Results tagged “johnpaxson”

Rumors swirled, in the weeks leading up to the NBA trading deadline, that John Paxson was on his way out the door as Bulls GM. Instead, he remained in the Bulls front off and managed to pull off three trades that turned the Bulls' season around and propelled them into the playoffs.

At an evening press conference to update the media on the flury of trade activity at the league's trading deadline, John Paxson tried to put rumors of his imminant departure from the GM job to rest. Opening the presser, he stated, "I'm the GM of the Bulls. I'm not resigning. I'm here. I'm going to be here. That puts an end to it." We notice he didn't say for how long he's staying... perhaps he's not resigning today or this week, but does he still plan to leave at the end of the season? Perhaps only Pax himself knows. Or perhaps he simply had a chance of heart after being able to successfully shake his roster up and position the team for a run at the top free agents after next season.

The NBA trade deadline is early afternoon on Thursday, and the Bulls were expected to be active. But the Bulls didn't land Amare Stoudemire, nor did they trade Larry Hughes -- yet. In their first deal, the Bulls sent Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni, Michael Ruffin and Cedric Simmons to the Sacramento Kings in return for Brad Miller and John Salmons. There's a strong consensus that the Bulls were on the big winners of this trade, with the Kings looking to dump salary (the Maloofs lost millions to Bernie Madoff), and the Bulls gaining both help now and cap room down the road.

With the NBA trading deadline quickly approaching, trade rumors involving perhaps the biggest catch out there -- Phoenix Suns power forward Amare Stoudemire -- are circling back towards his landing with the Bulls. There is no doubt that Stoudemire would give the Bulls the front line scoring they need and the star type player they've been missing in recent years. The Suns seem to be very intrigued by Tyrus Thomas and are attracted to Drew Gooden's expiring contract. The Bulls, of course, want to move Larry Hughes and his overinflated paycheck. So can these two teams work out a deal? If Stoudemire does get traded, the Bulls seem to be the front runner now.

We'll take this rumor with a grain of salt, seeing as it's coming from the NY Post's Peter Vescey, but he's reporting that John Paxson is out as the Bulls' GM soon after next week's trading deadline passes, and that Vinny del Negro will likely be out of a job at the end of the season, too. Vescey expects another round of wooing Doug Collins by Jerry Reinsdorf to fill one or both vacancies.

With the Bulls off on their second extended road trip of the season -- this time exiled by Disney on Ice -- their season is on the brink. At seven games below .500 and sporting a 5-17 road record, the team that's already outside looking in with regards to the playoffs might just be positioned for another high lottery pick come June.

With their season just past the midway point, Bulls GM John Paxson gave a frank assessment of his team thus far. And what he had to say wasn't favorable, "We're not very good right now."

Overcoming huge odds against them, the Bulls landed the NBA draft's top pick in last month's draft lottery. On Thursday night, the Bulls used that pick to draft point guard Derrick Rose.

Having won the NBA Draft Lottery, the Bulls are free to select any player available -- but the consensus top two players are power forward Michael Beasley from Kansas State and point guard Derrick Rose of Memphis. With the choice pretty much narrowed to those two, the Bulls are bringing each in for personal workouts and interviews this week.

Vinny Del Negro? Really, Pax? You spent seven weeks searching and interviewing at least 13 candidates for the next coach of the Chicago Bulls and that's what you come up with? A guy with no prior coaching experience?

In the six weeks since Bulls GM John Paxson fired interim head coach Jim Boylan, countless names had emerged as possible replacements: coaching legends like Larry Brown, formerly hot coaches like Mike D'Antoni and Avery Johnson, and well-regarded assistants on teams still in the playoff hunt all seemed likely at some point in the search.

While initially mentioned among the leading candidates for the Bulls' head coach vacancy, Avery Johnson's seeming desire to take a year off on the Mavs' dime had made him an afterthought in recent weeks, even as other top candidates landed elsewhere.

The Bulls hit the jackpot on Tuesday night, winning the NBA Draft lottery!

