The Chicago Bulls Had a Players-Only Meeting After Opening Night Blowout
By Kyle Koster
There aren't huge expectations for the Chicago Bulls this year as most sportsbooks are forecasting a losing record that will probably keep them on the outside of the playoffs looking in, even if everyone seems to make the NBA postseason. They opened by hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder last night and things did not go well. After the 124-104 loss, Bulls players may have made history by holding a players-only meeting on opening night.
Billy Donovan entered Bulls locker room postgame, and players were in the middle of a conversation after their frustrating loss. They asked him for a quick minute, he gave it to them and then went back in.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 26, 2023
Coach Billy Donovan, who was asked to leave for a hot minute, found a way to spin this into a positive.
Billy Donovan said the players were having a conversation with strong words when he walked into postgame locker room. Asked if they needed more time, players said yes. Donovan walked out. Donovan liked players taking ownership amongst themselves.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 26, 2023
So did big man Nikola Vucevic.
Vooch on players' postgame talk: "A lot of guys said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said. I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change. It wasn’t anything crazy, no fighting or none of that. It was really constructive. It…
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 26, 2023
It's good to see those two on the same page after a prolonged discussion on the bench after Donovan lifted Vucevic.
Vuc and Billy exchange pic.twitter.com/brWn1JCfwV
— ✶Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD3_) October 26, 2023
You know, the initial impulse is to dunk on this and project a bunch of pain for Chicago after this unusual move but we're going to zig where others zag. If there's a problem, then addressing it as quickly as possible seems like the smart thing to do. Why wait until an 0-6 start or something forces everyone's hand?
The Bulls welcome in the Raptors tomorrow night so we'll see if this players-only confab right out of the gate bears any immediate fruit.