Big crowds equals lack of urgency
Urgency isn't an emotion Jerry Reinsdorf needs to feel right now, which explains why Bulls management has been slow to move.
One day's rumor has the Bulls exploring a trade of Ben Wallace. The next day's has them considering Larry Brown as their next head coach.
Every day nothing happens.
No trade, no permanent coach, no hard news off the court … no changes, no progress, no nothing on the court.
So tonight the Bulls return to the United Center after a six-game road trip looking much as they did when they left, with injury adding to insult.
The Bulls have reached the point where playing hard is considered a victory and not being embarrassed a moral victory.
My goodness, this is the franchise of the 1990s, of six NBA titles, of Michael Jordan's brilliance.
The season was a failure if those Bulls didn't win a championship.
Remember when they lost 10 games one season and kicked themselves for not keeping the number in single digits?
The problem confronting the current Bulls -- from the owner's box to the front office to the locker room -- is fans here know what success looks like now.
Success isn't staying close to Portland for three quarters. Nor is it upsetting Golden State.
By those standards, the Bulls would hold a parade every time they arrive on time for a game.
Most frustrating about this organization today is the aforementioned lack of urgency, fueled in part by the NBA East being so bad that the Bulls remain in playoff contention even at 10 games under .500.
Heck, if the Bulls lose once, no problem, each of the other alleged contenders likely would lose twice. If the Bulls could be idle the rest of the season they'd make the playoffs by default.
However, a more compelling factor discourages urgency.
The United Center seats continue being filled, which means attendance isn't falling nearly as fast as defeats are mounting.
Don't kid yourself or let Bulls management kid you. Depressed revenues would be a great incentive to make a significant transaction.
Hasn't that been the rap against the Cubs for decades? Why should they pursue a World Series if the business model doesn't require one?
Well, that might or not have been true at Wrigley Field, but the same suspicions could apply at the United Center.
To me, that was one of the reasons the trade for Kobe Bryant never was going to happen -- neither the Lakers nor the Bulls were financially stimulated to get it done.
In L.A. they figured to continue filling seats while building around Bryant. Here they figured to continue filling seats with the same old core. It's remarkable how a negative cash flow can lead to urgency and a positive cash flow can lead to complacency.
All sorts of reasons like the luxury tax -- which some might consider an excuse -- are floated for the Bulls not making a relevant trade or aggressive coaching hire.
A franchise's chairman can afford to be conservative rather than creative when calculating the Bulls' bottom line in dollars rather than victories.
When attendance and TV-radio ratings threaten to plunge deeply enough, probably sooner than later, Reinsdorf and the Bulls will suffer a sense of urgency.
Until then, the rumors off the court will continue being more interesting than the action on it.