I know this type of guy. He can't speak to men as a man, much less as a professional. He avoids conflict and hides from confrontation. In doing so, he invites dysfunction and creates mass confusion. This isn't the stuff of leaders. This guy needs to go.
Contrary to what Hoiberg has claimed, Rondo
said he’s had no productive or detailed discussion with his coach about his benching.“Um, how can I say this?” Rondo told reporters. “No.”The explanation Rondo did receive came from a staffer on the Bulls bench, who told him they were “saving me from myself,” Rondo said. He had been benched for poor play, with Hoiberg saying it was his decision alone, but Rondo wasn’t buying the little he was told.
“I thought it was (BS),” Rondo told reporters. “Save me from myself. I never heard that before in my life.”
While this lack of communication from the Bulls can to a large degree be absolved in the context of dealing with an underperforming player who’s also stubborn in Rondo, this continues a trend for the Bulls that should be concerning.
Perhaps more than anything in his one-and-a-half seasons, Hoiberg’s missteps have been in dealing with his players.
he Rondo mess marks the
second straight year Hoiberg has encountered tumult with a proud veteran. Just a week into the 2015-’16 regular season, Hoiberg claimed that big man Joakim Noah had volunteered to come off the bench as Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic started.
He hadn’t, and Noah made that clear to all. It set the stage for what became the most frustrating season of Noah’s career,
and he never connected with Hoiberg.
In the present, the “save me from myself” comment that Rondo relayed
has drawn raised eyebrows. After Tuesday’s game,
Hoiberg indicated he wasn’t aware of that comment being made and sidestepped a question as to whether he would have a problem with an assistant speaking in such a manner to a player. (
)
And Rondo
isn’t the only veteran searching for answers. After Rondo was benched on Dec. 31, forward Taj Gibson — as respected as they come in an NBA locker room — sought an answer as to why.
“I don’t even know what happened to tell you the truth,” Gibson said Jan. 2. “I still don’t know what happened. I’m still waiting to see what’s happened.
“I asked. I haven’t gotten any word yet, so I’m still waiting”
Hoiberg has been questioned time after time about the Rondo situation,
and at every turn he declines to divulge details. In what’s becoming a Hoiberg staple, whenever he’s pushed, asked to shine light on a situation and perhaps send a message to the masses, he evades the topic. Usually, he just gives a play-by-play recap of what already occurred
instead of addressing the issue in the here and now.
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