Accountability, something foreign in Knickland...


ATLANTA -- Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah was benched for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Hawks -- by his teammates.

We have a chance to salvage this season and we just need everybody on the page.

--Adrian Griffin

They delivered a unanimous vote after the rookie from Florida was involved in a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams in practice before Friday's game at Philadelphia.

Noah was inactive for the Philadelphia game for internal disciplinary reasons, but the players told interim coach Jim Boylan one game was not enough.

"We have a chance to salvage this season and we just need everybody on the page," said Bulls veteran guard Adrian Griffin.

"It's one of those things that I believe is going to bring us closer.

"Everyone on this team knows what Joakim can do and we just look forward to getting him back on the court."

A subdued Noah, who is averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.3 minutes, sat at his locker before Sunday's game.

"They just told me what I did was unacceptable and I'm just going to move on from here," Noah said. "I've just got to accept it. What do you want me to say? I've just got to move on. There's nothing I can do about it."

When asked if he believes the two-game suspension is too severe, Noah said "Ask the players who made the decision. I don't know. ... Do I agree with it? It doesn't make a difference. I respect my teammates."

Boylan, promoted to head coach on Dec. 27 after Scott Skiles was fired, said the suspension resulted from more than one incident.

Boylan called Noah "a great kid," but noted he's been involved in "a couple of situations where he's been late or not doing what the Chicago Bulls do. So the cumulative aspect of this is definitely part of the reasoning for the players doing what they did."

"This isn't college anymore," Boylan said. "It's the NBA. This is professional sports."

He said the team felt Noah needed to sit another game.

"They felt it deserved more," Boylan said. "It was the entire team that felt that way, so I back my team and the decision that they made, and appreciate the leadership that they've shown."

Atlanta rookie Al Horford, who played with Noah at Florida, called the ninth pick in the draft "very emotional" and "very competitive."

"I just feel it's a learning experience for everyone in general," Horford said. "If you cross a line in something like that, there's consequences to it. ... He wants to win really bad. I think people will figure him out as time goes on."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

accountability.. something we have yet to see here in NY... The teamates vote marbury off, and Isiah plays him damn near the whole game..

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by tkf:

accountability.. something we have yet to see here in NY... The teamates vote marbury off, and Isiah plays him damn near the whole game..

First 2gms off the bench after AWOL logged 78min. Boy do we have some Doozies that never get old and are everlasting.

that is when the knicks lost me... after that, I mean where do you go, when your coach and GM can't bench a player, and then lets him threaten him? come on..

Wow. See that's the difference between organizations with accountability and the Knicks. I bet both the Bulls and Noah come out the better after this.

I know people probably don't want to hear this but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Their "accountability" got them a 21 point beating by the Atlanta Hawks.

This stuff only helps galvanize a team in the long run. The players are taking control which is always a good thing. Noah has to answer to his mates not just the coach. I think it was a coach riding him pretty hard and the kid snapped. Ok, thats cool but respect and order must be held.

Marbury has a history of not respecting his coaches and this is another reason he could never lead.

My opinion is Isiah had the team vote and went against it to help get him fired.

As the man says, he will never ever quit!!!

Posted by bitty41:

The fact that the team knows that their *interim* head coach listens to them and respects them far outweighs any one victory in early January.

Is that what they'll be saying in April if they miss the playoffs "who cares about winning our coach whose going to be fired in 2 days listens to us". Sorry I hate the Bulls and I will always delight in their downfall. Hopefully they continue to lose and Deng/Gordon/Nocioni bounce. So I can see them really hit rock bottom.

Look sometimes these things work benching a player for stepping out of line but I still don't understand why it even went to team vote. He's a bench rookie player and you need a team vote to decide whether or not to bench him when he's breaking team rules.

Maybe the unanimous vote will have a more positive impact on Noah than an order coming down from an intermittent coach alone would have: Hopefully he'll perceive the decision as being fairer and be more likely to realize that he was out of line. The ultimate goal for Noah to grow and mature from the experience.

Posted by bitty41:

Is that what they'll be saying in April if they miss the playoffs "who cares about winning our coach whose going to be fired in 2 days listens to us". Sorry I hate the Bulls and I will always delight in their downfall. Hopefully they continue to lose and Deng/Gordon/Nocioni bounce. So I can see them really hit rock bottom.

Look sometimes these things work benching a player for stepping out of line but I still don't understand why it even went to team vote. He's a bench rookie player and you need a team vote to decide whether or not to bench him when he's breaking team rules.

Hey I'm with you on the Bulls losing, I'll always root against them. I just think this was a good move for the team, even though they lost. It showed the players that the coach has their back and respects their decision.

Posted by bitty41:

I know people probably don't want to hear this but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Their "accountability" got them a 21 point beating by the Atlanta Hawks.

You probably don't want to hear this but I thought is was worth mentioning.

The Knicks "no accountability" got them an 8-22 record since.

Hard to emulate the SPURS until you are that good already. They operate on a different level now. Drafting Euro guys and sticking them there for years (Ian Mahimi?). Nobody else can get away with that.

Again this isn't a comparsion as to whose a better run organization the answer is obvious. I know kid's fan clubs run better then the Knicks organization.

But the Bulls will never get any love from me hopefully their jig is up and they've hit the proverbial brick wall and will return to the NBA sewer where they rightfully belong .