Despite negative publicity, Boylen won't change his path
As the Bulls begin Week 2 of the Jim Boylen era, which involves a change of countries, it's easy to look back and wonder.
What if Boylen had settled on a couple of standard NBA coaching decisions over the weekend?
For instance, he could have sent the starters back on the floor for the fourth quarter in Saturday's blowout loss to Boston. The Bulls probably would have lost the game by 30 points or so, rather than setting a franchise record with a 56-point pummeling.
He also could have not scheduled a practice for Sunday, following a set of back-to-back games. This is routine procedure in the NBA, no matter how long as coach has been on the job.
It probably would have been a relatively quiet, one win and one loss weekend.
Instead, Boylen and the Bulls have been the subject of all sorts of national ridicule, for the historic loss, players being upset about Sunday's practice and whatever else. The Chicago Sun-Times heard a Sacramento player shout on the way back to the locker room, "Uh-oh, another two-and-a-half hour practice for them tomorrow," after the Kings beat the Bulls on Monday.
As he's done throughout the week, Boylen faced the questions owned up to every one of his decisions.
"The great thing about it guys is it fits my personality," Boylen said Tuesday at the Advocate Center, before the Bulls flew to Mexico City. "It fits what I believe in, that the game is bigger than all of us.
"It fits right into my wheelhouse. It's a blessing for me, man. I think it had to happen. The way it happened you can judge it. You can talk about it. It had to happen and we're better for it."
The latest development was formation of a leadership committee, which is meant to be a path for players and coaches to address problems or grievances. Such as the one Sunday when some players felt it was excessive to practice after a back-to-back.
No players have been blamed for questioning the practice plan. But it's a fact of life that the two highest-paid players on the Bulls, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker, are less than two years removed from ACL surgery and would be understandably concerned about their health, no matter the exact circumstances. LaVine supported the idea of a leadership counsel
"We're just trying to figure out the right dudes to lead the team, (look at) who will be with us moving forward," LaVine said. "I think that's the main thing. But I think it's a great thing, especially with a young team. It's not a dictatorship. We don't have a straight-up old-school vet on the team, like a Kevin Garnett to where you know he's the exact leader."
Garnett finished his career with a return to Minnesota during LaVine's rookie season in 2014-15. Garnett played in only five games, but no one was about to question his leadership.
An argument could be made for Robin Lopez as the Bulls' straight-up old-school vet. But as LaVine mentioned, he may not be here beyond this season.
"With a young team I feel like we can all have a voice, especially the ones that are going to be on the team and dudes whose voices are respected," LaVine said. "Jim came up with it and we all took a liking to it, so that we're all on the same page and the team will have someone or a group of people to go to if there's an issue."
The Bulls are in a strange spot right now. They just replaced Fred Hoiberg with Boylen, three key players - Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis - returned from injuries, and after a 6-22 start, the Bulls may not want to win many games anyway. There will be some tantalizing players in next year's draft.
One saving grace for Boylen is he's been a part of three championship teams in Houston and San Antonio. He can stand in front of the players, say "This is how you win a championship," and have some credibility.
It won't be easy to bounce back from his tumultuous first week on the job. But Boylen has shown no interest in changing lanes.
"I've never been clearer in my life about where we're going, what we need to do and how we're going to do it," Boylen said Tuesday. "I expect the bumps in the road."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls