On the surface, Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah’s two-game suspension seems like a no-brainer. Noah had an altercation with his assistant coach. He had reportedly been late for team meetings and functions. And early in the season, he was reprimanded for lashing out at his new teammates based upon what he perceived to be a lack of effort on their part.
The sports fan in you knows that rookies need to shut their mouths and play ball.
However, if you’re a sports fan in Chicago, you have much bigger problems than a frontcourt player with an attitude.
Interim head coach Jim Boylan suspended Noah for one game, sending a message to him loud and clear. But the remainder of the Bulls roster felt that the suspension was too short—and convinced Boylan to increase its length by another game.
So instead of having one player who thinks he’s above his coach, you’ve got a locker room full of them.
There’s a reason you haven’t heard of a story like this before in professional sports, and it’s not because Noah is the first player to butt heads with a coach or miss a meeting. It’s because head coaches don't make habits of being persuaded into action by their own players—whether their suggestions are valid or not.
Did the Bulls players have the best interests of the team and Noah in mind regarding the added suspension time?
Sure.
"We still need to salvage this season," forward Adrian Griffin said. "We're still fighting for the playoffs. There can't be any distractions for us."
Griffin is right about the team’s need to minimize distractions. However, Boylan’s inability to handle the situation properly has just created one.
Instead of doubling the suspension time for Noah, Boylan should have spoken to him privately about his teammates' concerns. He should have conveyed their feelings to the free-spirited forward with conviction and force, and taught a valuable lesson to a young, talented, and sometimes volatile player.
But he should have left the suspension at one game.
Coaches coach. Players play. The minute you let your team know they actually do call some of the shots is the minute you begin relieving yourself of duty.
"The team has sent him a message," Boylan said before Sunday’s game against Atlanta. "I think he's smart enough to realize what he has to do."
One would hope that the next time tempers boil over in Chicago, Boylan will be smart enough to know that he’s the one being paid to deliver that kind of message.
Monty Singh looks at the horrible situation the Chicago Bulls are in. (Read More)
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6 months ago
Somewhere Scott Skiles is laughing.
6 months ago
I wish I knew exactly what he said to the assistant, but if it was something about Noah missing team meatings or being late, or not practicing hard, or not preparing himself for games, or arguing over minutes, they I have no problems with him being suspended. You can't think of yourself as being above the team, and you can't be ill-prepared to play in the NBA. If that's the case, then again, the players tacking on an extra game is justified.
Just because their players doesn't mean they don't have any say in the affairs of their teammates. Players don't want to play with somebody who wont put the team in the best situation to win, and they certainly don't want Noah to get special treatment. Also, because he's a rookie, the rest of the Bulls don't want him falling into bad habits.
6 months ago
Players can get in a rookie's head without running to the coach and then bragging to the media, though. Sounds a little like tattling to the teacher.
This should have stayed in-house.
6 months ago
I'm glad the team voted him to get benched.He's a cocky chest pounding and immature punk who can't even create his own shot.the dude is garbage on offense,trade him now while he's worth a little something.
6 months ago
The point of the article isn't to debate Noah's popularity, ability to create his own shot, or his behavior. I agree that a suspension was warranted.
I think its comical that the Bulls are having a bad season and yet feel the need to band together against a rookie who barely gets any meaningful minutes. He is one of the last reasons why they are losing games, but is now set up as an easy scapegoat.
6 months ago
Adrian Griffin's "There can't be any distractions for us" comment was ridiculous. If anything, they created a distraction by making a big deal about it.
It's crazy to think about all the hype this team was getting before the season started.
6 months ago
This is a fine display (or at least a noble attempt) of a team showing some unity and some sense of discrimination against a player who clearly needed to be disciplined.
If the players thought that the coach's punishment was not sufficient, so be it. It's not like they denied him food and water. They just extended his suspension. I hope everyone noticed that JN humbly accepted the discipline from his teammates (at least, that's the perception he attempted to convey).
I've been coaching JV Girls Basketball for almost 12 years and I can tell you that there have been only two occasions in which my girls took discipline matters into their own hands. Those were two very proud moments for me as a coach.
I'm talking about SL, of course. We went 24-3 and won Districts.
In short, I think that one of the best things you can do for your players is to help them develop an unselfish, coach mentality - just as long as they mind the boundaries. In my opinion, the vigilante Bulls did the right thing.
6 months ago
First Skiles was the problem... now Noah? A guy who barely plays? How about the non-production of Ben Wallace? You're paying a guy $60 million to average 4.5/9.1? Nice...
Boylan is not a coach... he is just holding a spot. He obviously doesn't want any part of this team, otherwise he would have spoken to and disciplined Noah himself.
It is typical of NBA players to run the asylum and many have been directly responsible for the hiring/firing of coaches and players. But to be given coaching power to "vote" on a suspension?
