Chicago Bulls: 3 keys to surviving this disastrous season

1. Find new leadership to run the front office

This is even more obvious than moving on from Jim Boylen. The GarPax era has had some good moments, but far too many disasters and embarrassments. From Scott Skiles to Boylen, Paxson has been entrusted with appointing five head coaches, which is incredible and unheard of.

At some point, ownership needs to revoke the apparent lifetime contract for Paxson and find a fresh voice — preferably one that will not attack his head coach like Paxson did with Vinny del Negro, or fire a coach on Christmas as he did with Skiles.

Perhaps a fresh voice won’t mishandle a player’s illness the way Paxson did with Luol Deng, saying he had flu-like symptoms when in reality he ended up hospitalized and underwent a spinal tap and was very sick. The franchise needs an executive who doesn’t continue to chase players who are bad fits for the roster like Jabari Parker, which in turn handcuffs the head coach, who then can’t produce the results demanded of him.

Maybe the Bulls just need a new voice who understands what today’s NBA player needs. Clearly, Paxson has worn out his welcome with the fanbase.

It hasn’t been a complete disaster for John Paxson. The front office can point to the drafting of Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. as the latest positive foundational pieces for the future. However, for the Chicago Bulls to rebuild their image and recreate the Windy City as an attractive free agent destination, changes must be made.

These are simple keys for the Chicago Bulls to survive the season: prioritize Markkanen, admit hiring Jim Boylen was a mistake and move on from John Paxson. Expecting ownership to move on the last two keys might be more problematic.