Bulls can't pass on Collins this time

Hope for the sake of the Bulls that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's trip into Chicago over the weekend to plot the future of the franchise was no sentimental journey.

That's how the Bulls got into this mess two years ago. Reinsdorf followed his heart, which eventually caused his head to throb.

He made the mistake of deciding against hiring Doug Collins as Bulls coach out of fear that one day he would have to fire his close friend. Reinsdorf probably doesn't buy flowers either because they just die.

The only people who appreciated Reinsdorf's gesture more than Collins may have been the teams ahead of the Bulls in the Eastern Conference. As much as Vinny Del Negro got out of the Bulls in two straight playoff seasons, it's natural to wonder whether an experienced coach such as Collins would have gotten even more.

"It's not a great thing for friends to jeopardize a relationship for business,'' Reinsdorf said when passing on Collins in June 2008.

[...]

Collins, with a .536 winning percentage and respect harder to quantify, could be a reality if the Bulls stop dawdling.

Two longtime associates of Collins' contacted in the last week described a guy interested in coaching again despite his comfortable role as a TNT analyst. The Sixers interviewed him Saturday and the Hornets also have reached out. Collins' daughter, Kelly, lives in the Philadelphia area.

But, according to a Collins friend, Chicago remains special because of his past here, the Bulls' roster and relationships with Reinsdorf and Paxson. Both of them, as well as Del Negro, have continued to use Collins as a resource. And if Collins' name comes up in a Berto Center office as a potential candidate whenever Del Negro is fired, it won't be the first time it has in the last month.

Move fast. Tempt Collins with a $5 million salary offer. Let him bring respected NBA scout and ex-assistant Brian James, the former Glenbrook North High School coach who knows Collins as well as anybody and the roster from scouting it all season. Keep Lindsey Hunter, who played for Collins from 1996-98 in Detroit, on the staff to help bridge the gap between the new coach and his players.

Collins last coached the Bulls in 1989, fired after losing in the Eastern Conference finals. If Reinsdorf insists on injecting any nostalgia into the equation, sell Collins on the idea of getting a chance to take the Bulls where he couldn't 21 years ago — Point C, if you will.