The 2010-2011 season saw them:

1) Give Thibs his first Head Coaching job and he won COY
2) They led the NBA in wins AFTER having to move to “Plan C” (losing out, through no fault of their own, on the Miami “Big 3” AND Joe Johnson getting a Mega Max deal from Atlanta only the Nets were crazy enough to trade away assets for), AND…
3) They drafted Mirotic and Butler (with picks received from Utah in the Boozer sign and trade, among others, they received Mirotic and got future All-Star Jimmy Butler at #30)

They have made mistakes, like every front office, but they have done what good front offices do and corrected those mistakes. Trading LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas? Ouch. But, they received a 1st rounder from Charlotte for Thomas, a guy who has been out of the NBA via amnesty until this past week, which they packaged with their own pick to move into the lottery to grab McDermott. They missed on James Johnson, yet received assets back for him, and missed on Marquis Teague. I also think it’s fair say that letting Omer Asik walk for nothing is an embarrassment (although that is somewhat a CBA loophole/mistake than anything else, but that’s their job to understand).

BUT… The Bulls have been in the title conversation this entire decade with only ONE real obstacle holding them back. That’s the HEALTH of the players. It’s almost unprecedented the list of injuries to All-Stars the Bulls have when the playoffs arrive. I don’t think the front office is to blame. Bad luck certainly is a BIG part of it. But also, either Luol Deng or Jimmy Butler have led the NBA in minutes played multiple times since Thibs had been the coach. They HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO FIX THAT PROBLEM! !! Guaranteed contracts don’t allow them to get rid the players, so they have to force Thibs’s hand and give him minutes restrictions. They waited 4 years, without any change on Thibs’s part, so they had to the changes for him. It can’t ALWAYS be a “limited roster” as an excuse. There is a REASON people were reluctant to give Thibs a job. Maybe JVG should acknowledge THAT, that they have a man with 30 years experience his first opportunity and he isn’t PERFECT, even if he’s certainly ELITE, and stepping in to try and stop the CONSTANT injuries is their job as a front office.

Trainers throughout the league have influence over minutes. Any smart organization would want to keep that in mind. Look at the Spurs, they rely heavily on monitoring players minutes.

Zach Lowe is really good at breaking down film and talking Xs and Os, but unless it’s coming from Wojo, it’s just hype. Appreciate your take on this, but there’s nothing there in my opinion.