Fred, Freddy, Fredrick. We can't say we all didn't see this coming. When you left your ISU dynasty for a slowly rotting Chicago Bulls team, many were shocked. However, people were so forgiving of it. Now you are fired and unemployed. That is the chance you take when you leave NCAA sports for the professional world.
I'm still scratching my head as to why he left in the first place. Why, of all the teams, was he wanting to coach a Chicago Bulls team that was on its last leg? A team that was trying to find its identity the in post Derrick Rose era. I know why the Bulls wanted Fred Hoiberg; they wanted a fall guy. They knew their franchise was on its down fall to the draft lottery, and who would be a more perfect guy to hire as the fall guy? The Iowa State/March Madness darling himself.
Fred, I feel bad for you man. You didn't deserve this. You did all you could with the talent you had. In your three full seasons as the head coach, you made the playoffs one time, and it was an eight seed birth but you never placed higher than fourth in division rankings. You had talent on the roster. You had players like Jimmy Butler, Dwayne Wade, Rajon Rondo, Robin Lopez and Nikola Mirotic, all of whom went their separate ways. You did ok with your draft picks; I mean, you did score Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter. The sad part is, you never actually got time to develop these young studs into your system. The Bulls sadly never gave you a real chance to develop anything; you were left with Thibodeau's left overs and had an always changing roster that just wasn't consistent.
The acquisition of Jabari Parker excited me for this team, but alas, the bulls started the season 5-19. Right now, if the Bulls don't turn things around, they are destined for a lottery pick, which in this upcoming draft class (a draft which will feature Dukes Big Three, Bol Bol, and Nassir Little) may be better than winning the NBA championship this year. I was disappointed to see Fred Hoiberg was relieved of his head coaching duties because he deserved better (in the form of one more pick in this year's draft class).
In his fourth year as head coach, Hoiberg was fired after a 5-19 start. You can say what you want about Hoiberg's leadership and coaching, but the Bulls best player in Lauri Markkanen hasn't played his first game this season, and other starts such as Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine have all had their own share of injuries in the early stages of the season. As management, you have to look into this and say, "What are we doing wrong?" I don't know, maybe hire a new athletic training staff? How about maybe going after veterans that can help the team?
The Chicago Bulls GM stated that Hoiberg's firing was not based on the Bulls record but more so on the lack of "spirit and energy." Well, yeah. If I were coaching for the Chicago Bulls and four of my best players were hurt, I think I would lack a little bit of spirit and energy. Especially when the front office doesn't do anything to help me out by bringing in any free agents.
The Chicago Bulls have a lot of problems, that is no secret. Management is a problem; the fact that they never get any free agent signings is a problem. In fact, the one year they brought in Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rondo, Hoiberg and team made the playoffs. Would you look at that! Management actually helped Hoiberg out by bringing in two big free agents, and they made the playoffs!
I do not think Fred Hoiberg was ever the problem; like I said, he was the guy the Bulls hired as a fall guy to acquire picks in drafts, and now that the Bulls have potential superstars and are in the driver's seat for Zion, RJ Barret or Cam Reddish, they are finally going to hire their guy to take over and try to bring back the glory days of the Bulls.
Fred, Freddy, Fredrick. Sorry you got played; I hope you can bounce back from this. Whether that is going back to the NCAA and turning another bad team into Sweet 16 contenders or finding another NBA coaching job, I don't know. I hope you can land a job in the NBA, maybe with the Nets, Knicks, Wizards or the Hawks. But if you can't, I'm sure some school, maybe even ISU, will welcome you. Just weigh your options better.
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