|
Another reason this clown needs to axed.
So much for company man KC.
Jabari Parker — warts and all — deserves another chance to play
Jabari Parker, the former Simeon star, joined the Bulls after 4 seasons with the Bucks.
K.C. JohnsonContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
Free Jabari Parker.
That used to be a lighthearted, third-person reference Bobby Portis used during his rookie season as he sat behind Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic. It even led to a #freeBobbyPortis hashtag on Twitter.
In Parker’s case, it’s serious stuff for the Bulls.
Parker didn’t play again Wednesday against the Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore. Since coach Jim Boylen removed him from the rotation Dec. 15, Parker has logged just 14 minutes, 19 seconds of playing time.
Boylen has stated publicly his reasons for benching Parker center around defensive and effort issues, as well as no player being bigger than the team. Like Fred Hoiberg before him, Boylen also isn’t comfortable playing Parker at small forward.
He still can help a struggling second unit.
In November, Parker averaged 17.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 34.2 minutes per game. In the first three games of December, before his role changed, Parker averaged 16.3 points, 9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 28 minutes.
The Bulls own the NBA’s worst offense by a full 2.43 points every 100 possessions. They currently are playing Shaquille Harrison, whom the Suns waived in training camp, as the backup small forward to rookie Chandler Hutchison.
This is the same Hutchison who everybody, including management, figured would be backing up Parker at small forward with Justin Holiday as the odd man out after Parker signed a two-year, $40 million deal in free agency.
This has nothing to do with Harrison, a limited, defensive-minded player who should be lauded for maximizing his opportunity. Boylen said he loves him because he’s a “yes-sir, no-sir guy who cares about the team.” Play him at backup shooting guard.
It has everything to do with the Bulls too quickly shelving the “Parker at small forward” experiment and now employing a double standard to keep him rooted to the bench.
The Bulls believe Parker doesn’t guard. Antonio Blakeney does? The Bulls believe Parker occasionally disconnects from the team. Jimmy Butler used to dress in a separate area of the locker room with his personal trainer — away from the team.
As for the effort issues, that’s harder to defend. Parker hasn’t responded to his benching with consistently strong practice habits. He indisputably has had several glaring instances of poor defensive transition, times when he jogged back leisurely on defense.
Parker admitted to these in an interview with the Tribune on Dec. 29 in Toronto.
“Nobody is perfect in transition,” he said. “I’ve improved on all facets. You can’t just point out a few mistakes and say, ‘Hey, you got to sit out.’ That’s not the game because I offer so much to it. I give another threat on offense that can help the team. I’m a willing passer. And I rebound. It’s not just transition defense.”
Still, the whole situation is head-scratching. Management publicly acknowledged Parker didn’t represent a perfect lineup fit when he signed. His best minutes — and defensive play — have come at power forward, where the Bulls are set with Lauri Markkanen and Portis.
But the plan — in a developmental, not-win-now season, it should be emphasized — was to toss him to the wolves defensively at small forward to see how his offensive talent fit alongside the future core. As Parker said in that interview in Toronto, he “kept (his) end of the bargain.”
In other words, he’s the same player, warts and all, the Bulls targeted in free agency.
This isn’t a debate about whether the Bulls should’ve signed him in the first place. It’s suggesting that because they did, he should play. Parker is a versatile scorer and willing passer who can help a second unit that currently includes Harrison, Blakeney and Ryan Arcidiacono.
Players from other teams have noticed. Even after two ACL surgeries, Parker is a former No. 2 pick whose offensive prowess is recognized. His benching is one of the first subjects players from other teams raise when they’re talking casually about the Bulls.
And leading up to a summer in which the Bulls have ample salary-cap space for free agents, goodwill is helpful.
Another way to achieve this, of course, would be to move Parker. To management’s credit, it’s working amicably with Parker’s representative to do so by the Feb. 7 trade deadline. But with Parker’s deal essentially representing an expiring contract — it carries an option that the Bulls won’t exercise, but any team trading for him could choose to do so — teams to this point haven’t been willing to part with attractive assets.
For what it’s worth, there’s another reason to play Parker: It’s hard to sell his trade value when he can’t crack the rotation of a 10-31 team.
Management has supported both Hoiberg’s decision to move Parker from starter to reserve and Boylen’s choice to move Parker to benchwarmer.
The one game Parker did play over the previous 12 came on the same Jan. 4 day executive vice president John Paxson suggested Parker could reclaim his role. Instead, Boylen said Parker’s minutes came because Holiday had just been traded and Portis hadn’t returned from his right ankle injury.
When the Bulls granted reporters access at the conclusion of Wednesday’s morning shootaround, Boylen sat next to Parker, showing him film clips on a laptop. It appeared a reprieve might be coming.
Instead, Boylen said he merely wanted to show Parker new wrinkles to the offense because he’s not getting as many practice repetitions as the regulars. And Parker was the only Bull not to play when Boylen emptied his bench near the end of the lopsided loss.
Parker doesn’t need mop-up minutes. He needs regular minutes.
_________________ The Hawk wrote: This is going to reach a head pretty soon.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
