Emma: Awkwardness Rules In Bulls' Fred Hoiberg Introduction
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For nearly 46 minutes on Tuesday at the Advocate Center, Gar Forman was on the spot.
The Bulls' general manager sat before the media, to the right of his hand-picked hire, Fred Hoiberg, and lied. Hoiberg is a man whom Forman coached at Iowa State, once bought a Buffalo Grove house from and goes back two decades with. Ever since, they've spoken as friends and basketball colleagues.
Following seasons of the Bulls feuding with Tom Thibodeau, likely a year of exchanging feelers from Ames, Iowa, and just five days after the bitter divorce with Thibodeau, there was Hoiberg sitting next to Forman -- the Bulls' new coach and boss, finally a pair.
"Frankly, we didn't think it would move this quickly," Forman said of his exhaustive coaching search that somehow managed to find his top guy, Hoiberg.
That was the first of many lies from Forman, who hardly cracked a smile once on a momentous day. That's simply because he and right-hand man John Paxson couldn't work with Thibodeau, firing the successful-but-flawed coach after five seasons. Mud can trace the footstep of each move Forman and Paxson now make.
Both Thibodeau and management had their own issues, each guilty in their own way. Now, Paxson and Forman are on the spot with their fourth head coaching hire.
"He'll be a fit with our players and our team," Forman said. "He was the right guy to maximize the potential of this basketball team."
Hoiberg may be the ideal leader for the Bulls, both for present and future. He's a players' coach who built a strong offensive identity built at Iowa State. If Forman gets his way, it becomes a Steve Kerr-like hire, where a jolt of a fresh face and new ideas gets the team to the next level, similar to what brought the Warriors to these NBA Finals.
Regardless of fit between the Bulls and their new coach, awkwardness was abound, because the presence of Thibodeau still lingered like the sweat he poured into his office carpet during late-night film studies. Anybody who believes Hoiberg wasn't on Forman's mind -- and speed dial -- for the past year, likely longer, would also think FIFA isn't corrupt.
The Bulls' dismissal of Thibodeau was a long time coming. Thibodeau knew it, Forman knew it, Hoiberg knew it, the players knew it, everybody knew it. But even Hoiberg played the game, too, saying he wasn't mindful of the "rumors and speculation" from Chicago.
"We wrestled with this really until yesterday," Hoiberg said.
Another lie, perhaps.
There were too many falsehoods to count at Tuesday's presser. Unfortunately, it overshadowed the nice story surrounding Hoiberg.
"The Mayor" is widely known as a great guy, a tireless worker and driven person. His NBA playing career was cut short due to a heart condition -- one treated surgically for an aneurysm in April -- so he made coaching a goal. Then, he looked toward the pinnacle of coaching as his new aspiration, and that was running the bench of an NBA team.
"My family understands that this is my dream," Hoiberg said. "My life goal has been to go out and coach in the NBA."
Hoiberg admitted to taking a risk by becoming Iowa State's head coach, knowing his iconic status would diminish with failure for his hometown and alma mater. He realizes that leaving Ames and the program he loves is a hazard, too.
But on Tuesday, Hoiberg spoke as a man who made it. He reached this hope of coaching in the NBA, overcoming years of work, his own health battles and so much more to get there.
In his opening remarks, Hoiberg thanked his family, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, his Cyclones and even the media. This was a man humbled by his opportunity.
"A lot of coaches don't walk into a roster that has championship potential in a city that we know," Hoiberg said.
Perhaps Hoiberg could be that guy to lead Chicago to its seventh NBA title. At the very least, those Kerr comparisons could ring true and the Bulls get the chance of pace needed to pick up where Thibodeau left off.
The future for Hoiberg in Chicago appears to be bright, though the present on Tuesday was anything but picturesque. The man sitting to Hoiberg's right made this introduction feel less than ideal.
Awkwardness was the real winner of this press conference.
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.
