John Paxson - Management

Management

In April 2003, Paxson left his broadcasting position to become Vice-President of Basketball Relations for the Bulls after the resignation of longtime Bulls GM Jerry Krause.

After a promising conclusion to the 2002-03 NBA season, Paxson pledged that the team would make the playoffs. He made headlines by signing former icon Scottie Pippen after years of bad relations between the franchise and the stars of their championship years, Jordan and Pippen. However, the Bulls opened the 2003-04 NBA season in sloppy and uninspired form, and Paxson opted to begin reshaping the character of the team by trading leading scorer Jalen Rose for Antonio Davis and firing friend and former teammate coach Bill Cartwright, replacing him with Scott Skiles. The moves had no immediate impact upon the team's success, and the Bulls finished Paxson's first season as GM with a 23-59 record, second-worst in the NBA.

In his second season, however, Paxson was able to reshape the franchise with remarkable speed through the draft. Kirk Hinrich made the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2003-04, and the 2004-05 rookie class yielded four major contributors, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon and Andres Nocioni. After a long drought dating back to Jordan's departure, the Bulls returned to the playoffs and posted the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, a 24-game improvement from the previous year. The Bulls were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, by the Washington Wizards despite having home court advantage, a better regular season record and a 2-0 lead in the best of seven playoff series. The absence of starting center and leading scorer Eddy Curry and promising small forward Luol Deng in this series played a major role, although Tyson Chandler and Kirk Hinrich both performed well.

When center Eddy Curry showed possible symptoms of a heart problem shortly before the playoffs, Paxson took a cautious approach and would not clear Curry to play without extensive DNA testing. Ultimately, Curry was traded along with Antonio Davis to the New York Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, and several draft picks. This trade would give them the Knicks first round pick in 2006, which they eventually used to acquire Tyrus Thomas, and the right to swap first round picks with the Knicks in 2007. The Bulls floundered in the season that followed, but the team made a late-season run to finish at 41-41 and earn a second consecutive trip to the playoffs - as well as a second consecutive first-round exit. Eddy Curry has yet to miss another game due to a heart related injury.

Paxson acknowledged "It's no secret we need to get size in our frontcourt and we need to get a bigger guard if we can, a defensive-oriented guard. And we really need some leadership on the floor. I think our guys are still young in their development there; it's a lot to ask an entire group to assume that leadership role. So, that's the wish list, if you could get everything you wanted. I'm optimistic about this offseason. We should be, we're in a really good position; we've got good, young players and the ability to add to that."

Following the Bulls' first-round loss to eventual champion, the Miami Heat, Paxson sought to improve the Bulls' frontcourt and defensive guard play by trading for rookie forward Tyrus Thomas, drafting guard Thabo Sefolosha, and signing four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace.

The Bulls experienced an up-and-down regular season in 2006-07, winning 49 games but suffering a demoralizing loss to the New Jersey Nets in the last game of the season, dropping as a result from the 2-seed in the East to the 5-seed. Deng rewarded his GM's loyalty by playing dominating basketball in the Bulls' first-round playoff sweep of the defending champion Heat in April 2007. But Paxson observed the Bulls' lack of a low-post threat when they were beaten by the Pistons in six games.

After high expectations for the 2007-08 season the Bulls started 9-16 and were last in the Central division. He fired Scott Skiles on December 24, 2007. Saying “This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time. Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team.” Over the span of five seasons with the Bulls, Skiles compiled a record of 165-172 (.490), and guided the team to the playoffs three consecutive years before getting fired. Paxson promoted assistant coach Jim Boylan to interim head coach and the Bulls finished the year with a 33-49 record, missing the playoffs. Despite having only 1.7% probability, the Bulls won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected Chicago native Derrick Rose with the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Paxson named former NBA player and scout Vinny Del Negro head coach.

On May 21, 2009, Gar Forman replaced Paxson as GM. Paxson's current title is VP of Basketball Operations.