Rose believes load management would’ve helped him remain a Bull

Over the last decade, few NBA superstars had their careers derailed by injury as significantly as Derrick Rose. After becoming the youngest MVP in league history in 2010-11, Rose missed large swaths of the next three seasons with various leg injuries, ultimately leading to the end of his tenure with his hometown Chicago Bulls.

Now with the Detroit Pistons – his fourth team in four years – Rose believes things would’ve been different if the concept of load management was more prominent at the time in the NBA.

“It was just a different time in the sports world, period,” Rose told NBC Chicago’s Will Perdue. “Now we have the term load management. I don’t think I would’ve taken it as far as Kawhi (Leonard) … but if load management would’ve been around, who knows? I probably would’ve still been a Chicago Bull by now.”

Rose missed the entire 2012-13 campaign after tearing his left ACL in the 2012 playoffs. Meniscus tears in both knees later limited him to an average of 42 games over his last three seasons in Chicago.

Still, Rose said that he wouldn’t change anything about his eight seasons with the Bulls, even with the pressure of being a hometown hoops prodigy trying to fill the shoes of Michael Jordan.

“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way but how it played out,” he said. “I achieved a lot here. I loved it here. This is my hometown. But when I look at the old footage of the documentary, it kind of reminds me of a younger Mike Tyson, in a way where you got this talented, gifted individual and they’re just locked into their craft. And they don’t care about what’s going on on the outside. They don’t care about who they’re getting compared to.”

The 31-year-old still shows flashes of his old attacking ability and is averaging 18.4 points this season – his highest per-game output since 2011-12.

AD walks back comment about considering Bulls in free agency

Hold your horses, Chicago Bulls fans.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis sent Bulls fans into a frenzy Monday when he said signing with his hometown club next summer as a free agent would be “a possibility.”

On Tuesday, he noted that he hadn’t said joining the Bulls was in his plans for 2020.

“I didn’t say I’d consider anything,” Davis said, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group.

When asked to clarify exactly what he said, Davis answered: “I said that I’m focused on the championship with the Lakers. And, of course, everyone knows I’m going to be a free agent next year, and I said, ‘We’ll see where it goes.'”

The Lakers were in Chicago to take on the Bulls on Tuesday, and Davis held an event during his off day that involved a Q&A session with young athletes. When one attendee asked if he would ever sign with the Bulls, Davis seemingly left the door open and brought up his upcoming free agency.

“Honestly, it’s nothing like playing at home,” Davis answered, according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard. “I don’t know. … I mean, I am a free agent next year, but we’ll see. It’s a possibility.”

It wasn’t the first time this year Davis has teased a return home.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson in July, Davis referred to the city as the “Mecca of basketball” and admitted he would contemplate joining the Bulls if he had the chance.

“I mean, (this is) definitely hometown,” Davis said then. “If the opportunity ever presents itself and when that time comes, I’d definitely consider it.”

Davis holds a $28.7-million player option in his contract for the 2020-21 season, according to Spotrac, though he is expected to opt out in order to secure a new max deal.

The 26-year-old is playing his first season in Los Angeles after requesting a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this year. He’s averaging 28.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-high three blocks per contest in six games.

Rodman encourages gay athletes to come out: ‘Enjoy yourself’

Dennis Rodman marched to the beat of his own drum during his playing days, and he’s encouraging professional athletes to do the same now.

Rodman was one of the best defensive players of his generation and a five-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, but he rose to fame in the ’90s due in large part to his unconventional style and off-court activities – which included dressing up in drag, openly partaking in gay nightlife, and dating celebrities such as Madonna.

“One of the things I was proud of the most back then – I actually brought the gay community to the forefront for sports because of the things I was doing,” Rodman told Ryan Pearson of The Associated Press. “I did a Sports Illustrated cover where I went in in a bathing suit and had makeup and stuff like that.

