Let's Count All The Bullsh*t Hypocrisies From The GarPax Press Conference

I don't want to say I told you so, but... Just kidding. I absolutely do. After the Bulls looked lifeless in two home defeats that brought their series with the Celtics into a 2-2 tie, I warned you of what was coming. And no, it wasn't winter. The new season of Game of Thrones airs in July, but Chicago summer is just around the corner. Two more quick defeats and a playoff exit is what was coming. An embarrassingly one-sided home loss in Game 6 is what was coming. Another maddeningly confusing press conference from GM Gar Forman and VP John Paxson is what was coming. Check, check and check. I told you so. On Wednesday morning, less than a week after another painfully mediocre season came to a merciful end, the two-headed monster took to the podium to offer their thoughts and field questions. Honestly, they could've saved themselves and the media some time by simply emailing everyone a transcript of their press conference from April of last year. You know, the one they had after failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008? If you removed any mentions of new team staples Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade from Wednesday's affair, the vague platitudes spouted by Forman and Paxson were a shot-for-shot remake. Hypocrisy, conflicting strategies and a lack of a clear direction moving forward. Oh, what a difference a year makes. So what, exactly, did we learn from this duo's latest media session? Let's dive in.

Same Page

Gar and Paxson did appear to have concrete opinions on a few ideas. For example, the importance of Rondo to this team on the court and in the locker room.

"Outside of Rondo, our point guards did not play with push and pace the way Fred wants to play. So yes, we have to continue to look at the style he wants to play, and look at players that fit that." - John Paxson

...And yet your head coach benched Rondo in favor of young scrubs and you guys tried to trade him at the deadline. Good call. Hypocrisy #1.

"To a man, our young people loved Rajon. He was great in the locker room. He was great off the court with these guys; took them under his wing in a lot of ways, and he was responsible for a lot of the good things that came from them...To be candid with you, when we had that incident where Dwyane and Jimmy spoke up in January, when [Rondo] stood up for our young guys, that empowered them a little bit. It might be small but there was some growth with our young guys. Because they felt they had a voice as a young player and for us that was important." - John Paxson

...Is that why you fined Rondo for the Instagram post? "We really appreciate your leadership and the mentor role you're playing. Here's a fine for speaking your mind." Good call. Hypocrisy #2. Despite the ugly hiccups that Rondo and his bosses endured midseason, his play down the stretch and into their first two playoff games apparently cemented his return. So take that $13.4 million out of the Bulls' salary cap flexibility this summer.

Inconsistent Niko

Paxson, to his credit, didn't mince words when he gave his first impression of the season before taking questions.

"We saw what you saw and what a lot of our fans saw. And that is inconsistency in our play and really a team that was searching for an identity much of the season." - John Paxson

If there's one player on this Bulls roster that defines the inconsistency that plagued the group, it's Nikola Mirotic. The third year forward takes two steps back after every single step forward. He follows a strong performance by ghosting for a week or two. As a restricted free agent this summer, the Bulls need to decide if he's a piece to keep moving forward.

"Obviously, Niko had an up-and-down year. He would be the first to tell you that he was disappointed he wasn’t more consistent, as were we at times. In saying that, we value Niko...We see him as a 25-year-old, six-foot-10 guy who can shoot. He’s got to get better in certain areas...As we talked to him, Niko made it clear that he wants to be in Chicago...But you don’t know what’s going to happen within the market, and those are decisions we’ll have to make as time comes. But we certainly would hope that Niko would be back." - Gar Forman

It sounds like Gar and Paxson have every intent to keep Mirotic on board, in spite of his inconsistencies. You know, the kind of inconsistency that represented the team's biggest problem this season. Good call. Hypocrisy #3. I'm sorry, but if any teams out there offer Niko anything above minimum wage, the Bulls better let him walk. When Niko is good, he's good. But for a three year veteran with overseas experience, his bad far too often outweighs his good. Speaking of Niko, let's now go over some of the more egregious examples of hypocritical nonsense offered by Forman and Paxson as they tried to spin-talk their way out of an ugly situation.

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Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is GarPax

Paxson used Mirotic's time with the Spanish national team last summer as an excuse for his inconsistency.

