Vinny Del Negro Fired; He Wasn't The Problem

Yes, I realize this is late, and Vinny Del Negro has been fired for a few weeks now, but I haven't had time to express my thoughts on this stupid move by Bulls management yet. 

Two summers ago, the Bulls surprised the basketball world by hiring Vinny Del Negro as their head coach. What made this so shocking was that he had never coached at not just the NBA level, but any level. Bulls fans, including myself, were in confusion, and wondering to themselves, "Who the hell is Vinny Del Negro?" Thus began a two year tenure in which Vinny was never given a fair chance. 

In his first year, the Bulls went 41-41, sneaking into the playoffs as the 7th seed and would face the 2nd seeded, defending champion, Boston Celtics. That series, as you know would go down as the best 1st round series in NBA history with the Celtics winning 4-3. There were no real losers in this series though, and the NBA world witnessed a rookie head coach push the defending champions to seven games, and a relentless, determined Bulls team. Also, a star was born by the name of Derrick Rose, and the breakout of Joakim Noah, which would be carried into next season. 

With his first season behind him, Del Negro led the Bulls into the next year with high hopes to build off of last seasons 1st round magic. After losing their top shooter in Ben Gordon, there was some scoring to be made up for. After early season struggles in which the Bulls lost by double digits on their annual Circus Trip, and then blew a monumental 35 point lead to the Kings at home, Vinny Del Negro was a dead man walking. Each day passed, and the Del Negro watch was getting more heated. I was one of those Bulls fans wondering how on earth this guy hasn't been fired yet. 

Del Negro overcame this obstacle, and midway through the season, the Bulls were a team poised to get the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Unfortunately though, injuries to Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah cost the Bulls a 10 game losing streak, and the heat was back on Vinny. When you lose your three best players, things aren't going to be pretty, and they weren't. However, another late season push, thanks to the Bulls getting healthy, and they were back in the playoffs, this time as the 8th seed squaring off against LeBron James' Cavaliers. The rest is history, and as you know Cleveland took down the Bulls 4-1. But if you watched this series, you know the Bulls didn't play like losers, they fought until the very end, and Vinny Del Negro was a coach who deserved another season. He deserved to get the chance to see what he could do with a Max Free Agent to go along with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. But, like I said, Del Negro was a dead man walking, and shortly after the Bulls were eliminated, Vinny was too.

Sure, Vinny Del Negro wasn't perfect, but he sure wasn't bad. When you look at the development of Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah, you have to give some credit to Vinny. In one year, Noah went from averaging 6 points and 7 rebounds, to 10 points and 11 rebounds and could have been an All-Star.

Whoever the next Bulls coach may be, will he be worth it? Will it have been worth firing Vinny Del Negro if you can't land a good coach? It remains to be seen.