Bulls' rebuild destined to fail unless Gar/Pax can look in a mirror

Bulls’ rebuild destined to fail unless Gar/Pax can look in a mirror

By Joe Cowley

At some point, hopefully, the Bulls’ front office is going to look in the mirror and ask itself a simple question:

‘‘Why do so many of ‘our guys’ — players and coaches we took a chance on and paid well — walk out the door for the last time with so much distrust and disdain?’’

It’s not merely the natural unhappiness at being fired or being traded. That’s the business of sports, and both sides generally understand that.

No, we’re talking flat-out bad blood toward general manager Gar Forman, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson or, in some cases, both.

Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Tom Thibodeau, Vinny Del Negro, Ron Adams — the list goes on.

The real problem is that the front office too often has a nasty habit of trying to make the other party look bad in the wake of the breakup.

Expect the same to happen with Jimmy Butler. Both sides said the right things after his trade Thursday to the Timberwolves, but stay tuned.

When Thibodeau was fired, the narrative from the front office centered on several players turning on him in exit meetings. Whispers of Butler’s name came out, but he adamantly reiterated Friday that was never the case.

‘‘I feel like I’ve talked so much about how I love Thibs and respect what he does, going back to my rookie year,’’ Butler told the Sun-Times. ‘‘I mean, he’s done so much for me.’’

The principal player involved in that so-called revolt was Noah, who sources indicated has apologized to Thibodeau, especially after getting a look at what the Bulls’ front office was really about in his final season with the team.

Then there was the story leaked two offseasons ago about how Butler was turning into a ‘‘diva.’’ It’s a short list of suspects as far as where that story came from.

So what can be expected to leak out during the next few weeks and months? Stories about Butler being a distraction, his alleged bullying of coach Fred Hoiberg and his inability to let the young players develop.

Forman and Paxson will do their best to try to erase the truth. Forget that it was Butler who would take the young players with him for offseason workouts. Gloss over the fact that it wasn’t Butler who tossed a towel in an assistant coach’s face. And ignore that Dwyane Wade publicly has said he wouldn’t have joined the Bulls as a free agent had Butler not called him.

Forman and Paxson need to change their ways now.

Rebuilding in the NBA isn’t pleasant. The front office sheds high-priced talent, hopefully falls into a top-three draft pick, then starts taking on bad contracts for more draft picks. At some point, though, it has to sit down with a talented free agent, look him in the eyes and put its reputation on the table.

‘‘When we get people in our building and they get to know us, then they judge themselves,’’ Paxson said Thursday, defending the front office. ‘‘That’s, to me, the bottom line. So, no, I’m not worried.’’

Enjoy rebuilding.

Follow me on Twitter @suntimes_hoops.

Email: jcowley@suntimes.com