Rozner: Meet the new Bulls, same as the old Bulls

How fitting it was that the NBA Draft Combine was in Chicago, giving Chicago Bulls executives an opportunity to get up close and personal with younger and more athletic players.

Um, yeah. That narrative will be with us for a while, even if only as a punchline.

It was less than a year ago that Bulls GM Gar Forman uttered those now infamous words in the wake of the Derrick Rose trade, and later standing by that statement even though the Bulls had gotten older and less athletic after bringing in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.

And every time Forman tried to defend his words and actions, the hole got a bit deeper for Bulls executives.

So here we are a year later, the Bulls eyeing help in the draft and hoping to move up from No. 16, where another project would merely add the usual uncertainty to a roster that hardly makes sense.

The Bulls are completely stuck, with their best players getting older by the day, and their young players adding little to the cause - with occasional exceptions.

Nothing speaks to the nonsensical nature of the roster more than the way in which they were blown out in Game 6 at home against Boston, when they started the fourth quarter down 29 and sent out Bobby Portis, Michael Carter-Williams, Joffrey Lauvergne, Paul Zipser and Denzel Valentine.

In that game, Wade - who has a $24 million player option for next season - contributed 2 points in 19 minutes.

The series went awry when Rondo was injured and couldn't play after the Bulls won the first two in Boston, the same Rondo who couldn't play earlier in the season because the Bulls didn't want him on the court.

So now they intend to pick up Rondo's option for next season, and Wade would be crazy to walk away from a couple dozen million when there probably aren't many suitors.

So where does that leave a 41-41 team that is absolutely locked into the middle of the NBA standings?

Bulls boss John Paxson offered some refreshing honesty during the Bulls' postseason news conference.

"We've got a lot of guys under contract. The landscape is such that to make significant change right now will be difficult," Paxson said. "To think that we could just up and massively move pieces and parts is not realistic."

Well, there you have it. Next season is going to look very much like last season, and Bulls brass isn't pretending otherwise.

"We made the statement last year that we were investing in the young guys," Paxson said. "I know it sounds like a broken record, but it's the truth."

If Paxson wants it to sound or appear different in some way, maybe he should stop asking head coach Fred Hoiberg to win games and play the kids at the same time.

It's patently unfair.

"We brought in five young kids on our roster and two that we're going to add (in the draft)," Paxson said. "It's not about what leads us to believe we don't need change.

"We know change is a part of this, but we don't want to change without knowing exactly what we have. I don't feel that we've given our young kids a chance.

"We know we're on the line for that. We scout them. We drafted them. We traded for them. That's part of the job, but we have to give them an opportunity."

High marks to Paxson for speaking more and taking responsibility, something Forman rarely does. In fact, the more Forman speaks, the more aggravating it becomes for Bulls fans.

But there is no reconciling what's expected of Hoiberg. Veterans want to win. Management wants to win. So how is he supposed to play the kids?

"Our expectation is our young guys will have a more consistent, more defined role," Paxson said. "There was too much inconsistency in the rotations and trying to plug holes from game to game.

"Our expectation was to be competitive but also create an environment where our young players grew and developed in a competitive environment.

"Some of that happened, but we saw what you saw, and what a lot of our fans saw. There was inconsistency in our play and really a team that was searching for an identity much of the season."

So the talk now is about salary-cap room after next season, a story you've been told far too many times in the last 20 years.

As for next season, well, it sounds precisely like the one that just ended.

Enjoy.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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