Accountability, anybody?
Last night, the Chicago Bulls scored the lowest point total of any team in the NBA this season in an 83-73 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center. It was just another embarrassing and flaccid tire thrown onto the fire.
Whether it’s boos raining down on the court, the diminishing attendance in the stands, or simply harsh tweeting, Bulls fans – for their part – have made their voices heard.
The Bulls organization, however? They’ve kept quiet, and, according to 670 The Score’s Matt Spiegel, things will remain that way.
Spiegel tweeted out this morning that Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson will not be sitting down for his annual Christmas interview with The Score’s David Schuster.
To clarify, I do not know for sure that Pax will not be talking to beat reporters. I do know that Christmas will not be as merry as last year. https://t.co/axmTPUjHVO
— M@ (@MattSpiegel670) December 14, 2019
Over the years, it has become a tradition for Paxson to make an appearance over the holiday to talk about the state of the Chicago Bulls organization.
Currently, there is no report specifying why the interview was called off, but it’s clearly just another bad look for this franchise. Spiegel did clarify that he is unsure if Paxson will indeed talk with beat reporters or other media members, all we know right now is the radio appearance has been called off.
Paxson has yet to speak out at all about the Bulls 9-18 start – and the embarrassing performances that have accompanied it – so this certainly feels like another way for him to dodge questions.
And to add insult to insult, it appears the team is going out of their way to limit head coach Jim Boylen’s statements as well.
According to Schuster, management told Boylen to stop answering questions about player injuries, and whether or not this will become a trend is unknown, but he also didn’t do the coach’s interview for the Bulls pregame show before last night’s game:
According to our @Schumouse, Jim Boylen has been told by management to not answer questions about players' injuries any more. Also, last night he did not do the interview for the Coach's show on Bulls pregame. Awfully tempting to connect dots here. Boylen words = embarrassment.
— M@ (@MattSpiegel670) December 14, 2019
I think it’s very possible the organization views Jim Boylen’s words almost as embarrassing as we do. And as the losing continued, the press conferences have certainly heated up with Boylen’s comments only becoming more bizarre and frustrating.
Jim Boylen asked about Lauri's minutes and how long he sat.
Was pressed about he's been playing better lately why do this. pic.twitter.com/lSGA7cG0ZG— Ⓜ️arcusD ▶️ (@_MarcusD3_) December 14, 2019
The Bulls clearly have no answers to the team’s current shortcomings. How that will end is yet to be seen, but all this organization has truly been able to do over the recent years is diminish the franchise’s reputation.