Bulls Bosses Still Have No Clue What to Do About Vinny Del Negro

Last week, Vinny Del Negro seemed emboldened by rumors of his imminent demise, responding to allegations his bosses were ready to dismiss the coach with laughter. Del Negro told the media that in his daily talks with Bulls management (John Paxson and Gar Forman) he had received full confidence he'd keep his job all year.

Well, Forman, who has been hard to find of late, finally spoke to reporters before Chicago's Tuesday night game against Indiana. I have a feeling Del Negro feels substantially less confident in his Chicago future after reading what Forman had to say.

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, when asked if Del Negro will soon be fired because of the team's disappointing performance, Forman said that "Vinny is our coach" and that management is "exploring all options to get better" and so on. Not once did Forman say Del Negro will be the coach for the foreseeable future, or did he offer a vote of confidence. And while Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski sees this as a betrayal of sorts by the management team, I see this as Forman having no clue what his bosses -- Paxson and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf -- will decide to do with Del Negro.

One of Vinny's saving graces to date has been believed to be Reinsdorf's apathy toward the NBA franchise (Jerry also owns the White Sox, and is a huge baseball fan) and the owner's unwillingness to pay multiple coaches at once. Cash is the reason the Bulls ended up with Del Negro in the first place: Reinsdorf reportedly bristled at Mike D'Antoni's salary requirements during the team's pursuit of the former Suns coach in 2007.

Doesn't that storyline -- that Reinsdorf will make the decision on Del Negro, and that Reinsdorf couldn't be bothered to call for execution so long as the United Center is filled and the Bulls aren't a complete and total Nets-like embarrassment -- fit Forman's Tuesday performance perfectly? Forman reports to Paxson, and Paxson has never been seen as a quick-striking decision-maker. The team knew someone needed to answer to repeated status requests. But the team doesn't have an answer, so it offers up the "we want to get better, and we'll do it however we must" schtick. At least it's honest, unlike a doomed "vote of confidence" or a promise that Del Negro will remain for the long haul.

The circumstances for Forman were even trickier given the rumors Paxson has been contacting potential replacements like Lawrence Frank and (according to Woj) former Warriors and Kings coach Eric Musselman. (If Point A is Brad Miller's house, and Point B is Betty Ford, the quickest path between Points A and B is hiring Eric Musselman.) Expressing faith in Del Negro at this point would be far less humane than what Forman actually did, even if what Forman actually did will only buttress calls for Del Negro's head from fans and media. At least let the guy see the knife you're going to shank him with.

These situations often get completely untenable very quickly. The Bulls won Tuesday to move to within five games of .500, and hey! they sit in seventh place in the top-heavy East. (They would be 13th in the West.) If Del Negro can fight through this stretch of revolt, he might just make it back to the postseason. He's almost certainly a goner this summer, but lasting 82 plus a playoff series would be a major victory at this point.