"It’s a dilemma around the league, but international players, a lot of times they spend the summer around their national team. And Niko had a great experience doing that last year, winning the bronze medal. But in reality, from our seat, he lost some time in the weight room with us, lost some time on the floor with our coaches." - John Paxson

Excuse me, but wasn't Jimmy Butler doing the exact same thing with Team USA? Butler "lost some time" in the team's facilities and with Bulls coaches, yet still somehow managed to make the All Star team for the third straight season, this time as a starter. He posted career high averages in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Let's also remember that Derrick Rose spent the summer of 2010 playing with Team USA before his breakout MVP season. But sure, Niko gets a pass because he played for Spain. Good call. Hypocrisy #4.

Wading Through Fred's Mess

Paxson could not have sounded less enthusiastic about bringing head coach Fred Hoiberg back next season, but that's still the plan. He essentially said they're committed to Fred because they signed him to a five year deal. When asked to cite specific examples of Fred's growth in his second year, Paxson could only defer to comments made by Wade at his exit interview.

"I will point to you guys were there when Dwyane left the other day and Dwyane said some positive things about Fred, that he saw growth in Fred. I mentioned to you last year that I view young coaches in this league as like young players. They have to develop and grow, too." - John Paxson

Really ringing endorsement there, Pax. By the way, Wade followed up that comment about Fred's growth by saying he and his staff "did as good as they could with the hand that was dealt." That's a not-so-subtle dig at management, who didn't give Hoiberg the right pieces. So Paxson used Wade's comments, which included criticism of management, to sidestep complimenting his coach. Good call. Hypocrisy #5. Given his sharp decline at age 35, Paxson and Forman must really be regretting the bloated contract they gave Wade last summer. But don't try to tell Gar in a public forum that his "leadership" wasn't worth every penny.

"I think Rajon and Dwyane were a real plus for these young guys. On the practice floor, in the locker room...We talked about that a year ago, and we continue to say we want some veteran leadership around these guys in order to help them continue to grow and develop." - Gar Forman

On the practice floor? When the team had their fracturing episode midseason, rumors swirled that the young players on the roster were frustrated by Wade's absence at several practices. In the locker room? Wade called out the young guys for not caring enough, even though he didn't play a lick of defense all season long. Great leadership. Good call. Hypocrisy #6.

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Fred's Problems, Not Ours

Now, back to Fred. Paxson cited inconsistency in Fred's rotation as one of the team's biggest problems this season.

"There was too much inconsistencies in the rotations and trying to plug holes from game to game. That’s stuff we talked to Fred about during the year, and we’ll continue to." - John Paxson

The reason for the inconsistencies in the rotation is that none of the young players GarPax are so keen on developing proved to Fred that they deserved a steady role. Is it Fred's fault that he had five backup guards who couldn't play? No, that would be the guys who constructed the roster and orchestrated a bad midseason trade. Good call. Hypocrisy #7. And why is it so challenging for some of these younger guys to have impact roles right away?

"These kids, we’re not sure yet. But that’s part of the process of development. We’re in a business, in basketball, we draft a lot of these kids so young, it’s not like a system like baseball where you can throw em down for 2 years then bring them up. We have to develop them quickly and see what we have." - John Paxson

"Draft these kids so young"? Are you referring to rookie Denzel Valentine, a four-year player under Tom Izzo at Michigan State? The "kid" you drafted at 22 years old who couldn't find his way into the rotation despite garbage minutes from the guys in front of him? Good call. Hypocrisy #8. Paxson also made note of the difficulty of finding impact players with middle-late first round picks. But isn't it your "strategy" that has the Bulls stuck in this draft purgatory? The indecisiveness between competing and rebuilding is the direct reason for drafting where you're drafting. Good call. Hypocrisy #9. Not only did GarPax throw Fred under the bus for the inconsistent rotation that was their fault, but Paxson also said the coach still lacks great leadership.

"I think Fred’s challenge this offseason is to find ways to be a better leader." - John Paxson

Excuse me, is that a joke? Didn't you sell Hoiberg as a "great communicator" when you fired Tom Thibodeau? I might be off base here, but I think communication and leadership go hand in hand. If a leader can't clearly communicate his expectations of the group he's leading (which was a problem all year) then he's not a great leader. If a leader can't motivate his guys to consistently play their best (another problem this year), then he's not a great leader. But this is the guy Paxson allowed Gar to hand-pick after a nonexistent "search" for Thibs' replacement. Good call. Hypocrisy #10. Now, what about Jimmy Butler? The looming decision to keep or trade Butler will largely determine the direction of this team for the next several seasons. And surprise, surprise: GarPax still won't commit to their franchise player.

