Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said an ESPN.com report that a decision to fire him already has been made is “totally not accurate.”

Citing sources with knowledge of the Bulls’ thinking, Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine reported on Sunday night that a decision has been made and the Bulls are just waiting to find Del Negro’s replacement.

The coach said he and Bulls management are on the same page, and Del Negro told reporters to ask vice president of basketball operations John Paxson or general manager Gar Forman about the situation. Forman declined to speak to reporters after practice Monday.

Phone messages left for Paxson and Forman were not returned on Sunday, but in text messages to ESPN The Magazine on Sunday night, Paxson neither confirmed nor denied the report.

“It’s just funny to me,” Del Negro said. “There’s really nothing to say. You have all these people that have rumors, and everyone has their sources. It’s just not accurate.


Click here to read the full article – By Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com

History has shown that it’s never too late for the Bulls to turn things around.

In 2004-05, they started 2-13 and recovered to win 47 games. Last year, they won 12 of their last 16 to finish with a .500 record.

So to call the coming week a critical stretch for the Bulls would be an overstatement. But it would help if they could end a run of four straight lopsided losses before the team’s chemistry and confidence suffer lasting harm.


Click here to read the full article – By Mike McGraw of Daily Herald

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Bigger challenges await them down the road, but the Bulls began their five-game Western trip with an impressive and mostly comfortable — save for a few minutes in the fourth quarter — 101-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings late Tuesday.


“That fourth quarter wasn’t real pretty, but fortunately we got some stops when we needed to and came out with the victory,” Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. “A good start to a long trip.”

This was the first meeting of the teams since that big trade last February, so it was only fitting that guard John Salmons, the key to the deal from the Bulls’ perspective, busted out of his recent shooting funk to led the team with 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting.


Click here to read the full article – By of suburbanchicagonews.com

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