See those empty seats? Bulls fans may be losing patience with the rebuild
The Bulls have ranked near the top in NBA attendance ever since the United Center opened in 1994.
So on nights like Wednesday, when an announced crowd of 15,017 showed up for the win over Memphis, the empty seats stand out like a sore thumb.
From 2010-17, the Bulls never had an announced crowd below 21,000. Wednesday's attendance was the lowest in 15 years.
"I was telling us in pregame, we're going to have to bring our own energy today," Zach LaVine said Thursday at the Advocate Center. "When we got out on that 10-0 run, I was really excited about that. But it was a scarce crowd. It was a little quiet in there. We made our own energy. That's sometimes what you have to do."
LaVine knows the drill, though. Now in the third year of their rebuild, the losing is starting to wear on fans and it's understandable.
"We haven't been a winning basketball team the last couple of years," he said. "It makes sense once you start winning, the crowd comes back into it, gets more lively, we understand that. I understand professional sports. We don't take it personally."
Another person who hasn't been around to watch the Bulls this season is chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who spends his winters in Arizona. With attendance starting to drop, it's worth wondering how much money has been lost with the decision to rebuild.
The Bulls are selling fewer tickets and are surely offering more discounts than they used to. The overall player payroll has been lower with the rebuild, but the Bulls have not made very effective use of their funds.
One of the first moves of the rebuild was to buy out Dwyane Wade's contract for a reported $15.5 million. They gave Cristiano Felicio a $32 million deal, spent $14 million to acquire the first-round pick used on Chandler Hutchison, and committed to paying Otto Porter $55 million over two seasons.
Needless to say, none of those moves has enriched the Bulls' win column. Porter and Hutchison have both missed 13 of the 22 games this season. Maybe they'll help eventually, maybe not.
There's no explaining what the Bulls saw in Felicio. His greatest talent during the 2016-17 season, before he got the four-year contract, was catching lob dunks from Wade. Since Wade left, the Brazilian center hasn't done much.
During the First Great Rebuild, which began in 1999 after the sixth championship, fans were slow to turn away. Part of that was due to the championship hangover, no doubt, and also expectations of bringing in free agents like Tracy McGrady or Grant Hill - which never happened.
When the Bulls drew 14,403 to a game against Milwaukee on Dec. 16, 2004, that rebuild was more than five years old with no positive results.
But unbeknown to most everyone at the United Center that night, the turnaround had already begun. The Bulls beat the Bucks the day after winning a road game in Memphis. The young team led by Kirk Hinrich, Eddy Curry and several rookies would shake off a 4-15 start and not only make the playoffs, but get home court advantage in the first round.
The current Bulls have a chance to put together some wins, with Golden State, Atlanta and Charlotte visiting in the next eight days. But they're also facing an uphill battle since they were counting heavily on Porter to add some veteran experience to the starting lineup - and he's out indefinitely with a foot injury.
"We have the best fans in the league," coach Jim Boylen said Thursday. "They've been very supportive. They don't give me the ticket numbers, I don't ask for the ticket numbers. I'm focused on coaching the team. But I feel very supported by the fans and I think the team does too."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls
Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Golden State Warriors, Friday 7 p.m. at the United Center
TV: NBCSCH • Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The Warriors picked up their fourth win of the season by beating the Bulls 104-90 on Nov. 27. Since then, Golden State has lost four in a row to drop to 4-19 on the season. ... PG D'Angelo Russell returned Wednesday from a nine-game absence due to a thumb injury. He scored 18 points in a loss at Charlotte. ... Steph Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (ACL surgery) will be out for a while. ... Russell is averaging 23.7 points on the season. Rookie second-round pick SF Eric Paschall has been a pleasant surprise, averaging 17.3 ppg. He led the Warriors with 25 points in the win over the Bulls, while SG Alec Burks had 23.
Next: Miami Heat on Sunday 5 p.m. at American Airlines Arena
- Mike McGraw