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**PC Load Letter** · 06-07-2005, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Scott Skiles likes to chastise the media about his temper, his rants at players and cross moods. He points to Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan often and says that Sloan acts like that, does the same things. So why isn't Sloan portrayed like that?

Because, Scott, I know Jerry Sloan, and you are no Jerry Sloan.

Sloan never would seek out so many years of contract security after just one good season and then, in effect, say how management lacks respect for him because it won't meet his price. What Skiles doesn't understand, and may never, is the human core that makes up people like Sloan, the Midwestern, blue-collar work ethic and responsibility. Skiles possesses the required scrappiness, intelligence and attitude, but he apparently lacks the commitment.

Skiles could have been Sloan here with the Bulls, a guy who could have become a huge celebrity where we identify our famous people from the TV anchor positions and long-ago actors who return to sing at Wrigley Field. He could have been the embodiment of a franchise and a community, a dive-on-the-floor coaching personality, Midwest-cultivated and ripening in the glare of the big city. Chicago is not about prima donnas.

Scott, you could have been a big-time championship contender here with a young, hard-working team and management that has an eye on the future.

Then, Smith brings up some of Skiles' past "issues"...

Quote:

Forgetting the missteps of his youth at Michigan State, he has a history of walking away from great situations. It seems almost as if his life is a defiance of convention and a fight from misjudged disrespect.

Pacers President Donnie Walsh often tells the story of Skiles walking out on the Pacers, quitting the team in disgust over a lack of playing time, and Walsh persuading Skiles to return to the team on a flight back to Indiana while the team was out East. Then in Phoenix, with a team he'd helped restore like he did with the Bulls, Skiles told owner Jerry Colangelo he no longer could coach the group and left. Colangelo talked him off the ledge once and Skiles returned, and then it came up again and Skiles was out. It's almost like he has a working death wish that he's exercising once again.

I've heard all the explanations and still don't understand. The Bulls want him. They've offered to pay him well above most of the coaches in the playoffs and even the one who beat him in the first round. Skiles would be one of the five highest-paid coaches in the NBA, one of the highest paid ever.

If that's a lack of respect, where can I sign up?

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....s-sports-print

kukoc4ever · 06-07-2005, 05:59 AM

Watching this whole thing unfold... its just so damn predictable. The Sam Smith smear job the morning after. Mariotti coming out guns blazing. Uncle Jerry lurking in the shadows.

Good for Skiles for sticking up for his ideals. Choosing "the right way" over all that $$$ is admirable. He's a real man of his word. He's willing to live up to his considerable bluster.

Scott Skiles won't be a puppet for Uncle Jerry when he sees something he does not like. Too bad the other half of the "right way" duo has chosen a different path.

As “the right way” lies in tatters before our eyes…. Skiles walks away head held high… the only one willing to live up to such a lofty ideal.

TRUTHHURTS · 06-07-2005, 07:10 AM

These coaching comparisons are killing me

If any of those coaches wouldve came into the Bulls situation 2 seasons ago agreed to go through the hell of a first season and then had the turn around the Bulls had this year they would be expecting the same amount of respect.

**BealeFarange** · 06-07-2005, 07:43 AM

I'm really lost here. Maybe it's the year and a half I spent hating Scott Skiles but I'm not so sure I understand what he's so upset about. It seems to me like we're trusting him and distrusting the Bulls organization instinctually...the benefit of the doubt, for me, still lies with Skiles...but...

If this is all about being a bigger man and taking the "right way," what's with all the huff and puff in the media by Keith Glass? Contract details get leaked 100 times out of 100. I don't think the Bulls were doing anything out of the ordinary in letting those details leak out. The Skiles team is doing something out of the ordinary by taking such a "Why me?" stance WITHOUT giving any concrete details as to WHY they're so ticked off. Saying "They're angering me but I'm too mature to say why" doesn't HELP anything and you might as well just skip this whole charade. If Glass/Skiles are doing this to protest or even expose some sort of horible organizational defect or moral issue, they're certainly not doing it the "right way"...

I just don't know what to think. I don't implicitly distrust the media in this case, nor do I distrust the Bulls simply because of Paxson's displayed love for Skiles and my firm belief that Paxson has the power to do what he sees fit in this regard. I don't have any proof there...but Pax hired Skiles in the first place in a bit of a head-scratcher and it paid off. I don't see what would give Jerry Reinsdorf pause in placing trust in Paxson once again.

I think it may be true that Skiles has given up on the team in some way...he's a restless soul, he gets burned out early. I dunno. If it's "not about the money," they better at least throw us a HINT...what IS it about? Respect? Er...how do you show that during a contract negotiation OTHER than with money? Is it about power? Does Skiles disagree with a piece of their long term plan? Is there pressure to start Gordon and Chandler, for example, coming from the marketing department? I just don't know where the lack of respect is coming from...and I want to believe Skiles, I do...I'd finally embraced him as the x's and o's genius and inspirational leader others had seen.

This is soooo frustrating...

yodurk · 06-07-2005, 08:43 AM

Wow, great post Beale, you echo my very thoughts.

I particuarly don't understand the hurt feelings about contract details being leaked. It happens ALL THE TIME. That's part of pro sports. If it upsets you so much that you'll snub an offer, then you really shouldn't be in this business.

