Rozner: No Chicago Bulls fix on horizon

Good luck figuring out the Chicago Bulls.

They can be awful for a month and look like a team with no interest in defending the basket, then, when you least expect it, show up as they did on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City.

They can refuse to hit the glass for weeks, then crash the boards and win the effort battle.

They can look disjointed and confused for entire games at a time, then play together and take down the Thunder.

But those issues aren't going away and they so often look broken that you wonder how they can find a long-term fix.

This is not unusual with a rookie head coach, but what's bizarre is why they even have a new head coach.

Tom Thibodeau was a great coach for the Bulls, but he was a nightmare to manage and equally difficult to play for under the best of circumstances.

He wore out his players physically and mentally and was rarely able to work and play well with others.

The head coach was as much to blame as anyone for his departure.

But when there's a child in the room misbehaving, it's up to the adult to behave like one and fix what's wrong. Bulls management failed to make that happen.

There should have been a way to manage Thibodeau, but egos got in the way and the Bulls fired a terrific basketball coach that the players respected, even if many didn't enjoy his dictatorial ways.

So it was at best laughable and at worst highly destructive when Jimmy Butler called out Fred Hoiberg last week, an embarrassment from which the new head coach will have a difficult time recovering.

Hoiberg was already in a tough spot as management's guy, players knowing the real power rests above the coaching staff. It would have been hard to gain the players' respect, but Hoiberg had a chance after Butler humiliated him with comments about Hoiberg needing to coach harder.

The opportunity was right there for him, but rather than suspend Butler or force him to apologize, the coach basically let it go and looked bad in the process.

Had he punished Butler and let the team know he was truly in charge, Hoiberg might have had a chance to gain control of a disintegrating situation.

Now, it's hard to see a simple fix.

Butler and Hoiberg are both signed long term, and it's unlikely either one is going anywhere anytime soon.

The roster doesn't fit the up-tempo, motion offense Hoiberg wants to run, and he's already bowing to the pressure and trying to run more of what Butler wants to see.

But if they can't play consistent defense the way Thibodeau had them playing it, there's no hope.

So what's the answer? There isn't one. At least, not any time soon.

The roster is a bad fit for the coach, but the previous coach couldn't get past LeBron James because his roster was always too injured and exhausted by the time the Bulls had to face him.

They have Butler with a $92 million contract and thinking he's better than he really is. The Bulls have created a monster and they don't have a head coach or a locker room that can handle him.

They have Derrick Rose signed for $20 million for another season after this one, and he hardly resembles the player who earned that monster deal.

Pau Gasol will opt out after this season, and he looks like he's already checked out mentally.

Joakim Noah will be a free agent after the season and now he's hurt again. The heart and voice of the team, Noah is not in a position to help in the locker room when he can't help on the court.

Taj Gibson is reportedly on the trade block as the Bulls search for a wing who can fill it up.

The locker room is a mess with factions forming and fingers pointed in all directions and with a power vacuum Butler has inserted himself into a position on the throne.

The Bulls have no identity on offense or defense, on the court or off, at head coach or in the front office.

The roster is headed for an overhaul and it's unclear how they will rebuild or around whom they will do it.

The bottom line is if management had found a way to make it work with Thibodeau and forced him to reconsider some of his philosophies, they would have had many fewer problems than they do today.

Instead, they have so many questions and so few answers.

A reminder once again to be careful what you wish for.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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