Boylen says Bulls 'moving on' after near boycott of practice

The Chicago Bulls' players didn't want to practice following Saturday's 56-point loss to the Boston Celtics, but new coach Jim Boylen and his staff insisted on it.

Apparently, everyone reached a compromise.

According to a report from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls avoided some major drama (or more major drama) when the players decided against a practice boycott with a players-only meeting. That meeting was followed by a meeting with coaches and management.

"After two hours of meeting, select players took the court for individual meetings," Johnson reported.

This was a solution reached by all parties to avoid another basketball disaster in a season that may have already slipped away for the Bulls (6-21), who sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.

"If Boylen and his staff hadn't been receptive to the players' desire to meet instead of practice, things could've gone south," Johnson reported. "According to multiple sources, a group text exchange began with 'two or three players' advocating for the rare practice called after a set of back-to-back games with another game scheduled Monday."

Eventually, both players and coach seemed satisfied with the final arrangement.

"This is a family thing," Boylen said. "This is open lines of communication. We're still learning about each other. I've moved over the 18 inches (from the assistant coach's chair). They're still learning how I want it. There's been a little bit of shock and awe here in the last seven days. And there's an adjustment to that. And that's OK."

Boylen later added that everything is good now, adding that "we're moving on," and the players clearly agreed.

"I think it was a collective thing," rookie forward Wendell Carter Jr. said. "We both agreed on something, the players and coaches. We came to them as men. We talked, told them how we felt. And they responded very well."