DOUG COLLINS EXPECTED TO BE NAMED NEXT BULLS COACH

I'm sure you guys have heard this story by now, but if you haven't, Doug Collins is going to be named the next Bulls Head Coach soon. And, it also looks like Pax actually had some what of a plan interviewing all those other ex players and assistant coaches over the past couple of months. It is likely that a couple of those guys that he interviewed will come in as assistants under Collins next year, and eventually, one of them will be groomed to be the next Head Coach when Collins retires in a few.

Anyways, this is how I feel about the hiring. My first initial reaction to the hiring was WOW. I don't know why, but he was definitely not what I was expecting from the Bulls. I was expecting either one of three types of Coaches to be brought in. Either an Avery Johnson, big named hire type, or a Tom T/Mike Curry, Assistant Coach moving up type, or lastly, a Mark Jackson, former player type of hire. I honestly never really thought Doug Collins at all during this process. But, now that I think about it, the hiring makes a lot of sense, at least to the Bulls. He is well known by the organization and the owner, and Doug is still close with Bulls GM John Paxson. Everyone also says he works well with young talent, which we have plenty of, being the second youngest team in the league. Collins is also known to be a great X's and O's kind of coach. He definitely has great knowledge of the game, and is also well respected in the Basketball circles around the League. Those are all things the Bulls were looking for in a Head Coach, so Collins seems like a good fit.

But, there is always a but right? But, there is just one thing that worries me about the Collins hire. This one thing though, is huge.

That one issue to me is PACE. Collins loves to play a very slow tempo basketball game. That is what he was known for back in the days, even in the Jordan years. Now my question is this, if you draft someone like a Derrick Rose, and you throw out onto the court players like Rose, Gordon, Deng, TThomas, Noah, Hinrich, Noch, and others, how can you slow it down??? That squad is built for an up tempo, run and gun pace, there are no if, and, or buts about it. There is no way you can go with a slow it down, grind it out kind of game with that roster. There is no low post player, and definitely no interior defensive anchor on that team right there. Now I see one of two things happening. Either the Bulls are going to make a major overhaul with the roster and draft Beasley, or Collins has changed his thinking on the game. Otherwise, if neither of those things happen, I think we might be f'd, haha. But, Reinsdorf and Paxson both say that Collins has changed his ways on a lot of things, hence the rehire, so I guess we will just have to see on this one, and hope for the best.

I think in the end, all we can really do give Collins some time. One thing is definitely for sure, John Paxson's legacy as a GM hinges on this off season. Basically, he has the number 1 pick, he has his choice at Head Coach now, and he will make some roster moves in this off season. If he fails at these things, he will forever be known as a failure to Bulls fans everywhere. Let's hope Pax get these things right, for all of us. I'm outtie for now, but let me know what you guys think about the hiring. Go Bulls!!!