I have no clue who Adrian Griffin is/was and why he's even playing in the league. Evidently he's played 14 games for the Bulls this year and averages a whopping 1.4 points per. And he is the team leader???
Leaders of teams don't go bragging to the press about suspending their own teammate. A totally classless, childish move. Especially when you have no game.
If you extend Noah's stats out to match the minutes Ben Wallace gets (12.3 vs. 33.1) they are very comparable.
6 months ago
"I think its comical that the Bulls are having a bad season and yet feel the need to band together against a rookie who barely gets any meaningful minutes. He is one of the last reasons why they are losing games, but is now set up as an easy scapegoat."
Aint that the truth Eric. I don't mind the susepnsion, but the fact that a lot of the players are overhyping the importance of the suspension is troubling.
I think the Bulls players have a gross overestimation of their talent level, Gordon especially. He's bought into the hype of thinking himself as a superstar when he really isn't. He played hard last year and allowed the Bulls to overacheive, but he hasn't played hard this year, and that's one of the reasons Skiles got fired. Gordon got tired of playing for him, but now that the Bulls are playing with a more conventional approach, Gordon is still struggling. Since the Bulls don't want to simply outhustle teams to wins, they can't pick up victories any other way.
Plus he complains about not wanting to be a bench player, even though his best position is as a sixth man.
6 months ago
Agreed. Well put.
from 6 months ago
Shut the fuck up ERIC you little dicklover
from 6 months ago
Dude, who are you, and what are you so mad at?
6 months ago
I think we're forgetting something here....
and that is that Joakim Noah is the shittiest piece of shitty shit anyone has ever shitted on
I would have suspended him for 50 games so I wouldn't have to worry about putting him in the game just because he's a fuckin lottery pick... and I can understand why Boylan didnt have a sit down with him.. because his face looks like a terrible beer-diarrhea on New Year's Day morning
He's the worst thing to happen to the NBA since Antoine fuckin Walker
If I was Ben Wallace I would punch the fuck outta Joakim Noah 88 times and then piss all over his smelly dickless body
from 6 months ago
wow...so i'm glad that people take the time to think about the story and come up with a response. I don't know why you wasted your time Mr. Poop.
6 months ago
Should it have stayed in-house? Sure.
But I don't think this is a case of the inmates running the asylum.
I would call it a case of a team taking responsibility for its members and actions.
I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.
6 months ago
Mariotti, the chief Gator-hater in Chicago, wrote nearly the same article. Check it out.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/740759,mariotti011508.article
To the people who took the time to create profiles just to write immature comments...thank you.
from 6 months ago
I never thought I'd see the day when Jay Mariotti and I would feel the same way about any sports issue.
6 months ago
i dont think he's the problem but he sure was a wasted draft choice for the Bulls.they could have had acie law or Al Thorton or Carlos Juan Navarro from my Grizzlies.
6 months ago
i think you have made a valid point of coaches coaching, players playing
i just think that all the players are really frustrated at where the bulls are standing right now
Joakim came into the league as a standout in NCAA, and now he is not even in the regular rotation, i think i understand what he is feeling
and Boylan doesn't realize it
6 months ago
Noah snapped at a coach as a rookie, thats disrespectful. But a team coming together and asking the coach respectively to bench Noah for an extra game is them making sure that he gets the message, it's not being disrespectful to their coach.
5 months ago
Man, what the bulls could have gotten instead of Noah....
3 months ago
Al Thornton, glen "big baby davis", and i like Sean Williams. Noah will be good, ha just needs to play with a pont guard like Duhon. A PG who looks down the paint after pick and rolls. I like Noah, he just grows on yea. Keep Hinrich and Gordon. Get ride of Hughes, has done crap.
The problem wth the bulls is that they have a roster that has more starters then most teams. The bulls have too much talent, if thats possible. Think about it, the bulls play better with a small group of stars and role players. An example is the game vs Den, when the bulls went off on the scoreboard. They were short handed and know that the ones who were in needed to step it up. With a full roster its in the back of there heads that "Hey, im off tonight but someone will step it up.....hopefuly". They cant think like that. They play better short handed. The bulls have 9 guys that would be starters on most teams in the nba and thats too much talent, they need to shorten the rotation but then guys are being wasted. I say Bulls are too good and cant blend together. STILL SAYING GO BULLS!!!!
Durring the off season bulls need to get rid of Hughes, we dont need him we have thabo and deng and noch and tyrus to play "D" on the tall SG on the other teams. Gooden has shown that he can fit, Hughes has just coasted an is now going too slow.
2008-2009 starting lineup
pg- Thabo Duhon
sg- Hinrich Gordon
Sf- Deng Noch
Pf- Gooden Tyrus
c- Noah Gray
Good luck, GO BULLS!!!!!!!
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