CJackson wrote:GimmeDat wrote:CJackson wrote:Can anybody tell me why I had seen reports of friction between Noah and Rose before and now everyone says they are BFF?
When I saw that awful press conference with DRose talking about his future earnings and Noah rolling his eyeballs and then right afterwards Rose's face was smashed in practice, the rumors I read was it was Noah retaliating and sending a message from the team.
So that was BS then?
Not sure where you got that from. Noah and Rose are the tightest of tight, Jo's always publicly defended him until the cows come home. He rolled his eyes when Rose made the contract comment because he knew the media was going to eat him alive, they love him, but Rose says what he thinks and isn't always very articulate when doing so.
Taj Gibson was the one that injured Derrick with an unfortunate elbow, and he's also one of the old guard of Bulls that are on Rose's side. No intention there.
So the team lacking harmony was a result of what factors do you think?
What I've picked up on is:
Butler felt entitled to be designated the # 1 option and resented Rose
The team not responding well to the departure of Thibs and not relating to Hoiberg
There was a changing of the guard, I think the Bulls lost their identity with at the point of the Deng trade, and shortly after, the loss of Thibs.
The team played with less heart and we lost the defensive mindset.
Butler rose to stardom while Rose was out and then Rose had to try to find his place in the team despite being used to being the #1 guy. They're both slashers and they both like the ball in their hands, and there was no way you could justify giving Rose the usage he needs to get back to his best when he was transitioning from 'trash' to 'good' again. I think they genuinely like each other as guys, but they just struggled to work together on the court.
Jimmy tried to assume a leadership role, and a divide was created between the 'Rose' guys (Noah, Gibson, etc.) and the new guys who come in and see that Butler's clearly the best player here, and with all the results not following, tensions came up.
As for Hoiberg, he's a first time NBA coach trying to coach vets in to a new style of play, didn't work well for anyone on the roster. We ended up resorting to Butler iso-ball instead of his system.
This off-season, it appears, has been about transitioning completely out of the Thibs-era. Rose and Noah are gone, Gibson's future is uncertain, and they'll probably look to move the other vets. Personally, I'm in favor of a full rebuild at this point.
