Most of their players are young and impressionable. If anything, yes the players should be accountable but the front office and coaching decisions haven't really made the process any better for them. Incidents like the one with Portis and Mirotic last year shouldn't have happened if the front office and coaching staff (I'm thinking both Hoiberg and Boylen were a part of that) had more control or a pulse on the team. Their saving grace is that, based on the news/articles floating around, their franchise player, Lauri, was one of the cooler heads through all this. If the rest of the team listens and galvanize around that kind of leadership the team should be okay moving forward with or without Boylen as the coach.
They actually traded Taj Gibson, their 2nd rounder (while they were tanking) and McDermott to OKC for Cameron Payne two years ago...they're definitely not smart so, you never know lol.
Yeah, I'm not passing on blame on the Bulls front office or corporate culture. But to the extent there's a desire to "run a tighter ship", seems like Boylen's approach might be a step in the right direction, at least.
Following a 56-point loss on the second night of a back-to-back, Boylen called for a Sunday practice. Boylen held three two-and-a-half-hour practices in his first week that included extra wind sprints and players doing military-style pushups. One of the veterans on the Bulls initiated a group text relaying that if any players showed up on Sunday prepared to practice, he would personally fine them, and the players agreed. Boylen was altered to the plans and he refused to relent. Robin Lopez was the leader of getting the players to back down and to merely show up on Sunday without the intention to practice. Zach LaVine and Justin Holiday were the most vocal in expressing their issues with the practice. Boylen has repeatedly referenced his experience with the San Antonio Spurs, and what he learned from Gregg Popovich.