“And I was so flamboyant when I was doing it and stuff like that and people are like, ‘wow, we like this guy because he’s not afraid to go out the box.'”

He asserts there are gay players in the NBA and other major sports leagues today who haven’t opened up yet.

“I just think that percentage-wise in sports, I think there’s a lot,” he said. “There’s probably more bisexual than gay in sports. I’m sorry guys, to expose everybody. I wish all of them would come out. It’s acceptable today. Just come out, man. Have a good time. Enjoy yourself.”

Jason Collins remains the only openly gay athlete to have played in the NBA. John Amaechi, who played in the league for five years, came out after retiring from the sport.

Rodman, 58, is currently promoting his new ESPN 30 for 30, “Rodman: For Better or Worse.”

Bulls, Boylen agree to reported multi-year extension

Head coach Jim Boylen has agreed to a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls, the team announced Friday.

It’s reportedly a multi-year extension, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Both parties were reportedly in talks to finalize a three-year extension in April.

“Jim has a strong vision on where he wants to take this team, and he has done a great job establishing the culture that we want this organization to stand for as we continue to progress,” executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement, per the team.

“He has tremendous passion for developing young talent, is a strong communicator, and (is) a good fit for this team. The organization is confident in the direction that he is taking our players, and we are committed to him.”

Boylen’s new contract will replace the original deal – which took him through the end of the 2019-20 season – he signed in December, according to Wojnarowski. The Bulls bench boss led the team to a 17-41 record after taking over for Fred Hoiberg.

The 54-year-old’s first season at the helm had its share of bumps in the road. Boylen’s players rebelled against him early during his tenure after he scheduled a practice following a back-to-back – an unusual practice in the NBA. Some players reportedly contacted the National Basketball Players Association in response.

However, the Bulls’ ownership and front office continued to support Boylen through the early growing pains.

Before becoming Chicago’s bench boss, Boylen spent many years coaching at the collegiate and NBA level. He won back-to-back rings with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995 as an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich.

Boylen served as Tom Izzo’s top assistant at Michigan State from 2005-07 before spending the next four seasons as the head coach at Utah, leading the Utes to a 69-60 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Boylen added a third NBA championship to his resume in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs as a member of Gregg Popovich’s staff.

Bulls finalizing 3-year extension with coach Boylen

The Chicago Bulls are close to agreeing to a three-year extension with head coach Jim Boylen, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jim Cowley.

Boylen’s aggressive approach to coaching has apparently been well-received by the front office since he replaced Fred Hoiberg.

“I think what I’ve seen is his ability to show these guys he genuinely cares about them,” Bulls vice president John Paxson said during the season-ending press conference, according to Cowley. “His goal is to get them better as individuals. I’m the first to admit that first week was like dynamite blowing up. It was a rocky week. What I’ve seen since then is a guy who embraces this challenge. He embraces the individuals he’s coaching. He really does view himself as a teacher, a guy who wants to connect with the players.”

The young Bulls players infamously rebelled against Boylen early in his tenure after the longtime assistant put the team through several grueling practices. Many players reportedly contacted the players’ association when Boylen scheduled a practice following the second game of a back-to-back.

Boylen was an assistant for 18 seasons before receiving the promotion and went 17-41 in his first campaign as head coach.

Eric Bischoff Reveals Dennis Rodman’s WCW Payday, Talks Pitching Segment To Jay Leno

Dennis Rodman’s WCW career was brief, but lucrative for the Hall of Fame basketball player. He wrestled one matchin each of 1997, 1998 and 1999 and Eric Bischoff revealed just how much money The Worm received for his appearances.

“The total fee was just a little over $1 million, like a million and change,” Bischoff said on After 83 Weeks. “But that was for a number of different appearances. It wasn’t just for one appearance. I know that sounds like a ton of money, and it is a ton of money…But in the big scheme of things you know, Mike Tyson probably got three times that much. Other performers in WWF get much, much bigger numbers.

