So much for a new coach righting the ship.
The Bulls have rebelled on Jim Boylen after just three games since he took over for Fred Hoiberg, who was fired last week after three-plus season at the helm.
Some Bulls players threatened to boycott practice on Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune, before settling for a players-only meeting. Boylen, his staff and management later joined in on the meetings to hash things out.
“Our meeting is what I thought we needed,” Boylen said, per ESPN.
“I think it was a collective thing,” rookie Wendell Carter Jr. said, per the Chicago Tribune. “We both agreed on something, the players and the coaches. We came to them as men. We talked, told them how we felt. And they responded very well.”
Since taking over as head coach, Boylen has delivered what he called “a little shock and awe” to the team. He has held long and hard practices, benched starters for lengthy stretches and publicly questioned the team’s effort and toughness.
The results have been mixed, with the Bulls beating the Thunder Friday night before getting pummeled by the Celtics in a 56-point loss Saturday.
“The best players in this program are going to be coached by the head coach,” said Boylen, who was an associate head coach under Hoiberg. “The great teams I’ve been on, the best players are coached by the head coach every day. We’re going to honor the tough conversations, we’re going to honor that we all have a goal of where we want to go. And we’re going to work at getting there.
“I don’t think anybody in here thought we were going to ease into this thing. That’s not my personality. That’s not how you affect change. We’re not easing into anything.”
Zach LaVine and Justin Holiday reportedly led the players-only meeting, which grew out of a group text exchange where a few players discussed not showing up for the practice after a back-to-back with another game set for Monday.
“We needed to get a lot of stuff off our chest and be transparent,” LaVine said. “I don’t think the players’ toughness should ever be questioned. I think that’s on us. I think that is a little bit of what we discussed in our meeting.”
