This evening he was on the radio talking about the Collins deal. He validated some of the reports that I had read and heard earlier and about how much Reinsdorf interferes:
- It was Reinsdorf that negotiated with Ben Wallace and pushed for that signing. That had been reported for a long time that Reinsdorf wanted to sign him more than Paxson
- Reinsdorf also negotiated with Skiles after everything fell apart. I find it interesting that he was unwilling to pay a coach more than $4 mil (as reports state) since he was the one that gave the Skiles the extension after he turned it down
- Stephen A also reported that several sources are saying that it was Reinsdorf who wanted to pull Collins into the coaching mix. So that would mean tha he chose him, then changed his mind

It was also reported by Stephen A that the Bulls basically have no real idea which direction they are going or who to hire. And all the coaches that have interviewed are quite aware of that fact.

This just adds to the reasons I hate Reinsdorf.

I'm beginning to think that this city was hating the wrong Jerry, Everyone wanted Krause gone but maybe he was the only one in the Bulls organization that knew what he was doing. The other Jerry obviously doesn't. If you look at Jerry's draft picks they were pretty good. How do we know it wasn't the other Jerry that wanted to trade Brand? And maybe it was Jerry R. that wanted to trade Chandler b/c he was being paid too much. Anyway, what's the point of having a GM if the owner is going to micro manage his job. That's just stupid. Jerry needs to sell whatever interest he owns in the Bulls and let someone with a better basketball IQ run the show.

If it's true that he forced Pax's hand to sign Wallace, then he forced Pax's hand again. They couldn't afford to keep them both, one had to go.

Paxson doesn't have as much power as everyone thinks he has. He's more of an advisor to the owner who gets the final say because he's writing out the checks (and rightfully so). Its just that Jerry is more interested in other things like raising ticket prices than getting good players/coaches to come here....

Current Status
Jerry Reinsdorf = Micro Manager
John Paxson = Frustrated of being a Puppet GM
Vinny Del Negro = 2 yr Coaching Contract
Tom Thibodeaux = Lead Asst

2 Yrs from Now

Jerry Reinsdorf = Micro Manager but 2 years older
John Paxson = Happy Former GM who steps down to take on role at Notre Dame or spend time with family
Vinny Del Negro = New GM
Tom Thibodeaux = New Head Coach

they said during the press conference that it wasnt a 2 year deal, but pax said he doesnt discuss contracts. but that would be really nice if we got thibodeau as our assistant.

K.C. wrote 2 days ago that it was a 3 year, $6 million deal.

I hate how people don't discuss contracts in professional sports, EVERYONE IS GOING TO KNOW sooner or later, they might as well just tell us.

Stein also mentions the rumors in his article on the hiring of Vinny:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...egrobulls080611

Yet it never has seemed more obvious that Paxson is getting major interference from above. Some of Paxson's peers insist that the signing of Ben Wallace and corresponding exile of Tyson Chandler, as well as the Bulls' chronic inability to make the big trade splash we've been expecting for years, should go on Reinsdorf's record more than Pax's. One source insisted to me this week that one reason the boss ultimately favored Del Negro over Casey and Person is because he scored highest with the team psychologist Reinsdorf employs with the Bulls and baseball's Chicago White Sox.

I really don't think Pax wanted Collins. If you noticed he took a bit of a shot at him yesterday during the Press Conference saying "People" jumped the gun a little bit and that was irritating to him. All of this IMO is Reinsdorfs fault, he fucked up D'Antoni and wanted to bring in a guy that John didn't want.

some notes to go along with the hiring