Bulls Fire Skiles

The Chicago Bulls fired Scott Skiles as head coach Monday, the team said in a statement.

Under Skiles, the Bulls are 9-16, better than only the New York Knicks and Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.

"This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time," general manager John Paxson said in a statement Monday, ESPN reported. "Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3167996&type=story

The Bulls' players and coaching staff simply weren't family anymore … if they ever were. It wasn't just Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas constantly clashing with Skiles; Bulls sources say that two of the foreigners we don't hear much from in the domestic media -- Andres Nocioni and Thabo Sefolosha -- were equally miserable with Skiles always grinding on them, just to name two.

[...]

It was natural in troubled times for the media to focus, until now, on Skiles and the perpetually iffy state of his relationships with players. But that buffer is gone for the GM. Unless there's a sudden turnaround in the standings or a high-profile hire like Rick Carlisle, Pax will be hearing more and more about the Bulls' ongoing failure to trade for a low-post scorer … and how Wallace is aging so quickly while Tyson Chandler flourishes in New Orleans … and how much more LaMarcus Aldridge could have helped this team than Thomas after the Bulls chose Thomas over Aldridge in the draft.

Changing coaches on Christmas Eve (or whenever) won't magically fix all of the above. Which means Paxson will wake up Christmas morning wearing Skiles' old bull's-eye.[/url]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/712717,CST-SPT-bull26.article#

The first thing Paxson will do today is talk at length with assistant coach Jim Boylan, who remained home while the team traveled to San Antonio for a game tonight. Assistant coach Pete Myers will coach the game tonight. Boylan is expected to be named interim head coach for the rest of the season, though Paxson said he will have more input on how players are used. Paxson wants to see his younger players much more in the mix.

So Paxson will see more from the younger players. More playing time for Thomas, Sefolosha, Noah & Gray?