Bulls Part Ways With Chip Schaefer

[HomoSapien]

The Chicago Bulls and Chip Schafer have parted ways, per sources.

Schaefer, the head athletic trainer under Phil Jackson during the dynasty days, returned to the organization as Director of Performance Health in 2016.

Head athletic trainer Todd Campbell is serving as the interim Director of Performance Health, sources said, with more changes possible to the athletic training, strength and performance health staff.

The widely respected Schaefer was kept on in 2020 when Artūras Karnišovas replaced John Paxson as executive vice president of basketball operations. He drew widespread praise for his handling of the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, helping spearhead the rigorous league-mandated testing protocols. He also used his close relationship with Jackson, for whom he also worked during the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty, to have Jackson address the Bulls during a trip to Los Angeles this season.

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Bulls have had a lot of bad luck with injuries but Schaefer has a good individual track record. Unless we are getting the Suns’ voodoo doctors I’m not sure if this will matter much

[prolific passer]

Another dynasty piece gone to the waste side

[SalmonsSuperfan]

maybe he thought lonzo had long covid and spent the last 7 years treating him for that.

[Hangtime84]

Good bring more sports science focused perspectives in

[dougthonus]

Bulls have had a lot of bad luck with injuries but Schaefer has a good individual track record. Unless we are getting the Suns’ voodoo doctors I’m not sure if this will matter much

I would imagine the reality is that this type of thing is relatively a commodity and you are right, it's unlikely it will make a meaningful difference. It's certainly possible that Schaefer hadn't kept up with all the latest science and was too old school which is certainly a possibility of anyone whose training was so long again, but there's no real reason to think that's true either.

[Ice Man]

I would imagine the reality is that this type of thing is relatively a commodity

Remove "relatively" and you are correct. It always surprises me (although I guess I shouldn't be surprised by now) when NBA fans think there's some meaningful difference between this team's doctors and that team's doctors. There are big differences between doctors of 1924, 1974, and today. But within a time period? Come on now. They are trained at the same places, read the same journals, talk to the same people, make very similar decisions.

I have a somewhat odd eye condition (nothing serious but unusual.) I visited 3 different eye specialists and they all immediately said pretty much the same thing. I mean, this stuff isn't a secret.

[dougthonus]

Remove "relatively" and you are correct. It always surprises me (although I guess I shouldn't be surprised by now) when NBA fans think there's some meaningful difference between this team's doctors and that team's doctors. There are big differences between doctors of 1924, 1974, and today. But within a time period? Come on now. They are trained at the same places, read the same journals, talk to the same people, make very similar decisions.

I have a somewhat odd eye condition (nothing serious but unusual.) I visited 3 different eye specialists and they all immediately said pretty much the same thing. I mean, this stuff isn't a secret.

I think the gaps in treatment are primarily when diagnosis is difficult / less certain or when one physician is just out of date with new treatments or hung up on ineffective treatments (like people pushing supplements for cash). No real reason to think the 2nd of those things applies to Schaefer (though it's certainly within the realm of possibility), the 3rd is highly unlikely to apply to Schaefer, and I have no idea how often the first thing is relevant in this field, but would guess that it probably isn't too often.

[TheSuzerain]

Do we think AK is driving some of the turnover or further up the chain?

[Axl Rose]

This is the Bulls doing something without doing anything.

[SalmonsSuperfan]

Bulls have had a lot of bad luck with injuries but Schaefer has a good individual track record. Unless we are getting the Suns’ voodoo doctors I’m not sure if this will matter much

I would imagine the reality is that this type of thing is relatively a commodity and you are right, it's unlikely it will make a meaningful difference. It's certainly possible that Schaefer hadn't kept up with all the latest science and was too old school which is certainly a possibility of anyone whose training was so long again, but there's no real reason to think that's true either.

reading this little KC blurb, this is exactly the impression I get mixed in with the fact that Reinsdorf probably liked this guy and so he kept a job he didn't deserve because he's "widely respected". Sounds like a good ol boy who was on an emeritus assignment to me.

[madvillian]

With training and sports medicine I'm firmly of the belief that older guys can get stuck in their ways and it's better to usually go with younger trainers and docs. Small step in the right direction here.

[DropStep]

Do we know exactly what "Director of Performance Health" means as far as the Bulls goes? Is it under, over, or a peer of Training, Strength and Conditioning, or anything else in the organization? If it's independent of the other two, I would expect it to be focused on the latest research and technology toward improving performance and avoiding injury - maybe things like measuring stress and strain on joints, movement analysis, tracking sleep and rest vs intensity of practice and game minutes, and measuring those vs. injury and performance. And I would expect the goal of that organization to be to gain an advantage over other teams with the latest methods - i.e., maybe not a Chip Shaefer. Am I anywhere close?

[prolific passer]

This is the Bulls doing something without doing anything.

Changes were made regardless.

[meekrab]

Is he just ready to retire? The dynasty was 30 years ago.

I guess we'll find out if he gets hired somewhere else.

[The 6ft Hurdle]

Is he just ready to retire? The dynasty was 30 years ago.

I guess we'll find out if he gets hired somewhere else.

Wow that makes me feel so old.

On top of that they use a picture of him from the 90s. Had to google how he actually looked like today.

[Hangtime84]

With training and sports medicine I'm firmly of the belief that older guys can get stuck in their ways and it's better to usually go with younger trainers and docs. Small step in the right direction here.

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