Did Paxson And Del Negro Come To Blows?

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 14, 2010 2:20PM

We're not quite sure how this story remained bottled up for two weeks, but it's just now leaking that Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro was shoved by John Paxson, their vice president of basketball operations, on March 30. Reports say that Pax confronted Del Negro in the coach's office following a game against Phoenix, shoving the coach twice and challenging him to a fight before assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff restrained the former Bulls point guard. The source of the heated confrontation was playing time for Joakim Noah, who had recently returned to action after an extended absence due to plantar fasciitis. Coach Vinny had played Noah 2:05 over his 25 minute limit, and Paxson was none too happy -- when the coach last played his starting center over his time limit, Noah missed the next 10 games. And the team lost all of 'em.

So with the playoffs hanging in the balance, was the Bulls' front office ready to beat Noah's minute quota into his field general? Seems to be the case. This latest revelation certainly helps explain Del Negro's curious decision to play Noah just 12 seconds in OT when the Bulls lost a critical game to the lowly New Jersey Nets in double overtime last week. Upon questioning from the media in the game's aftermath, Vinny claimed it was a miscommunication between himself and Bulls GM Gar Forman regarding the use of Noah in critical stretches of the game even after his quota was hit. Now we know the truth -- Del Negro was scared of another beat down from Pax.

With this latest wrinkle, the Vinny Del Negro era is surely drawing to a close in Chicago. The rift between he and Paxson has been growing for some time, and the relationship certainly isn't getting any better. Of course, with Pax physically assaulting a subordinate, he might also find himself out of a job. In fact, Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf hired attorneys to investigate the matter, which suggests it's more than boys being boys. With a busy summer courting free agents ahead, will Reinsdorf act quickly to stabilize the team leadership? Or will he focus first on landing his franchise player and then let that dictate who'll man the sidelines and front office next year? Either way, this kind of behavior isn't the best way to woo LeBron, Bosh, or D-Wade.