Un-TY-ing Chicago's Hands

You may have missed this somewhere in the John Amaechi madness that overtook the NBA headlines last week (which I'll save for a post down the nightmare, as Amaechi has managed to play the fans like a fiddle)...
Bulls rookie forward Tyrus Thomas has the tremendous upside of an NBA youngster. Sick athleticism, a strong jump shot, high expectations after being taken No. 2 overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.
Thomas evidently skipped the part of the rookie manual on what to say to the media.
Last week, after earning an invitation to take part in the slam dunk contest at the NBA All Star Game (which most would argue that the dunk contest and night-before festivities are more interesting than the game), Thomas made cardinal mistake No. 1 in the sports.
He told the media how he actually felt.
Thomas said something akin to that he was only entering the contest to get a check (the winner gets somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, and all participants I believe take home a grand regardless) and, win, lose or draw, was representing himself and his monetary desires instead of the league, the Bulls, etc.
While most people know that what Thomas said was essentially true (the dunk contest has not been able to attract prime competitors in recent years due to lack of interest and, according to Shaq, the paltry prize), there was a mild uproar regarding his comments.
Within a day, the Bulls took action, fining Thomas and issuing a public statement in which Thomas apologizes, retracted his comments, said he was proud to be representing the league and the Bulls and whatever else Chicago's PR team could drum up for him.
Yeah, the Bulls took the only recourse possible in a situation like this from a publicity standpoint, but I know I'm not buying it...and I can imagine that other sports fans are not either. I guess an apology was necessary to stop the bleeding, and the fine (although I don't believe that was right either) showed that the Bulls were not going to tolerate his stupidity.
However, Chicago's fine and release tactic pretty much made Thomas's comments are as fabricated as they come. It's not likely that Thomas would go back on his original feelings a day later without someone in the office telling him to wise up and go along with it. He already said he was there for the money; there's no way he would all of a sudden roll out of bed and say, "You know what, I'm going to show the pride I have for the Bulls by throwing down a reverse 360 windmill."
I remember back in 1996, when the umpire collapsed and died on opening day in Cincinnati and then-Reds owner and legendary sports nutcase Marge Schott complained about the game being ruined, then sent flowers to the deceased ump's family. Yeah, it was a nice gesture, but the damage was done, and no one believed Schott acted on her own instinct.
As for the Bulls, maybe they should better "educate" their rookies on how to avoid public mishaps like this.
Or maybe it's what they wanted all along....
If anything in the case of Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls may have done what the NBA hasn't been able to in recent years: stir up interest for the All-Star game. If it is true that any publicity is good publicity, the NBA must be loving this. I'm sure there are people out there who had no idea of the names of any of the contest's participants, and some will probably now tune in to see what Tyrus Thomas will do.
That's all for now. Be nice

JC