Chicago Bulls fire general manager Gar Forman

Gar Forman (Google Images)

The Chicago Bulls have fired general manager Gar Forman of Moraga, California. Forman was relieved of his duties on Monday according to Rogers Sportsnet. Forman had been the Bulls general manager since May 21, 2009.

In that time period, the Bulls had a regular season record of 450 wins and 419 losses in 869 games played. They also had a postseason record of 26 wins and 33 losses in 59 games. Forman was initially hired by the Bulls as a scout in 1998 and then was promoted to director of player personnel in 2004.

In 2010-11, Forman was named the National Basketball Association Executive of the Year. That season the Bulls had a record of 62 wins and 20 losses. Forman was credited for signing free agent Carlos Boozer, which gave the Bulls a deep threat at the power forward position and complement established starters Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. Rose was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2010-11 as he led the Bulls with 25 points per game and 7.7 assists per game.

Forman also brought in Tom Thibodeau to coach the Bulls for the 2010-11 regular season. Thibodeau was very effective as the Bulls head coach. He won the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year and helped the Bulls make the playoffs for five consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2015.

The furthest the Bulls got in the NBA Playoffs while Forman was at the helm was in 2010-11. The Bulls made the Eastern Conference Finals after playoff series wins over the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks. The Bulls then lost in five games to the Miami Heat.

However over the last three seasons, the Bulls have been in a rebuild. In the last 229 games, Chicago only has a record of 71 wins and 158 losses. Chicago’s top three leading scorers (Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Coby White) also have an average age of only 21 years old.