The Bulls gave up Elton Brand for this kid on the basis "Brand would never be a franchise player" and Chandler would.
In fact, most of their rebuilding has been around him...thinking he'd become the best big man in the East.
Last year, there was genuine optimism he'd be a Garnett like player soon...and I recall countless posts on Bulls forums saying there were no regrets giving up Brand for the kid.
Well, this is his third year...and he actually looks to be behind Kwame Brown in terms of progress.
Not only that, the Bulls are again the worst team in the NBA.
Now he can't even get minutes on a crap team, but he's being left out for not being fit and wearing his shorts wrong.
Sitting Chandler no shorts story
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
February 27, 2004, 10:08 PM CST
The latest installment of "As the Bulls Turn" is pretty simple as far as coach Scott Skiles is concerned.
"I've set certain standards on things that as an organization we're not going to budge off of," Skiles said Friday.
In remarks far more expansive than those directly following his actions on Thursday, Skiles discussed why Tyson Chandler didn't play in Washington.
He said Chandler's failure to have his uniform look professional in Wednesday's home game against Detroit is only part of the reason.
In that game, Chandler tucked his jersey into his spandex shorts, which then showed when his game shorts drooped. Skiles pulled him, told him the look was unacceptable but later put him back in.
So why bench him against Washington? Skiles hasn't been happy with Chandler's work ethic or on-court performance of late.
"You can make a big deal out of it and look at it as punitive," Skiles said. "But it's not that. I like Tyson a lot. But there have been a couple of things creeping in that I want to nip in the bud."
The Bulls could be 16-42, 58-0 or 0-58, the standards remain the same?
"Absolutely," Skiles said.
But surely Skiles must understand the flip side of that argument, the one that says that because the Bulls are, indeed, 16-42, young players like Chandler—a supposed cornerstone—should play for development's sake, no matter what.
"No, I can't understand that argument," Skiles said.
And there you go. That's the crux of the situation in a nutshell. Never mind that there hasn't been this much controversy over spandex since Richard Simmons' 15 minutes of fame expired.
Skiles will hold all players accountable and to his standards, even if on-court development is lost in the process.
"We've done a lot of talking here about minor things—the condition of your locker, not parking in the handicapped spot [at practice]," Skiles said. "We try to take steps up on all of that. And the league does too.
"The league is big on shirts [being] tucked in and [wearing] certain socks. We want to stay on top of it."
Skiles discussed the incident with Chandler privately Friday, although the subject didn't arise in a lengthy film session and team discussion on finishing the season strong.
"I was surprised," Chandler said. "But it's not my decision. It's coach's decision. He felt like I violated a rule. It's something I have to deal with. It's not for me to agree or not. If that's what the coach wants, that's what you have to do."
Following a trend in which he says he doesn't hold grudges, Skiles said Chandler "may" play a lot in Saturday's home game against Golden State.
Meanwhile, in a sign of how bad things are for the Bulls, Corie Blount hurt his left foot in a game of three-on-three after practice, spending several minutes on the floor in pain.
Chandler participated in that same game, which surely pleased Skiles. So did Scottie Pippen, although the veteran forward said he still has too much pain in his chronically bad left knee to leave the injured list.
Why return at all to a 16-42 team?
"I look at it that way too," Pippen said. "But I think that the purpose of me coming here is to teach these guys and help develop them. No matter what the record is, we have to continue to try to get better as a team."
Apparently, nobody's giving up.
Skiles disputed a theory that his more placid sideline demeanor the last two games is a sign that he's resigned to his team's bad outcomes.
"When I was a player and it became known that I wanted to coach, there was always skepticism, like, 'The guy is going to be some wild, raving lunatic on the sidelines because that's the way he played,'" Skiles said. "Nobody gave me any credit for having a little bit of intelligence to know that I couldn't do that.
"I don't want to add embarrassment to my guys on a night we don't have it where I'm up there yelling at people. I wouldn't want to be treated like that."
