Why exactly would Collins want this?

What, Larry Costello wasn't available?

That's what comes to mind when you hear the Bulls are bringing back Doug Collins.

That, and GM John Paxson has gone from grasping at straws to tiptoeing near the deep end.

Paxson is making one bizarre call after another, so in that sense it should have been painfully obvious that Collins was the answer since it would seem like this is the last thing in the world Collins would want to do.

And why would he when he's already got a great TV gig he's good at, peace of mind, and -- at least for the moment -- his health?

Oddly, while walking out of the UC in March with my colleague Mike McGraw, we trudged through the cold winds and the possibilities.

We dismissed one name after another, until we got to Collins. McGraw laughed and said something to the effect that it wasn't as far-fetched as it sounded and that Collins might end up being Paxson's only recyclable option.

I wondered aloud if folding the franchise wasn't also an option.

In any case, the rationale seems to be that Collins knows how to run a practice and thus can teach the future coach, who'll be on his staff, how to do the same.

Now that's inspiring.

Don't get me wrong because there's no doubt Collins can coach, and there have been times when he was a good coach, but coaching also makes him nuts.

People tend to get headaches when around that amount of screaming for prolonged periods, no one more so than Collins himself.

Can you imagine what he will look and sound like after he sees a few weeks of Larry Hughes?

He'll be burned out before Thanksgiving from watching this collection of players, and they darn well better have his successor on staff.

Few need be reminded that this is the same guy who once had Scottie Pippen screaming back at him from the floor in open revolt and in clear view, only weeks before Collins was fired in 1989.

And you can't help but think that Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, who have yet to sign contracts, know they nearly snagged Mike D'Antoni, and now instead get Collins, who was dumped by the Bulls previously for an inability to advance the careers of young players, and the club from Point B to Point C.

The question today is, does he have enough energy and passion left to move them from Point A to Point B, before he turns over the reins to another coach?

While you ponder that, feel free to recall that the best scenario imaginable almost tripped and fell right into Paxson's lap in June 2005.

The Bulls had a promising young roster, with Tyson Chandler still aboard, but Scott Skiles had not signed a new deal and Phil Jackson was a free agent.

There was evidence to suggest Jackson was intrigued by the Bulls' situation, and he had not yet agreed on a return to the Lakers.

And then Paxson was given a gift.

Skiles said he felt disrespected by the process, even with a contract offer of something in the neighborhood of $16 million on the table.

That's a pretty nice neighborhood.

But Skiles said he was breaking off talks and heading home, free as a bird and ready to entertain offers from others.

Instead, Paxson chased him down and sweetened the deal, begging Skiles to stay on board.

He did.

Jackson waited a few more hours and then went back to Los Angeles, where he's now on the verge of winning another NBA title.

Skiles has moved on to Milwaukee, where he has received another mountain of cash.

And the Bulls are giving every appearance of being in disarray.

They now have two men running the team who swore they'd never take these jobs, Paxson saying for years he didn't want to be a GM and Collins vowing numerous times since his last coaching job that he'd sooner face a firing squad than a room full of NBA players again.

Collins said Thursday he hasn't officially accepted the job yet, so perhaps he will change his mind again.

After all, stranger things have happened of late.

But for the love of Gar Heard and all that's holy, if the Bulls aren't a full-blown, three-ring circus these days, just what do you call it?

brozner@dailyherald.com