In the eye of the beholder - From Courtside - basketball coach Tim Floyd - Brief Article

Basketball Digest, March, 2002 by Brett Ballantini

TALKING TO TIM FLOYD BEFORE what turned out to be his final game with the Chicago Bulls, you knew it was only a matter of time. On the sidelines the usually energetic Floyd had the appearance of a dead man walking. He'd threatened to resign a couple weeks earlier, and while GM Jerry Krause successfully talked him out of doing so then, you could sense that leaving the Bulls was one win Floyd was determined to end his professional coaching career with.

One thing you could always count on from the feisty Floyd was his willingness to keep working, even when the game was no longer in doubt--and no, that wasn't tipoff for every game Floyd coached.

In three seasons and change, Floyd did amass the worst winning percentage in the history of the NBA, taking home Ws in scarcely more than 20% of his games.

That record will haunt Floyd for the rest of his career, so belittling him for it probably won't make much of a difference to him. But Floyd was no loser. He aged before our eyes as losing exacted a greater and greater toll on him.

As Floyd made his first pass at resigning, then following through on Christmas Eve, our printing presses were churning out the February 2002 issue, which boasted among its features an examination of "Chicago's Sad Saga."

In that analysis of the major players in the Bulls' best-to-worst tumble, I tabbed Floyd a "patsy." Was he? In the end, yes. But Floyd didn't come to Chicago to steal a space in the pantheon of pathetic coaches. He came to win.

Indicative of the NBA today is why he didn't win. Was it his coaching skill? Nah. The shallow pockets of ownership? Contrary to popular belief, nope. Bad luck? Well ...

Perception plays a massive role in the NBA. Let's use the Bulls as a cautionary example of just how devastating perception--accurate or not--can be.

Three men--Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen--have contributed more to the downfall of the Bulls than a dozen Jerry Reinsdorfs, Krauses, or Floyds could ever hope to.

Jackson wanted more power within the Bulls organization but never actually came out and said so. He hinted that he'd need some time off to let his body heal from hip surgery that, based on PJ's continuing limp, hasn't happened yet.

Jordan and Pippen have caused even more ripples, insinuating that they won six titles for the Bulls. To be sure, Rodney McCray and Joe Kleine better still be sending Pip and MJ fruit baskets every Christmas, but for purported team players to fly their own flags--while both are still active NBA players, at least--is unseemly.

I'm no Bulls apologist, really. But to hear Pippen say it, he'd have rather stayed, in Arkansas and played pickup games and blacktop cash than cash millions of dollars in checks signed by Reinsdorf--not to mention millions in "bonus" money through Krause's sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets. Jordan's last two paychecks for the Bulls were roughly 30 times what he's making now with the Washington Wizards. And the he-said-he said merry-go-round gets a strong spin from MJ, who now talks as if he were the 12th man--not the catalyst--when it came to breaking up the Bulls.

So what kind of ripple effect does this have? Well, in spite of having more salary cap room than any other team over the past four seasons, the Bulls' grand haul of free agents has been ... Ron Mercer and Eddie Robinson. With all the opportunity the nation's third-largest market offers--it's hard for Pip to peddle Ginsana and used cars in Portland, I bet--superstars from coast to coast have been scared off.

In the opposing locker room on Floyd's last night as coach, Kevin Garnett confirmed this hunch, saying, "Just looking at the whole Chicago situation and how they killed the dynasty the way they did, that's not a real good act to follow." [For more on Garnett, turn to "Interview" on page 20.]

Losing can beget losing, but perception rules the day.