It's troubling enough that the Bulls can't win, can't score, can't play defense, can't play together and can't tie their sneakers without hearing a Kobe Bryant reference. But now, even their well-spoken general manager is having problems articulating. I hope John Paxson doesn't really mean what he seemed to suggest Monday, that the only fans who are dissatisified and chanting ``Kobe! Kobe!'' are those in the more affordable upper reaches of the United Center.
Because that is an insult to the entire fan base, a socioeconomic commentary as snobbish as it is inaccurate. This isn't about which fans have money and which don't. This isn't about 100 Level fans having a well-heeled comfort zone and 300 Level fans having less patience. Simply, this is about the Bulls starting a putrid 1-5, frustrating an entire metropolis with their listless play and putting themselves at risk of losing Chicago this winter to the hot, young, home-telegenic Blackhawks.
Everybody is booing the Bulls, Pax -- wealthy and working-class, young and old, male and female, black and white. The only thing you're correct about: They have every right to boo and bounce Bryant's name off the rafters of Michael Jordan's house, a chorus that might persist until a pummeled front office grants the wish.
``It's an ugly thing,'' Paxson said. ``But they have the right to do it. They're the ones that pay my salary, the coaches' salaries, the players' salaries. If they're not happy with what they saw, they have that right. Sometimes we get comfortable going to the United Center and seeing the 100 Level full, and you know those people probably have money. But sometimes you forget the people sitting up in the 300 Level that use their entertainment income on coming to see us play.
``And when you play the way we played the other night and the way we played earlier this year, they have every right to go after us. And you hope that players don't go in a shell on that. You want them to say, `I'm going to have some pride and we're going to get this together and we're going to make these people who are booing us today happy.' ''
The dissatisfaction goes beyond a rough two weeks. Customers are sensing that Paxson's master plan is flimsy and falling apart, not what anyone expected when the organization talked so confidently about making a quantum leap to the NBA Finals. Suddenly, people are realizing this is Year 10 since the Jordan dynasty was dismantled prematurely.
Suddenly, people are remembering the 341 losses in six years, the false promises that Tracy McGrady and big-name free agents would be delivered, the embarrassment when Jerry Krause dispatched Benny the Bull to greet Tim Duncan at the airport. When the Bulls finally won 47 games three years ago, there was legitimate promise that the learning curve would produce more titles. But now they are regressing and stuck in the quicksand of no man's land, with Paxson's collection of tough, hard-working overachievers from prestigious college programs topping out before our sore eyes.
All the people want for their money, no matter where they're sitting, is effort and results. The Bulls are providing neither, which is why they were booed out of the arena Saturday night in a 30-point loss to Toronto. These are grim times when Scott Skiles benches his starters in the third quarter and never lets them return, prompting the ``Kobe!'' chants that gall Paxson and Skiles, if you read between the lines. ``No athlete wants to play on his home court and be booed," Skiles said. ``The way we have performed, the boos are natural, and fans have a right to voice displeasure. I hoped that we'd a reached a level where with bad play or a chant, we could stay on course. But it's possible that's not the case.''
It's stunning how brittle and easily rattled this team is, that the Bryant trade rumors and chants have shaken the collective equilibrium. But maybe that speaks volumes about the tenuous nature of a so-called contender. The Bulls are too consumed by what fans and media think, starting with Luol Deng, who came of age last spring only to become a tentative, withdrawn player after rejecting a $50-million-plus extension and hearing his name in the Bryant talks. He admits to being stung by Kobemania, not exactly a profile in emotional toughness. ``That definitely hurts,'' he said. ``As hard as we work as a team, to hear boos and the `Kobes' when we're losing that much, it definitely hurts.
``I think since I've been in the NBA, this is the lowest I've felt.''
Said Kirk Hinrich, another so-called cornerstone who is performing poorly: ``I can't remember it being this bad since I've been here. Frustration is at an all-time high ... We are frustrated, embarrassed -- use whatever word you want. We're at a crossroads where it can't get much worse.''
Oh, really? With the catcalls ringing in their ears, the Bulls now embark on their annual circus trip at the worst time. It involves six games over 11 days, starting Thursday night in Phoenix, with a particularly exhausting experience coming this weekend. They'll venture to the Staples Center, L.A. home of Kobe, with a game against the Clippers preceding a Sunday night drama fest against Bryant and the Lakers. What are the chances that Kobe, locked in one of his egomaniacal zones over The Trade That Wasn't, pounds the Bulls for 60? Wouldn't that be a message to Paxson? Bryant hasn't softened on his wish to be traded, with Chicago still his favored destination, but he has settled down to become the league's early scoring leader at 30.4 points a game for a 3-2 team. He has gone so far to praise Andrew Bynum, the young center he blistered in the infamous parking-lot video in which he said he wanted to be a Bull. So impressed is Phil Jackson, he didn't hesistate to name Bryant a co-captain with veteran Derek Fisher.
``I was sitting on the john one day, and I said, `That's a good idea,' '' related Jackson, providing too much information. ``It wasn't very much of a thought process. It was a pretty gut-level idea. Who's the spokesman for this team, the guys that step up and lead this team as they do?''
Very soon, though, expect the Bryant trade buzz to heat up. This time, Paxson not only has to listen harder, he has to try more aggressively to make it happen and reinvigorate his wobbling franchise. He was asked about his roster again. ``That's a hard question to answer,'' he said. ``But obviously in my position, I sit there every day and evaluate what's going on. After what happened with all the [Bryant] rumors out there, to start more would be a really bad thing. I'm not going there. I evaluate every day. Time will tell what direction we need to go.''
If time doesn't, the boos will.
by Jay Mariotti SunTimes.Com
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