North: Bulls have squandered prestige Jordan built

I read the other day that Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is working on getting his players to be more accountable for their actions.

Working on it? He has to be kidding.

It's those kinds of comments that make me think he should be replaced sooner than later.

I'm not talking out of school here because I have written in previous columns and told Jerry Reinsdorf my feelings on replacing Tom Thibodeau with Hoiberg, general manager Gar Forman's guy.

But wait, I'm not done! I read with interest that the younger players asked Dwyane Wade to bring it in practice and participate hard.

Remember, Wade signed a two-year deal with the Bulls for close to $47 million, and yet he has to be asked to play hard!

When this news surfaced, I tweeted @North2North that Michael Jordan never had to be asked to practice hard. That was an automatic for him as the leader of the team, and that's the way it should be.

I guess D-Wade believes it's only necessary to give his best half the time.

I was at a local gym the other day and there was a pickup game going on among some dads, who had also brought their kids.

One young man was dribbling the ball on the sidelines, and I said maybe someday he might do that with the Bulls. I was surprised when he said, “No way, who would want to play for them?”

Of course, I asked what team would he like to play for, and he responded, “The Lakers!”

Wow! MJ made the Bulls the premier franchise, but Reinsdorf, Forman and John Paxson have just about burned that pre-eminent status to the ground.

And where is Michael Reinsdorf, the team president? How does he fit in this mess?

I guess he just waits for his check to come in the mail, but he shouldn't be allowed to escape scrutiny either. Is it possible he will be like Rocky Wirtz and catapult the Bulls to success once he's really in charge like Wirtz did with the Blackhawks?

I doubt it, but who really knows?

And I can't help but comment on Jimmy Butler: he is not a superstar! He's a good player that can put up 40 in one game and then go one for 13 like he did in a loss to the Miami Heat on Friday.

Jerry Reinsdorf might just have two of the worst sports franchises in history going right now with the Bulls and the White Sox.

While things seem somewhat upbeat for the White Sox coming off Sox Fest this past weekend, the Bulls are under water and the Sox are the kids standing in the puddle.

To put in bluntly, both organizations are all wet!

Good luck, kids!

• Follow Mike on Twitter @north2north. Check out his podcast Monday-Friday at podcastarena.com, iTunes or audioboom. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald. For more, visit northtonorth.com.