulls is not a good look. Every time a writer says something negative about the Bulls, posters reflexively call the writer a hack or accuse the writer of having some personal agenda against the Bulls. Even one of the sports most respected writers, Woj, has been consistently accused of having it in for the Bulls organization. Of course, none of these accusations ever have any evidence or foundation, but they persist nonetheles.

Really, it doesn't matter that much to me because, as a poster noted above, realgm poster content is vastly superior to Bulls' reporting anyway.

I would disagree.

So he sells his negativity to the Bulls-loathing-Bulls-fans who love it, and he sells it to the fanboys who like getting mad.

This is not a thing that actually exists.

[fleet]

The Chicago media has gotten pretty comfortable in treating the Bulls as a joke. From what I can tell, they seem to be enjoying themselves. KC Johnson is an exception.

**** 'em.

While I don't like the direction the Bulls have taken this offseason, they're clearly trying to put a quality product on the floor without hamstringing themselves long-term. They don't deserve all the derision they're getting from these ass-hats.

The tide has been going out on on the Bulls for a while, and the reporting has become more and more harsh. And guys like Friedell and Cowley and others have been more or less vindicated by what's happened. Whether or not the press becomes more friendly to the Bulls more depends on what the Bulls do in the next year or two, than it does on the kindness and generosity of the cold dead heart of the press

[the ultimates]

His job is not to be a team cheerleader.

His job isn't to be the opposite either.

Never said it was, and he certainly is not. He has written countless articles praising the Bulls and various Bulls players over the years. In fact, just minutes ago he posted a glowing article about Butler: http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/17176900/nba-jimmy-butler-enjoying-chicago-spotlight-team-usa.

The problem (if you want to call it that) is that he doesn't share the same blind homerism that has become pervasive on this board and people don't like that. But his job is not to be a cheerleader or a homer. That's for guys like Sam Smith and KC. Friedell's job is to follow the team and give his honest opinions and analysis. As to his analysis, he has been pretty darn spot on over the past number of years when it comes to the major issues facing the Bulls. From the team's constant failings, to the rift between GarPax and Thibs, to Rose sitting out a year, etc, etc, he has been spot on (in contrast to the prevailing opinions of this board, which have been usually wrong).

And if Friedell is negative about the current team's prospects, then he shares the same view as the majority of analysts, who think that the Bulls won't be any good this year and that the FO's decisions this offseason made little to no sense.

Frankly, this board's constant need to attack writers who have any negative views of the Bulls is not a good look. Every time a writer says something negative about the Bulls, posters reflexively call the writer a hack or accuse the writer of having some personal agenda against the Bulls. Even one of the sports most respected writers, Woj, has been consistently accused of having it in for the Bulls organization. Of course, none of these accusations ever have any evidence or foundation, but they persist nonetheles.

Really, it doesn't matter that much to me because, as a poster noted above, realgm poster content is vastly superior to Bulls' reporting anyway.

I would disagree.

So he sells his negativity to the Bulls-loathing-Bulls-fans who love it, and he sells it to the fanboys who like getting mad.

This is not a thing that actually exists.

The thibs rift was first broken by the national media not him. Rose possibly sitting out the year was talked about by Rick Bucher way before Friedell. Woj is great for breaking news. His articles whether on the Bulls or other teams are way over the top and take a lot of liberties with information from sources that he sensationalizes.