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Chicago Bulls new coach Jim Boylen has had its share of troubles during his short-lived tenure at the helm of a young roster, yet he insists implementing a culture, the way the San Antonio Spurs have over the years, is the key to sailing this ship forward.
“What I have to do is install this thing and play in the right way to go where I want to go, and outside noise, it's always going to be there, is part of this job and this business. I just take this as a challenge,” said Boylen, according to The Associated Press. “In San Antonio, they have standards of behavior and standards of play, and we are establishing those in here, but we can't do that without practicing, and we cannot do that without being pushed. We are in a different place, nothing wrong with that, but we are going to work hard.”
Boylen spent time under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for two seasons before joining the Bulls in 2015, and he's invoked his name and his team's culture multiple times since becoming the full-time head coach.
One thing has been made clear through Jim Boylen's 10 days at the job — he will put his Bulls to work and expect them to deliver on his teachings.
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The recent meeting between Boylen, the front office, and the team on Sunday made headlines and came off as institutional instability, but star Zach LaVine assured there are no loose bolts in this house.
“I think everything got blown out of proportion, but we are in a good state, the team is good and we are all together,” said LaVine. “Always going on the road… in a different country where we can all be together is good because we can bond. I think it's going to be a good time here.”
The Bulls will take on the Orlando Magic on Thursday in Mexico City, as part of the NBA's annual effort to bring the sport (and its brand) to countries abroad. At 6-22, Chicago is hoping to nab its second win under Boylen after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a narrow 114-112 victory last week.
