D'Antoni offers risk, reward

It's not at all true that Scott Skiles had a drill for Kirk Hinrich called, "22 seconds or more," in which Hinrich fed Ben Gordon standing 5 feet behind the popcorn vendor with no time on the shot clock, after which the coach would bench Gordon for taking a bad shot.

Not true.

Just seemed like it.

However, Hinrich's days of dribbling out the shot clock will most certainly be over if Mike D'Antoni and his run-and-shoot offense take over in Chicago.

Bulls GM John Paxson seems to want him, D'Antoni wants the Bulls, and there's nothing standing in the way but Phoenix GM Steve Kerr, who has made an absolute mess of the Suns, and now the D'Antoni situation.

Kerr originally intended to fire D'Antoni several days ago, and then realized he could hold the coach hostage and get something in return.

Figuring this out after the fact, Kerr may want compensation, and he definitely doesn't want to pay D'Antoni the money left on his deal.

But Paxson can't afford to let the guy he wants get away, so he must make this work, even while Kerr shows little class in dumping a guy who turned the franchise around before Kerr arrived.

The good news for Hinrich is D'Antoni can turn around Hinrich's career, too.

Hinrich, while overrated in many ways, does have ability and can be salvaged.

He ran up and down the court at Kansas, got in space, and shot at will, but Hinrich lost that game under Skiles and became a mechanical mess, often dribbling around the perimeter and sometimes through the lane, while teammates lost interest, focus and precious time off the clock.

He won't be able to monopolize the ball under D'Antoni, and if this coach can't save Hinrich, he can't be saved.

Paxson has much work to do to find D'Antoni what he needs, but in the meantime the Bulls have six guys, maybe seven, who'll love running and firing.

Besides Hinrich, players like Gordon, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni all regressed under Skiles, and Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Thabo Sefolosha were basically given no chance to learn or grow.

That wouldn't be the case under D'Antoni, who'll find out if the athleticism of some of those players will be enough to get by in the NBA.

There's no point in keeping Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Chris Duhon, so assuming he gets D'Antoni, Paxson needs to move the first two and let the latter walk.

Furthermore, the Bulls need some leadership in the dressing room and Paxson needs to address it quickly.

Perhaps that exists now somewhere on the roster and was never allowed to flourish because Skiles became the overwhelming and dominating personality of the team.

He browbeat the players into submission, and if there had been any hint of players wanting ownership of the club, players gave up on that, just as they gave up on trying to please the coach.

As we've always said, it doesn't matter how much money these guys make, if the game's not fun they're not going to give you their best.

Well, under D'Antoni, it should be fun, if nothing else.

Of course, defense will always be an issue in this high-flying offense, but that's as much a case of personnel as it is actually playing defense.

The Bulls have players capable of playing on their own side of the floor, and if Paxson does his part, this can work.

In the past, Paxson has drafted players he must have known would clash with the coach, and he must think now in terms of how to best help his coach. Without the right inside presence available in the draft, Texas point guard D.J. Augustin, a potential Steve Nash, is a good place to start.

Now, if it's not D'Antoni, Paxson could go the safe route and pick ex-Dallas coach Avery Johnson, whose defensively philosophy and insistence on discipline mirrors Paxson's way of thinking.

And while Johnson would be a fine selection, Paxson has done nothing but the safe thing the past three years, and look where it's gotten him.

The Bulls need a sweeping change of pace and attitude. They need to risk change and get D'Antoni.

The fact that Kerr doesn't want him is good sign, since he hasn't made a right call since he got there, but Kerr's problem is the Bulls' solution.

Paxson can breathe life into a dying and dreadful Bulls team that has been miserable for the better part of two years.

And some Mike D'Antoni excitement is just what the doctor ordered.

brozner@dailyherald.com