“I had a number in my head, because in my mind getting Dennis Rodman would create a certain amount of buzz that if I had to pay for would probably cost me three times that much money…The press that I knew I would get from that I really wouldn’t even be able to buy.”

In 1998 Rodman and Hulk Hogan teamed up to take on fellow NBA great Karl Malone and Diamond Dallas Page. That match just happened to come right after Rodman’s Bulls played Malone’s Jazz in the NBA Finals and Bischoff says he encouraged the two to “start” the feud while they were still doing their day jobs.

“I got ahold of Dennis through his manager at the time, Dwight Manley,” stated Bischoff. “I said ‘Look, nothing during the game. I don’t want to be accused of screwing up a game, be it playoffs. But if there’s any chance when you guys are kind of in between, or if you’re off court you know near the court there’s cameras running, if you guys could like push and shove each other a little bit, you know kind of raise the heat, raise the temperature just a bit. I wouldn’t be disappointed if something like that were to happen. I’m not telling you to do it!’

“I’m just telling you if something were to happen like that, I’d be pretty happy about it.”

Apart from athletes like Rodman and Malone, Bischoff also recruited Jay Leno to wrestle in WCW. Leno and DDP teamed up to take on Bischoff and Hogan at 1998’s Road Wild.

To build up to that match, Hogan and Bischoff invaded The Tonight Show and tried to take it over. Bischoff recounts pitching that segment to Leno and the surprise reaction that Leno gave him.

“I’m literally booking this whole thing on the fly,” stated Bischoff. “I said, well I don’t know maybe Hogan and I come down and we throw you off your set, take over your show. You tell a couple jokes about him which will piss him off and that’s why we’re going to come down and throw you off your own set.

“Jay went, yeah, I can see that, yeah. I went, holy s*** he’ll do it! I didn’t think he would do that. I thought it was going to be like, yeah I’ll work Hulk Hogan’s corner, or you know some peripheral celebrity kind of typical formula. Nope, he wanted to get in the ring. He wanted to have a match and he didn’t care if we threw him off of his own set to do it! So that was pretty cool.”

Noah reflects on Bulls tenure, plans to end career on own terms

Joakim Noah‘s best playing days came in a Chicago Bulls uniform. During his nine seasons in the Windy City, Noah was a two-time All-Star and was named Defensive Player of the Year for the 2013-14 campaign.

The 33-year-old is grateful for the relationships he built with his Bulls teammates and reflected on those memories ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies‘ clash with Chicago on Wednesday.

“Those guys are my brothers for life,” Noah said, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “I think there are some championship teams that don’t even have that kind of bond. It’s a special bond. I’m happy to see my old teammates doing well. To me, that’s almost as important as winning a championship.”

Noah made playoff appearances in seven of his nine seasons with the Bulls, including a run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2010-11. The veteran center signed a four-year, $72-million deal with the New York Knicks in the 2016 offseason.

But Noah’s stay in the Big Apple was a disappointing one. He was suspended 20 games for taking performance-enhancing drugs, battled injuries, and had a feud with then-head coach Jeff Hornacek.

The big man was waived by the Knicks in October and signed with the Grizzlies a few months later. While he’s not happy about the way things ended in New York, Noah feels he has a chance to finish his career on his own terms.

“I didn’t want to leave the game like that,” Noah said, according to Johnson. “I’ve worked too hard my whole life. I’ve always been somebody who loves basketball, loves to compete. I wanted to find that again.”

“I worked my a– off to be in this position,” he added. “There’s always people comparing me to what it was or you’re not as good as you used to be. But that’s not what it is for me. I have my kids. My daughter is able to watch me play. I can end this thing on my note.”

Bulls, Boylen agree to new deal

Head coach Jim Boylen has agreed to a new deal with the Chicago Bulls, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The 53-year-old will reportedly receive a salary increase for the remaining two seasons of his contract – this year and 2019-20.

