Following an extravagant all-star weekend in which every event either met or exceeded its hype, the NBA world is back to work for the final playoff stretch. The All-Star teams are all back with their organizations and the United Center reverted back to the Bulls basketball appropriately. Missing Otto Porter, Wendell Carter, Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Chandler Hutchison, the Bulls started Ryan Arcidiacano in the SF position and wound up with an end-to-end loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Finding themselves almost 20 games under .500 and seemingly heading for another lottery pick, the shift in tones is drastic. I can say this wholeheartedly: All-Star represented Chicago in a way the Bulls haven’t in years.
If one thing was proven that weekend, it’s that Chicago deserves more than what the front office of the Bulls have done for them. The City was showered with praise, even through the cold, and they made their claim as THE Mecca of basketball very apparent. Common’s amazing handling of the pre-All-Star festivities was as much of a highlight as some of the plays in the game. Chicago was shone in a light that many NBA fans not following the Bulls haven’t seen in the years following D-Rose’s ACL tear.
“Fire GarPax”
You can see the respect that the city has for the players on the Bulls, and the empathy the fans feel for what they’ve been through this season. Prior to the now-viral clip of Bulls fans chanting “Fire GarPax” on ESPNs First Take, they cheered loudly for Zach LaVine, currently averaging 25.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. They gave him chants of ”All-Star” because they respect what he’s done through the season. He was also cheered heavily during the 3-point contest. Wendell Carter also received a loud ovation when he was announced during the Rising Stars challenge. The players aren’t the source of Chicago fans vitriol.
The Bulls were irrelevant. If there wasn’t a team in Chicago and All-Star was still here, it would’ve still been a great time. Whenever the Bulls were mentioned, it was met with laughter, disdain, disrespect and apathy. Scottie Pippen, who works for the Bulls as an ambassador, said he doesn’t know half the players on the team. Common and Chance the Rapper were asked about the Bulls, and after a few seconds Chance gave a shout to Zach LaVine before the subject was then changed. People don’t want to talk about Chicago’s basketball team during the biggest weekend in basketball. Embarrassing.
Kevin Garnett, who played high school ball in Chicago, was asked why he never wanted to play for the Bulls. (VIA Teddy Greenstein/Chicago Tribune) “I saw how Jerry, how they did Mike, you know, keeping it 100. And all players keep that in the back of their minds. If you treat the greatest like this … the greatest didn’t even have a chance to come back and have ownership.” The Bulls have missed out on many free agents through the years, with LeBron-Wade in 2010 being the most infamous (followed by Carmelo in 2014).
Change Finally on the Horizon?
With reports surfacing that the Bulls are looking for a new voice in the front office, fans are wondering if their years-long dream of an organization without Gar Forman and John Paxson is close to fruition. Though, Joe Cowley, whose reports started the smoke, iterates that Paxson will simply take a step back, with the new hires working under him, while Forman will be relegated to scouting only. Should this be the case, that dream could be placed on hold for a few more years.
So to Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf, John Paxson, Gar Forman, Jim Boylen and the rest of the Bulls’ higher-ups, you should be embarrassed because you all were the laughingstocks in your own home. Chicago fans can only hope that the basketball city they are apart of, can eventually get a team that represents them to the fullest. Because the way the Bulls are going about business at the moment, Chicago has little to cheer for.
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