Wednesday, April 14, 2010
6:30 PM
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C.Prior to tonights season finale against the Bobcats, Bulls head coach spoke about yesterdays revelations regarding an alleged physical altercation with team executive vice president John Paxson in Del Negros United Center office after the teams win over Phoenix on March 30th in Chicago.
All those things will handle themselves at the end of the year, said Del Negro.
Del Negro was also asked about todays ESPN report that cited a source who alleged he was the aggressor in the incident, contrary to the original Yahoo! version of the situation.
Thats inaccurate. Thats 100 percent false, said Del Negro. This thing is funny just because you have guys that care, guys that are competitive and its unfortunate that it had to come out.
The most important thing is to focus on the game tonight, the playersthe effort that theyre putting in and all those things will take care of themselves at the end of the season, he continued. Hopefully thats not for a while.
NBA
When asked about the allegation in the ESPN report that he was also involved in a similar altercation with Bulls general manager Gar Forman, Del Negro told CSNChicago.com, All that stuff is internal. It will be dealt with at the end of the season. Right now, the focus is the team and the game and working through that.
Forman, who is in attendance at tonights game in Charlotte, declined comment to CSNChicago.com, but did a release a statement to the media.
The Chicago Bulls are focusing all of our energies into the remainder of this season and, as such, were disappointed at the recent stories that may have distracted from that.
Reports of a recent internal disagreement between a Bulls executive and the Bulls head coach were the result of each expressing their passion about the health and well being of their players and the desire to win basketball games, read Formans statement, in part. The event occurred in Coach Del Negro's office, not in the locker room and not in front of the players, as some wrongly have reported. This disagreement, while not communicated well by either party in the heat of the moment and in the immediate aftermath of a tough loss, was a result of conflicting views, but all based on the fine balance required to ensure both the immediate and long-term success of the team and the health of its players.
The Bulls have a full and complete understanding of what took place, but, as requested by all parties, will address the attendant issues with the participants after the season is over. At this point, everyone intends to keep focused on the remaining games.
Regarding tonights game, Del Negro doesnt expect his players to have any letdown, whether from playing on consecutive nights or the distraction of the teams ongoing saga.
Guys are going to be a little fatigued so our bench is going to have to give us some minutes and play well for us, said Del Negro. The players have done an unbelievable job in terms of their focus.
Their effort last night was fantastic and were going to need a very similar effort tonight, he continued. I dont care whos playing or whatever, youre going to have to play well here to win.
We have to try to find a way to get our energy up and our emotions up, but the guys have done a good job of that lately.
Bobcats head coach is expected to play his regulars tonight, although the Bobcats dont have a chance to rise or fall higher or lower than their predetermined seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Thats up to Larry. He knows his team better than anybody, said Del Negro. I think it really all depends on your situation. There have been cases where guys have played and didnt need to play and got hurt and missed the playoffs.
Fans are coming to watch the players so you want to perform well all the time, but I think you also need to be smart about it.
Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.coms Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.