Boylen will make $1.6 million this season, according to ESPN. Approximately $1 million of his $1.6-million salary for next season is guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, providing the organization with more flexibility in the offseason should the Bulls decide to move on from Boylen or restructure his deal.

“The Bulls have been very gracious to me and very supportive in everything we’re trying to do,” Boylen said prior to Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “They’re fair and honest and direct, and I respond to that well.”

Boylen has led the Bulls to a 5-13 record since Fred Hoiberg was fired last December.

Before becoming Chicago’s bench boss, Boylen spent many years coaching at the collegiate and NBA level.

He won back-to-back rings with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995 as an assistant coach under Rudy Tomjanovich.

Boylen served as Tom Izzo’s top assistant at Michigan State from 2005-07 before spending the next four seasons as the head coach at Utah, leading the Utes to a 69-60 record and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Boylen added a third NBA championship to his resume in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs as a member of Gregg Popovich’s staff.

However, the Michigan native’s tactics have been questioned by his players during his short tenure as the Bulls’ head coach. Boylen scheduled a practice a day after a back-to-back before ultimately holding a team meeting instead.

Bulls fire Hoiberg, name Boylen head coach

The Chicago Bulls fired head coach Fred Hoiberg on Monday after a 5-19 start to the season and immediately named associate head coach Jim Boylen his replacement.

Boylen is taking over as permanent head coach and won’t have an interim title, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

“After a thorough evaluation, I elected to make this move with the overall development of our team in mind,” Bulls vice president John Paxson said in a statement.

“… I believe it is imperative that we make unfaltering strides in the right direction and build the right habits to help put our players in the best position to evolve not only now, but into the future.”

The 46-year-old Hoiberg coached the Bulls to a 115-155 record and one playoff appearance. He was in the fourth season of a five-year, $25-million contract – all of which is guaranteed, notes the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson.

Hoiberg had great success as a coach at Iowa State and is expected to be a top candidate for coaching jobs in the college ranks, according to Wojnarowski.

Boylen is signed through the 2019-20 season and will earn just under $1 million per year, sources told Wojnarowski. It’s still not known if his contract will be restructured as a result of his promotion.

He joined the Bulls in June 2015 and is well-traveled, with more than 30 years of combined coaching experience at the college and pro levels.

“He’s a coach that has paid his dues in this league,” Paxson told reportersMonday. “He has a passion and energy to him that I think our players will respond to.”

Paxson added, “We think he’s got the intangibles to be a really good head coach. He has a philosophy and we’re going to give him every opportunity to exceed.”

T-Wolves owner has regrets over trading for Butler in 2017

After dealing star Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday following months of drama, Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is expressing regret over the 2017 trade that helped end the team’s 14-year playoff drought.

“I just never anticipated that this would play out like that,” Taylor said, according to St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Jace Frederick. “To me, I thought we were helpful to him because he said he wanted to get out of Chicago … We certainly gave Chicago some really good young players. (Butler) came here with expectations that he would help lead the team, not only with scoring, but with his experience that he would share with our young guys, and we got behind that.”

Minnesota gave up a trio of youngsters in Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen for Butler in the deal with Chicago, only for the star wing to unexpectedly demanded a trade in September after leading the Timberwolves to the playoffs during his first season in the Twin Cities.

Taylor, for his part, is happy to be able to put the turmoil that surrounded the team behind him.

“It consumed too much of my time on things that were negative,” he said.

The Timberwolves received Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a second-round pick in exchange for Butler and Justin Patton.

The addition of two starting-caliber forwards in Saric and Covington should provide floor spacing for Karl-Anthony Towns and a fresh start for the franchise as it aims for a second postseason berth in as many years.

“That’s why when that possibility worked out that I thought that was better than some of the other ones that might have included a (draft) pick or something like that,” Taylor said. “Of course, we love picks, but I thought that we … better bring a group together and these two guys seem to fit in.”

The Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 107-100 on Wednesday to improve to 6-9 and are 2-0 since the trade.