When anything unfavourable about the Chicago Bulls appears on my social media feed, the team is almost always the target of criticism from national media organisations like ESPN, who have a clear financial motive to publish articles that incite the fan base. However, it really merits our attention when a player who is currently in the NBA makes vocal criticism. That much is particularly accurate when it comes from a guy who was a member of the Bulls’ team only a few months prior.
When Patrick Beverley attacked the Bulls in a recent Pat Bev Podcast edition, it made headlines. After being selected off the buyout market, Beverley earned the starting point guard position and led the Bulls to their finest run of the 2022–2023 season. He then improved his reputation in the league and gained a spot on the roster of the Philadelphia 76ers, a legitimate contender.
Although Beverley had expressed a wish to rejoin the squad, it never materialised, and many were shocked that the Bulls were unwilling to give the guard another chance.
Naturally, Chicago took a different approach and offered contracts to three additional guards. Prioritising other backcourt re-signings, the front office spent $20 million to sign free agency Jevon Carter from the Bucks and also signed Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu to multi-year contracts. It’s unclear if it was the best decision in the end, even if they were all reasonably priced.
Pat has the following to say about the Bulls’ present struggles:
“They bulls*****ng over there, for real. I don’t like that because I came from that organization and I left like 15-9 or 14-9 and we won a ton– you know what I’m saying? And we won a ton of games. Obviously, it’s three games into the season so we ain’t just going to like, you know. But s**t like that put pressure on the coach, and that ain’t fair to him.”
Billy Donovan is not to blame, according to Patrick Beverley, for the Bulls’ failure to accumulate victories.
Beverley’s outspoken comments are understandable given that he was brought in to serve as an enforcer for a Bulls team that lacked mental toughness. He goes on to discuss the player’s only meeting, saying that it’s unfair to hold Billy responsible for the team’s shortcomings and that there may be deeper problems than people are willing to acknowledge.
“I don’t like it, it’s unfortunate as a f**k, and people ain’t going to talk about it. I played under Billy D, Billy D is a great human being, Billy D is a great man, Billy D is a great coach, a great coach, a great coach bro. Like I really enjoyed playing for Billy D. His defensive s**t, contest everything, but just like his mannerism [and] how he controls the team is great.”
In a vacuum, I do think that the players’ only meeting was beneficial since there are legitimate complaints that need to be addressed among the players. I do agree with Beverley, though, that this is a ticking time bomb that is about to blow if the purpose of the meeting was to ignore Donovan instead of dealing with their own problems head-on. According to reports, Donovan asked the squad if they wanted him to leave the locker room. The players decided to settle the dispute in front of their head coach.
Watch Beverley discuss the Bulls on the Pat Bev Podcast episode that follows:
There might be some truth to Beverley’s remarks here after all—the Bulls have only gone on to produce a miserable 1-5 record after this video was uploaded. The Bulls have to quickly turn things around, as they have favourable matchups against the Pistons and Magic in three of their next four games, if they hope to alter the perception of this squad.