It's official. The Chicago Bulls, as an organization, are the NBA's answer to the DSM-IV's criteria for Bipolar Disorder. It's a frenzied flip of a car after a 6th championship run in eight years. Its a somber swill of a cocktail after Brad Miller and Elton Brand are penciled in every year for All-Star honors. Simply put, its the Chicago Bulls.
The1970's saw the Bulls rise from middling franchise to perennial contender with a dynamic team-first ethic and hard-nosed defense. Bob Love's inside scoring touch and Jerry Sloan's tenacious D anchored a potent charge that produced back-to-back Conference Finals appearances in 1975-1976. Let it be known, though, that the doldrums quickly followed. Upon the departure of Love and Sloan, the Bulls quickly regressed to doormat status, an afterthought in the bustling NBA landscape. The Bulls would only notch one winning season until 1985 when Michael Jeffery Jordan landed on the scene. Not much needs to be said here, after six championships and accolades too numerous to count, the Bulls were the newly appointed gold standard. The rabid basketball fans in Chicago were once again falling down with stories to tell their grandchildren, the memories seemingly too thick to ever subside. However, once the greatness that was Jordan decided to hang 'em up after 13 mesmerizing seasons (Washington never happened, Im convinced), he also left a cautionary warning for rising superstars contemplating a jump to the Windy City. The "Last Dance" season of 1998 was punctuated with a rift between management and players due to then GM Jerry Krause's statement, "Players don't win championships, organizations win championships." Marquee talent such as KG, Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill passed on being centerpieces in Krauses rebuilding plan and as quickly as it came for the Bulls, it went...
...in a big way.
The Bulls averaged 16.5 wins over the next four seasons.
Now, I'll be the first to give Jerry Krause credit, he could construct an NBA team with the best of them. After all, it was his acumen that drafted Horace Grant, traded for Scottie Pippen and Bill Cartwright and acquired John Paxson in free agency. However, June 27th, 2001 will forever define him and his love for the tough sell. That is the day he traded Elton Brand for the rights to Tyson Chandler (the purported next Garnett) and then promptly drafted Eddy Curry (a Shaq-like frame with a fraction of the game). Some said that he needed that length inside to enable Crawford and Rose to stretch the floor. Others said it was a ploy to get butts in the seats once again after three last place finishes. Whatever the case, that move ultimately tenured his own resignation in 2003. From "Best Ever" to worst in the league in a matter of 18 months.
However, there was a ray of hope.
Enter John Paxson, who in just three short years has given this Manic-Depressive franchise something it hasn't had, well, ever. Stability. An even keel. The tempered expectations of a team built around a solid core of unselfish role players. It remains to be seen if the dizzying highs will ever return, however it is quite certain that the terrifying lows are gone for the foreseeable future. Chicago Bulls fans have many reasons to breathe a sigh of relief: The no nonsense approach of their bulldogged coach Scott Skiles. The tremendous upside of savvy players such as Andres Nocioni, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng. The possibilities of a first overall pick this June (Much thanks to Isiah Thomas). So while beating the Heat and advancing to the second round this year still remains a lofty goal, perhaps now those bleary winter nights outside the United Center wont seem as cold and full of those stupefying moments of a basketball city with an ever evolving identity crisis.
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