When Charles Oakley received a $50,000 fine for blasting Tim Floyd's coaching style

After a storied championship run in 1998, the Chicago Bulls wanted to start a new era. Unfortunately, as a newly appointed head coach, Tim Floyd was not the right person to lead the franchise in that direction.

After winning six NBA, Floyd took on the ardent task of succeeding Phil Jackson. With Michael Jordan retiring for the second time and key players leaving, the Bulls found themselves in a rebuilding phase. The former college coach had work to do and Bulls executive Jerry Krause felt he was the right man for the job.

Floyd struggled to get respect

Unfortunately, it was not a walk in the park for Tim. Players did not embrace his strategies at the time. One player who openly criticized him was Charles Oakley. The NBA veteran shot back at the former UTEP head coach, questioning his coaching approach and consistency.

"If Tim challenged our effort, you have to challenge the way he does things too," Oakley said via UPI . "He makes the lineup changes every day. We just can't go out and throw one guy in one night and another guy in one night. We have to be more consistent," the 17-year veteran added.

For his comments, Oakley drew a $50,000 fine for his response. But looking at the other players, there was an apparent disconnect from within. Players such as Tyson Chandler and Dalibor Bagaric had clashed, but Floyd hardly took responsibility. Instead, he blasted his players, calling them pathetic.

The turning point

With the tarnished relationship from within, many wondered how Floyd could keep his post with the Bulls for three years. But it reached the point where Floyd was forced to give up. Although his contract was good until the 2004-05 season, Floyd stepped down as the Bulls head coach. He wrapped up his stint with the Bulls with a woeful 49-190 win-loss record, the worst coaching start in the history of the NBA at the time.

"I really tried to give my best effort and sometimes that's not enough," Floyd said in another report by UPI . "This is a sad day for me, a tough day, so excuse me if I get a little emotional," he added.

Ex-Bul center takes over

Bill Berry took over on an interim basis after Floyd stepped down. That lasted only four days, as Chicago named former Bulls center Bill Cartwright its new head coach.

Unfortunately, the three-time NBA champion's tenure was short-lived. Like Floyd, he failed to turn things around for the Bulls, leading to his dismissal in the 2003-04 season. His first and only coaching stint ended sourly, and he managed only a 51-100 win-loss record with Chicago.

Despite his ambitious plays, Krause was never able to assemble a competitive Bulls team since Jordan and Pippen left. In 1999, he took a chance on Brent Barry, the son of the legendary Rick Barry.

In Pat Riley's eyes, the Bulls may have thought they had found a replacement for Jordan. Unfortunately, Brent's only similarity was that he could dunk like MJ. Beyond that, the 15th overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft was hardly the dominant player that Air Jordan was.

Related: “He wants to come to the cookout but we’re not inviting him no more” - Charles Oakley on his disdain for Charles Barkley