K4E, maybe it's the blue-collar work ethic in me talking, but I have no sympathy for Skiles if he's letting the boss get him down. Skiles may be standing up for his "ideals", but it's really no different from what Reinsdorf is doing...what seems to be happening here is a "clash of ideals". Reinsdorf does business his way, Skiles does it his way, and since the two are incompatible here then something has to give. I don't understand Glass' comment about negotiations being such an unpleasant experience...what the heck does he expect? When both sides are trying to look out for their best interests, you need to bend just a little to get something done. The Bulls bent a little by putting a nice looking offer on the table, and there was very little bending from Skiles end of things. It's really a sad story, because I like Skiles alot as a coach, and I was hoping for a Sloan-like tenure here. It's ashame he's getting so turned off by fairly routine workings in the world of pro sports.

At the same time, I have my share of unpleasant feelings toward Uncle Jerry...I must admit that most owners in the NBA would've had this deal in the bag. "Stubborn *****" is a good way to describe him. But what gets me is that Skiles doesn't even deal with Reinsdorf in his daily life of coaching...once you get past the contract negotiations, it's fine and peachy. Reinsdorf has a very hands-off approach when it comes to managing the team. I just don't get it...I probably never will.

kukoc4ever · 06-07-2005, 09:03 AM

According the Skiles on the radio this morning, the Bulls made a low offer, the Skiles camp made a high offer and Skiles is upset that the Bulls refuse to budge to meet in the middle.

Who knows what the truth really is. All I know is that most of the employees of this team that want to be paid (at least the players and most coaches) have not been fans of the organization.

Its just sad.

I'm tired of being a fan of this team sometimes since I start to root for certain individuals and then they are no longer part of the team. And, it seems like these individuals don't have to leave. Oh well.

I ended up liking this team this season and Skiles was the face and personality of it. He was the leader. Now its getting blown up. This crap does not seem to happen with the Dallas Mavericks. It happens all the time with the Jerry teams.

**Rhyder** · 06-07-2005, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BealeFarange

I'm really lost here. Maybe it's the year and a half I spent hating Scott Skiles but I'm not so sure I understand what he's so upset about. It seems to me like we're trusting him and distrusting the Bulls organization instinctually...the benefit of the doubt, for me, still lies with Skiles...but...

If this is all about being a bigger man and taking the "right way," what's with all the huff and puff in the media by Keith Glass? Contract details get leaked 100 times out of 100. I don't think the Bulls were doing anything out of the ordinary in letting those details leak out. The Skiles team is doing something out of the ordinary by taking such a "Why me?" stance WITHOUT giving any concrete details as to WHY they're so ticked off. Saying "They're angering me but I'm too mature to say why" doesn't HELP anything and you might as well just skip this whole charade. If Glass/Skiles are doing this to protest or even expose some sort of horible organizational defect or moral issue, they're certainly not doing it the "right way"...

I just don't know what to think. I don't implicitly distrust the media in this case, nor do I distrust the Bulls simply because of Paxson's displayed love for Skiles and my firm belief that Paxson has the power to do what he sees fit in this regard. I don't have any proof there...but Pax hired Skiles in the first place in a bit of a head-scratcher and it paid off. I don't see what would give Jerry Reinsdorf pause in placing trust in Paxson once again.

I think it may be true that Skiles has given up on the team in some way...he's a restless soul, he gets burned out early. I dunno. If it's "not about the money," they better at least throw us a HINT...what IS it about? Respect? Er...how do you show that during a contract negotiation OTHER than with money? Is it about power? Does Skiles disagree with a piece of their long term plan? Is there pressure to start Gordon and Chandler, for example, coming from the marketing department? I just don't know where the lack of respect is coming from...and I want to believe Skiles, I do...I'd finally embraced him as the x's and o's genius and inspirational leader others had seen.

This is soooo frustrating...

Once again, our analysis of the situation is almost identical.

(I would have repped you for this post, but said I needed to share more love around first)

Frankensteiner · 06-07-2005, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kukoc4ever

I ended up liking this team this season and Skiles was the face and personality of it. He was the leader. Now its getting blown up. This crap does not seem to happen with the Dallas Mavericks. It happens all the time with the Jerry teams.

The Dallas Mavericks let this year's MVP leave in free agency because they didn't want to pay him a big money contract.

kukoc4ever · 06-07-2005, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankensteiner

The Dallas Mavericks let this year's MVP leave in free agency because they didn't want to pay him a big money contract.

You are right. The Mavericks are a penny-pinching, unsuccessful organization.

The consistency of Jerry's penny-pinching is disheartening.

yodurk · 06-07-2005, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankensteiner

The Dallas Mavericks let this year's MVP leave in free agency because they didn't want to pay him a big money contract.

Good point. Even the best owners in sports, such as Cuban, have their limits. And going further, not every city is lucky enough to have an owner like Cuban either, who is so passionate about the team that he'll stretch the budget to ridiculous bounds. Even broader than that, the Bulls aren't fortunate enough right now to have a no-brainer max-salary player like Dirk Nowitzki, or Michael Jordan.

Frankensteiner · 06-07-2005, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kukoc4ever

You are right. The Mavericks are a penny-pinching, unsuccessful organization.

The consistency of Jerry's penny-pinching is disheartening.

Yes, Michael Jordan's record setting salary was paid for by some other owner.

But my point was that even the Mavericks let money play a part in their personnel decisions, something you said doesn't happen in Dallas.

**jimmy** · 06-07-2005, 09:45 AM

Great article by Sam Smith.

Skiles is acting like a hypocrite and is making a huge mistake.

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