Bulls' Carter-Williams surprised to get DNP-CD, point guard situation in flux
Is there a method to coach Fred Hoiberg's madness?
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3 min read
No one seems to know what's going on with the Chicago Bulls' point guard rotation. On Tuesday, Michael Carter-Williams, who had started the previous 12 games, didn't play at all in the Bulls' 100-92 win over the Orlando Magic. Jerian Grant started in his place after receiving DNP-CDs in three of the previous five games, and Rajon Rondo -- back in the rotation after being completely out of it earlier this month -- was Grant's backup. Everybody involved is confused.
Rajon Rondo's answer was short and direct.
When asked after Tuesday night's 100-92 win over the Orlando Magic if the Chicago Bulls' point guards know who is going to play on a night-by-night basis, the 11-year veteran point guard didn't hesitate.
"No," he said. "Just got to be professional, not make excuses. Go with what it is right now."
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"I was a little surprised," Carter-WIlliams admitted before the game. "I didn't really see it coming."
Carter-Williams said he hadn't gotten a chance yet to speak to Hoiberg about what it would take to get back into the starting lineup.
For his part, Hoiberg offered up this explanation.
"I've been looking at a lot of things," he said. "Obviously, we're putting the ball in Jimmy [Butler]'s hands a lot. We just felt as far as complementing that [starting] lineup, we felt that Jerian was the guy we'd go with tonight."
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Carter-Williams acknowledged the situation was "frustrating" and echoed Rondo's sentiments in the feeling that if the Bulls don't want to play him, maybe he can find a better place for his game.
"Hopefully you get your time," Carter-Williams said. "If it's not one team, maybe it's another one."
What a mess. It's hard to even blame Hoiberg, as nobody has separated himself as the clear-cut best man for the job. Rondo and Carter-Williams both destroy the Bulls' spacing -- Carter-Williams shot 2-for-12 in the two games leading up to the victory over the Magic -- and Hoiberg doesn't seem to trust Grant to run the offense yet.
Given that Jimmy Butler is such a gifted playmaker and Dwyane Wade is sharing the court with him, the ideal point guard for this team would be a low-usage 3-and-D guy. Hoiberg doesn't have one of those, but Grant could develop into one, so it makes sense to try him out. Starting him, though, alienates Carter-Williams, who is in a contract year. At this point, Rondo seems to be beyond alienated.
The positive spin on this is that Hoiberg is experimenting with lineups and trying to figure out what works. In a small sense, that is true, but the bigger picture tells an ugly story. The front office miscalculated when signing Rondo, exacerbated the problem when signing Wade and created a logjam when trading for Carter-Williams. And the most disappointing part is that, before all of these moves were made, it sounded like the Bulls were on the right track. When they made the Derrick Rose trade, general manager Gar Forman said they were trying to get younger and more athletic. They were also supposed to add shooting to help Hoiberg install his preferred offensive system. None of this happened.
If Chicago is going to become a cohesive team before the end of the season, it would help if the front office cleaned up the roster. Rondo appears to have no future with this franchise, and if Carter-Williams isn't part of the plan, then the Bulls should try to find him a new home, too. For now, though, it looks like Hoiberg is just going to keep trying different things and keeping everybody guessing.