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We'll Talk

When asked about Butler's future with the Bulls and the constant trade rumors, Paxson complimented his star but still refused to say they plan to keep him and build around him. First, the compliment:

"First of all, Jimmy is far and away our best player. He’s an all-NBA type guy. As I just mentioned, he’s made himself into just a quality player. His work ethic, as most people know, is one of the best in the league." - John Paxson

Next, the open-ended lack of commitment:

"We talked about last year, look our job, you always have to keep things open. We told Jimmy in our exit meeting that look, often times when the season ends, your emotions are high, they’re raw, and you want to just decompress a little bit and let him decompress. We’re going to sit down with Jimmy again. It’s going to happen. We’re going to talk to him and we’re going to define to him, with him, our thoughts, those types of things. That’s not for today." - John Paxson

Essentially, Paxson and his pal Gar still have no idea what to do with their best player. Some close to the team don't think management sees Jimmy as a #1 star on a championship caliber team. Other reports imply GarPax acknowledge his great skill on the court but don't see him as a strong leader. Then, of course, there's the fact that his skillset doesn't mesh with the coach they chose.

"We’re going to look at, the Jimmy component, we’ve talked about. But ideally, in the system Fred wants to run we need to play with pace and push. Jimmy’s a different player than some of these other guys. He has the ball in his hands a lot." - John Paxson

Now, Paxson slightly backtracked on that statement during an interview with ESPN1000 on Thursday. He tried to clarify that they want a fast downhill point guard to play alongside Jimmy and help alleviate some of his offensive burden. He also said in that same interview that, "We are not looking to trade Jimmy Butler." Okay, fine. They're not looking to trade Butler today. Tomorrow? Who the hell knows. There's roughly a 99% chance that the Bulls will engage in trade talks with the Boston Celtics again between the NBA's draft lottery and the draft. If Boston falls to Cleveland and their GM Danny Ainge sees Butler as the missing piece, he might finally pull the trigger and give the Bulls their high pick (from Brooklyn) as the centerpiece of a package. But will it be enough for GarPax, who insist they won't trade Butler and blow up the team "just to do it"? Whatever the Celtics offered last summer, it wasn't enough. Now, with Isaiah Thomas becoming a superstar in his own right and Butler being a year older and one year closer to free agency, the Celtics' new offer could actually be less than the original. Phoenix, Orlando and the Lakers have also been thrown around in potential trades for Butler, but those are all less likely than Boston. If one of those teams lucks into the #1 overall pick, however, that might change. The Bulls front office is, of course, "really high on" the top point guards in the upcoming draft class.

Bottom Line

Look, all of the Butler trade stuff is just conjecture right now. The real worry, as we sit here in early May, is how Butler reacts to this mess. Again, his bosses were given the opportunity to say clearly and decisively that they won't trade him and plan to build around him. Again, they refused to do so. For a top-15, arguably top-10 player in the league who single-handedly won the team dozens of games this season, how do you think Butler feels about this lukewarm commitment? It hasn't been talked about much, but more of this same treatment from GarPax could shift the situation from "will they trade Jimmy?" to "Jimmy is demanding to be traded." If I were to put money on it, I think Butler stays. It's so glaringly obvious that Paxson is terrified of a full-scale rebuild.

"You guys have seen around the league, it’s 6-8-10 years before you get back in the playoffs. You have to be a little bit lucky and the year you draft it has to hit for you." - John Paxson

The Bulls front office is scared to pull the trigger because they fear the full-scale rebuild could take as long as a decade. That's about how long it took for the post-Jordan Bulls to fight back to relevance. The issue I have with this fear, however, is simple. If Jerry Reinsdorf is so loyal, and GarPax seemingly have unwavering job security, there should be no fear of failure or beginning a longer plan. What are you afraid of, exactly? Losing fans' trust due to a string of losing seasons? Sorry to burst your bubble, gents, but that trust waved bye-bye a long time ago. Most of this team's fanbase already wants you gone. But we can't do the firing. So if you're going to keep your jobs, make the tough decisions that come with the job. Jesus, I don't know why this is such a hard concept. Hypocrisy #11. I'm sick of counting hypocrisies, so I'll stop there. But there were definitely more. It's an ugly, ugly Bulls world right now. And unless GarPax finally make a bold move, we're staring down a replicated season of "Three Alphas", young "talent" and a soft coach who doesn't have the right pieces. At least we have some time to breathe. I'll be glad to spend the next month re-watching previous seasons of Game of Thrones instead of more Bulls games. But reality isn't too far away. Summer is coming, Bulls fans. And we have two hypocritical nincompoops sitting on the Iron Throne.