Of all people, the laid-back and mild-mannered Lauri Markkanen seemed the most telling.

After the Tuesday morning shootaround, Jim Boylen’s first as Bulls head coach after replacing the fired Fred Hoiberg on Monday, Markkanen fielded a question about whether he thought Hoiberg still had control of the locker room.

After a pause, Markkanen said: “It’s hard to say. It’s so different. I don’t know. That’s a hard question to ask.”

Told that it’s an important one to answer, though, Markkanen tried again.

“Like you said, sometimes he did, sometimes he ... nah,” Markkanen said before cutting his attempt at a lighthearted exit short and laughing. “Obviously, players take care of themselves. We talked about different stuff in the locker room. But I don’t think we talked about coaches’ decisions and stuff like that.”

So did players respect Hoiberg?

“Yes, I think so,” Markkanen said. “But of course it’s different (because) I’m used to a more laid-back coach. I don’t know if there’s one right type to coach.”

Did Markkanen feel players took advantage of Hoiberg’s nonconfrontational style?

“I don’t know how it went in the past,” he said. “But I think last year, we had a pretty good group of guys and we didn’t do it.”

Markkanen added he loved playing for Hoiberg and had “love (for) him as a person.”

Even while admitting to the obvious differences in personality between Hoiberg and Boylen, Zach LaVine at least publicly disputed management’s assertion that Hoiberg’s loosening grip had led to a lifeless and dispassionate team.

“I didn’t feel that way because even with our record, we still had energy, still had dudes talking, guys trying to be leaders and represent the Bulls,” LaVine said. “I can’t speak on behalf of everybody. But I know for myself, I play with passion every game and I play with drive.”

LaVine texted a note to Hoiberg, thanking him for his hard work.

“Everybody respected Fred. We all listened to him,” LaVine said. “Obviously with everybody, there’s certain things he didn’t like about me or certain things that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on. But we all respected him. He was the head coach and we followed that.’’

Now, Boylen is the head coach. And between moving Jabari Parker to a bench role behind Markkanen instead of starting him over Justin Holiday at small forward, Boylen is trying to make his mark. He met with each player individually Monday night in his hotel room.

“He has a different personality, and you have to understand it’s not going to be the same,” LaVine said. “He’s going to be the head coach and he’s going to do things the way he thinks is best. You have to respect that. I think he’s more of a tough-minded dude. He wants to instill that hard work. He’s an old-school coach as well, and I’ve played for a couple of those old-school coaches already. It’s a different vibe. You have to be used to it. So I’m trying to let everybody know that.’’

kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

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