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Fred Hoiberg's Offseason Focus: Continuing To Build Relationships With Team Leaders

By Cody Westerlund--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Amid the disappointment of a lost Bulls season that, barring a basketball miracle, will end without a playoff trip for the first time since 2008, rookie coach Fred Hoiberg has been in the crosshairs regarding his relationships with his players, notably after star wing Jimmy Butler called him out after a December loss.

On Saturday morning, in the dying days of the season and before his Bulls (39-40) host the Cavaliers (56-23) later in the evening, Hoiberg expressed a belief that his vibe with the players has been mischaracterized.

"Absolutely there is," Hoiberg said when asked if there's a misconception. "I've got very good relationships with these guys. I met with several of them this morning. I meet with them regularly. My relationship with Pau (Gasol) is ... Pau and I went out to dinner after the Indiana game and talked about a lot of things. You meet with these guys to try to have these relationships be to where you need them, and I think we've done a solid job of that. To have those relationships, you've got to continue to build them, and I think that's going to be a big thing this summer.

"Jimmy and I have an excellent relationship. Again, he was one of the guys that I met with this morning after shootaround, just to talk about some things that we need these last few games, and he was very receptive.

For all the Bulls' struggles in meshing on the court and his inability to implement his preferred style of play, Hoiberg does acknowledge this: His off-the-court development with players is most meaningful right now. When asked what he can do, practically speaking, this offseason to improve the team, Hoiberg first cited meeting with team leaders.

Butler will be one of those players. Who else that may be is unclear, as the injured Joakim Noah, long the heart and soul of the Bulls, is set to be an unrestricted free agent.

"A lot of it is meeting with players who'll be in leadership roles," Hoiberg said. "Jimmy's been pretty outspoken about being the first time in his career that he has (it) and next year he'll have gone through a year where he's had that. So there's a lot of sitting and talking about what we can do to help erase the early issues we've had this season and getting better from it.

"What I can do, sure, I'm the first guy to look at every game, especially when we don't play well, what I can do better. It'll be a lot of that this summer, is going back and watching. The good times, 22-12, the good things we were doing on the floor. And when we went through our struggles, we had a six-game winning streak and turned around and lost three straight and lost them in a big way. Why those inconsistencies have happened over the course of the season and trying to correct it as best we can."

Notes: Starting forward Taj Gibson (rib fracture) and E'Twaun Moore (hamstring strain) will miss Saturday night's game and could miss the final two contests as well, Hoiberg said. "It's not looking good for the rest of the year," Hoiberg said ... The Bulls are eliminated from playoff contention with a loss in any of their final three games or a Pacers win in any of their final three games.

Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.

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