He was a huge asshole, no doubt. Apparently, none of the players seem to have gotten along with him and he was way too tough on the young guys. He couldn't get past the second round of the playoffs and we suck so far this year... etc.
Now, I think sometimes fans/coaches/GM's get ahead of themselves a little bit and can be a little too hasty. Take a closer look at Skiles record:
2003-04 (half season)
19-47
8th in Central
Missed Playoffs
2004-05
47-35
2nd in Central
Lost in First Round
2005-06
41-41
4th in Central
Lost in First Round
2006-07
49-33
3rd in Central
Lost in Second Round
2007-08
9-16
Wait a second... that's not so bad. On top of that, we've made the playoffs 3 years in a row and went to the second round last year. That's more than can be said for 90% of the league. In addition, I bet that his hardcore ball-busting probably had a maturing effect on the guys that developed with him (Hinrich, Deng, Noch, Gordon, Duhon, etc- who are all team leaders now ).
Is it possible that Skiles made our team play much better than they actually are? If we give him the benefit of the doubt, it's easy to see Skiles as not only mistakenly fired but actually a great coach. He's having a rough time integrating Wallace (who is a veteran with a big paycheck and bigger attitude) and it's going to take the new guys a few seasons to mature... I think we were way too hasty to fire Skiles.
I'm sure nobody likes playing for him but I think the Bulls need a tough figure like that to keep them in check. I mean, let's be honest, Hinrich could be a bench player on a lot of teams and same goes for Gordon (he was always a better 6th man than starter). Deng is the only legitimate star with more upside on our team and I think we're getting a lot of productivity out of him. And, more importantly, who are we going to turn to now?
Great. And his moustash is in the wrong place.
To quote the late Skiles: 'Basketball is like religion. Many attend, few understand."
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