In fact, most of their rebuilding has been around him...thinking he'd become the best big man in the East.
Last year, there was genuine optimism he'd be a Garnett like player soon...and I recall countless posts on Bulls forums saying there were no regrets giving up Brand for the kid.
Well, this is his third year...and he actually looks to be behind Kwame Brown in terms of progress.
Not only that, the Bulls are again the worst team in the NBA.
Now he can't even get minutes on a crap team, but he's being left out for not being fit and wearing his shorts wrong.
Sitting Chandler no shorts story
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
February 27, 2004, 10:08 PM CST
The latest installment of "As the Bulls Turn" is pretty simple as far as coach Scott Skiles is concerned.
"I've set certain standards on things that as an organization we're not going to budge off of," Skiles said Friday.
In remarks far more expansive than those directly following his actions on Thursday, Skiles discussed why Tyson Chandler didn't play in Washington.
He said Chandler's failure to have his uniform look professional in Wednesday's home game against Detroit is only part of the reason.
In that game, Chandler tucked his jersey into his spandex shorts, which then showed when his game shorts drooped. Skiles pulled him, told him the look was unacceptable but later put him back in.
So why bench him against Washington? Skiles hasn't been happy with Chandler's work ethic or on-court performance of late.
"You can make a big deal out of it and look at it as punitive," Skiles said. "But it's not that. I like Tyson a lot. But there have been a couple of things creeping in that I want to nip in the bud."
The Bulls could be 16-42, 58-0 or 0-58, the standards remain the same?
"Absolutely," Skiles said.
But surely Skiles must understand the flip side of that argument, the one that says that because the Bulls are, indeed, 16-42, young players like Chandler—a supposed cornerstone—should play for development's sake, no matter what.
"No, I can't understand that argument," Skiles said.
And there you go. That's the crux of the situation in a nutshell. Never mind that there hasn't been this much controversy over spandex since Richard Simmons' 15 minutes of fame expired.
Skiles will hold all players accountable and to his standards, even if on-court development is lost in the process.
"We've done a lot of talking here about minor things—the condition of your locker, not parking in the handicapped spot [at practice]," Skiles said. "We try to take steps up on all of that. And the league does too.
"The league is big on shirts [being] tucked in and [wearing] certain socks. We want to stay on top of it."
Skiles discussed the incident with Chandler privately Friday, although the subject didn't arise in a lengthy film session and team discussion on finishing the season strong.
"I was surprised," Chandler said. "But it's not my decision. It's coach's decision. He felt like I violated a rule. It's something I have to deal with. It's not for me to agree or not. If that's what the coach wants, that's what you have to do."
Following a trend in which he says he doesn't hold grudges, Skiles said Chandler "may" play a lot in Saturday's home game against Golden State.
Meanwhile, in a sign of how bad things are for the Bulls, Corie Blount hurt his left foot in a game of three-on-three after practice, spending several minutes on the floor in pain.
Chandler participated in that same game, which surely pleased Skiles. So did Scottie Pippen, although the veteran forward said he still has too much pain in his chronically bad left knee to leave the injured list.
Why return at all to a 16-42 team?
"I look at it that way too," Pippen said. "But I think that the purpose of me coming here is to teach these guys and help develop them. No matter what the record is, we have to continue to try to get better as a team."
Apparently, nobody's giving up.
Skiles disputed a theory that his more placid sideline demeanor the last two games is a sign that he's resigned to his team's bad outcomes.
"When I was a player and it became known that I wanted to coach, there was always skepticism, like, 'The guy is going to be some wild, raving lunatic on the sidelines because that's the way he played,'" Skiles said. "Nobody gave me any credit for having a little bit of intelligence to know that I couldn't do that.
"I don't want to add embarrassment to my guys on a night we don't have it where I'm up there yelling at people. I wouldn't want to be treated like that."
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