From ESPN.com, we have Jerry Reinsdorf feeling "disappointed" and "misled" about the Bulls' negotiations with Mike D'Antoni:

I said if we need to get something done this weekend we shouldn't even bother talking because it will take longer than that ... He said nothing had to be done over the weekend. I also said if this proceeds to where we want to make an offer, we don't deal with coach's agents. He said that's not a problem and that money wasn't the most important thing anyway. He said he wanted a job where he was going to be happiest. He said he didn't want to coach the Knicks."

It's amazing that Reinsdorf's own version of what happened reads as such a strong indictment of the way this negotiation was bungled.

First off, it's important to point out that even in this version of the story, it's not apparent that D'Antoni "misled" the Bulls at all. It's possible that, at the time he said it, he really didn't want to coach for the Knicks. It's possible that the Knicks came with a better offer, or that D'Antoni was more impressed with the organization as he got further into the process, or that he simply changed his mind. It's his right, after all.

Secondly, even if D'Antoni lied through his teeth about coaching the Knicks, well, I don't see how that lets the Bulls of the hook. D'Antoni had all the leverage in this situation, as a coach who a) already had a job, however tenuous, and b) found himself in a situation where multiple organizations were bidding for his services. Reinsdorf's words here reek of arrogance, as if he expects D'Antoni to be so grateful for the possibility of working for the Bulls (after all, no job had even been offered, according to Reinsdorf) that D'Antoni should cease any further job searches at that point.

Third, I'm sure Reinsdorf has good reasons for not negotiating with coaches' agents, but I'm just has sure that D'Antoni probably has good reasons for having an agent in the first place. Why would Reinsdorf expect not to lose out with this kind of draconian policy? Once again, it's as if he doesn't realize that there were other teams out there perfectly willing to compete with the Bulls for D'Antoni's services.

So, in effect what we have here is Reinsdorf - in his own words - telling D'Antoni that a) the Bulls are unwilling to work as enthusiastically as other teams to get D'Antoni on board, and b) once the job is offered, they'll be unwilling to let D'Antoni negotiate on terms as favorably as other teams will. And Reinsdorf then feels "disapponted" that D'Antoni chooses to go elsewhere? And - this point bears repeating - this is Reinsdorf's own version of the story!

I actually don't have much of an opinion on what the merits of hiring D'Antoni would be for the Bulls. It sounded like an intriguing idea, but these things have a way of not working out as planned. Nevertheless, if their plan is to hire a big-name coach, it's very difficult to see how they're going to succeed if this is the way Reinsdorf continues to run things. One would think that a long string of mostly disappointing seasons over the last decade would have led to less heavy-handed operations, but this latest episode shows that this is not the case.