Did Vinny Del Negro deserve to get fired????? by Ronald Carthen

It's a shame that Vinny Del Negro was fired as head coach of the Chicago Bulls. When we all heard that Del Negro's altercation with executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, we all knew it was down hill for him if he made the playoffs or not.

Del Negro coached the Bulls for only two seasons, but he was responsible for the development of Derrick Rose and the improvement of Joakim Noah and we all know it's true. It was him who led Rose to the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year and the Bulls first all-star selection since 1998. Noah averaged 10.7 points and 11 rebounds this season (he only averaged 6.7 points and 7.6 rebounds. This postseason he was the first Bulls player to go 20-20 (21 points and 20 rebounds in Game 4 vs. Cavaliers) in a playoff game and the first to do it since Dwight Howard in 2008.

Del Negro lead the Bulls to the playoffs twice in his two seasons with the squad. They did lose to LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games this postseason, but their first round series with the Celtics was epic. Who expected them to push the Celtics to seven games, even without Kevin Garnett, no one.

Del Negro was on the hot seat in December, especially blowing a 35-point lead and losing to the Kings. They even went on a 10-game losing streak from February 27-March 19, while Noah was nursing a foot injury.

The Del Negro-Paxson feud reached it's boiling point when Noah didn't play more than 15 minutes when he returned from injury. When the Bulls lost to the Nets and Noah only played 13 minutes, that's when things for both men began battle amongst each other and things were never the same.

For someone who didn't have any coaching experience I thought he did a great job. With all the injuries he dealt with on this team and the battles he had in his own front office, it's amazing he lasted this long. Most coaches would have been fired or whined about it and resigned. The man only had one more year left on his contract and I wish the Bulls would have let him honor his contract.

Paxson better have a great choice for the Bulls next coach, especially with a great NBA offseason coming up this summer. If you want a big free-agent to help out Rose, you must find someone that all of these players will respect.

Well Paxson the ball is in your court now. Make something happen or you'll be unemployed like your boy Del Negro.