Who knows what's going on with the Chicago Bulls this season, but there is a growing sense that Jabari Parker's days in a Bulls uniform are numbered. His recent ouster from the rotation has some wondering if the front office has directed interim head coach Jim Boylen to sit the forward until they can trade him.
Boylen is denying that notion and stating that the organization doesn't work that way:
Has management given Boylen an edict not to play Parker because it's working with Parker's camp to find him new home? Boylen: "No, not at all. We don’t operate like that. Not at all. No, sir."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 20, 2018
Of course Boylen is going to deny this. Still, oddly enough, this is believable yet unbelievable at the same time.
On one hand, Parker's defense has been downright atrocious this season. The number of mental lapses on the defensive end is glaring, and it's likely that Parker's suspect defense is the main reason for his benching.
On the other hand, the Bulls' front office would love to try and trade Parker for anything in return, and they may have directed Boylen to bench Parker while they search for potential suitors. Parker's atrocious defense is enough of a smoke screen for this to work. His defense really has been that bad this year.
Parker has been sick over the last few days, but it's unclear if he will play again when healthy, even with Bobby Portis injured again:
Fact that Boylen didn't commit to Parker re-entering rotation in light of Portis' latest injury means some combo of stomach virus/trade protection/message sending for what Boylen values for minutes. Say what you want about Parker but he can score. And Bulls' offense is 30th.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 20, 2018
The Bulls are still in free-fall mode. They nearly stole a win on Wednesday in an attempt to break the Brooklyn Nets' six-game winning streak, but Chicago was undone late and saw Brooklyn leave with the victory. To make matters worse, Spencer Dinwiddie — twice cut by the Bulls — was the driving force in the Nets' victory. The former Bull scored 27 points off the bench, adding insult to injury.
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