Last week, it looked like the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni were close to hooking up. Then rumors that the New York Knicks also liked D'Antoni began to sweep through the halls. Most thought, however, that D'Antoni was just playing hard to get, hoping to squeeze more money from the Bulls.

Rumors spread through the NBA world like spring fever through a high school yesterday, as ESPN.com reported that current Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni wanted to coach the Bulls, followed by reports that the Bulls liked D'Antoni, too.

That didn't take long...

So this is what happens when two teams, out of playoff contention and just trying to run out the season, meet in the week's final season?

Chicagoist spent our Saturday night on the couch watching the Duke/North Carolina basketball game -- the best rivalry in college basketball, and on that night a match-up of two Top 5 teams battling for the ACC regular season title. Countless former players form both teams found their way into Cameron Indoor Arena at Duke to witness the game in person. Among those spotted in the crowd was Bulls guard Chris Duhon, a former Blue Devil.

Just squeaking in before the NBA's Thursday afternoon trading deadline, the Bulls made a big move by moving Big Ben.

Bulls GM John Paxson is having about as much luck these days as fellow Jerry Reinsdorf employee Kenny Williams. While the Sox have been unable to add a marquee center fielder to their roster, the Bulls keep keep coming up short when trying to land a player who can be the centerpiece of their franchise.

The NBA finalized the All-Star game rosters, announcing the reserves on Thursday. It should come as no surprise that the Bulls will not represented. Again.

With Wednesday night's win over the Indiana Pacers, the Bulls reached the half way point in their season on a high. Not only did they win the game, but they did so without Luol Deng, Chris Duhon and Ben Gordon, who are all currently injured.

We always imagined it'd be pretty hard to get into too much trouble in a place like Boise. The Bulls' second-round draft pick JamesOn Curry, currently playing for the Iowa Energy in the NBA's developmental league, however, managed to find enough to be arrested in the Idaho town early Thursday morning and to be charged with urinating in public and resisting arrest.

It's been quite a week for Bulls rookie Joakim Noah. After a confrontation with Bulls assistant coach Ron Adams, Noah was suspended for a game. Then his teammates voted to suspend him an additional game.

Bulls head coach Scott Skiles was just handed a stocking full of coal: Executive VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson fired him today. Skiles had been with the Bulls for five seasons, amassing a 165-172 record. He's been an NBA head coach for over eight seasons, with a career record of 281-251.

Should Chicagoist be worried that the Bulls have opened their season 0-4 after dropping Tuesday night's game to the L.A. Clippers 97-91? Having watched three of their first four in their entirety, we can certainly say that the Bulls look nothing like a team who we'd predict to win 55 games and finish atop the Eastern Conference. Not only have they yet to enter the win column, but they're not even losing to elite teams....

With the baseball season over for both local teams and the Bears falling flat on their face, what's a Chicago sports fans to do? Chicagoist has turned to the Bulls — even if it's only the preseason. Through three games of their seven-game preseason schedule, we're impressed so far. With last night's 97-76 win over the Washington Wizards, the Bulls stand at 2-1. Records don't mean much during the exhibition slate — teams give extended...

With the draft behind him, Bulls GM John Paxson hoped to fill the Bulls' need for a low-post scorer via trade or free agency. Without wanting to break up the team's young core, and without much cap room, Paxson didn't have a lot of options as the free agency period began last Wednesday.

The NBA's annual draft took place Thursday night, and the Bulls added three new faces to the roster. With the ninth pick--which the Bulls had via the Knicks due to the Eddy Curry trade--they selected Joakim Noah from Florida. If nothing else, he certainly made the biggest fashion statement of the night with his seersucker suit, bow tie and crazy hair. Picking Noah was certainly consistent with GM John Paxson's style of going after players...

The sports media has been abuzz since ESPN's Ric Bucher reported that L.A. Laker guard Kobe Bryant suggested during an interview that he wanted to be traded if the Lakers didn't lure former GM Jerry West back to the organization. A day later, Kobe refuted that assertion, but the rumor mills continue to swirl about whether the Lakers' prima donna wants out.