That’s what Ben Gordon and Luol Deng recently found out after voicing their opinions about what the team should (and shouldn’t) be doing. Vinny Del Negro reminded the two players that it’s his show, and they’ll just have to come along for the ride.
Following a disheartening loss to the Cavs, Gordon and Deng called for changes to the Bulls’ strategy, but their coach wasn’t having any of it. From the Sun-Times:
”No, no, no; they’re the players, I’m the coach,” Del Negro said.
”The good teams in this league stick together,” Del Negro continued. ”The good teams fight and figure out ways to get better every day. And they’re good teammates. When you trust your teammates and when you trust the system, your chances of success go up dramatically. We’re trying to do that here, and we have a long way to go with that.”
The Bulls, at 2-3, aren’t exactly playing inspired basketball these days. Team defense seems like an afterthought, and on offense, guys are going for theirs when the going gets tough.
Though it’s important for a coach to establish some form of control over the players, it might not hurt for Vinny to listen to them a bit – “his way” hasn’t exactly produced the desired results thus far.
