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Ranking John Paxson’s Hits & Misses: Part 1

Filed Under Analysis/Commentary, NBA, Chicago Bulls

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What’s been the worst kept secret in Chicago for the last couple of months will be made official tomorrow morning when the Chicago Bulls announce that Director of Player Personnel Gar Forman will be promoted to General Manager.

While John Paxson will maintain his role as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and still have final say (along with owner Jerry Reinsdorf) on all basketball decisions, he will be taking a less active role in the day-to-day operations of the team.

It’s good to see that Paxson is staying with the organization and not leaving completely. He has done a very solid job since being hired to his current position on April 14, 2003, a week after Jerry Krause resigned from the same role.

In Paxson’s time in Chicago’s front office, the Bulls have cleaned up the mess left by Krause and made the playoffs 4 of his 6 seasons.

While there are some major issues to address this summer, especially when it comes to figuring out what to do with unrestricted free agent Ben Gordon and being active for a true low-post scoring option, the future appears bright for the Bulls as long as Derrick Rose is around.

With that said, I thought it would be fun to rank some of Paxson’s best and worst moves handling the day-to-day operations of the Bulls. I’ll begin with his hits and come back tomorrow with his misses.

The Good

1. The 2008 Draft: Selecting Derrick Rose of Memphis with the first overall pick in the first round.

Sure, the Bulls were lucky to surpass the odds and win the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery. But remember a year ago that there was a huge debate in Chicago over whether the Bulls should take Rose or Kansas State’s Michael Beasley. The decision could have gone either way, but Paxson made the right one. In a day and age in the NBA where the point guard position is more important than ever before, Paxson took Rose and landed Chicago’s first franchise player since Michael Jordan. After a Rookie of the Year campaign that surpassed all expectations, Rose could go down as the franchise’s third best player in time (behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen).

2. November 24, 2003: Relieved Head Coach Bill Cartwright of his duties; November 28, 2003: Followed up by hiring Scott Skiles as Head Coach.

It’s always hard to fire someone who was a former teammate, as Cartwright and Paxson were during Chicago’s first three titles. In getting rid of the classy yet ineffective Cartwright, Paxson showed early in his regime that he had what it takes to make the tough decisions. And by hiring Skiles — a surprise choice who came out of nowhere — Paxson began forging an identity for the organization.

What had been years of being lost on and off the court following the championship dynasty was replaced with a fair taskmaster in Skiles who demanded accountability and defense from his players. While Skiles could be a bit stubborn at times, his style was a joy to watch for 4 1/2 seasons as the Bulls became one of the hardest-working and more refreshing teams to watch in the league. Skiles took the team to the playoffs 3 out of the 4 full seasons that he was head coach in Chicago.

3. The 2004 Draft — June 24, 2004: Acquired seventh overall pick in first round from the Phoenix Suns; June 25, 2004 — selected Ben Gordon of UCONN with the third overall pick in the first round; selected Luol Deng of Duke with the seventh pick in the first round; selected Chris Duhon of Duke with the 37th overall pick in the second round.

The Chicago Bulls have had drafts that dramatically shaped the landscape of the franchise’s championship history. In 1984, the Bulls got Jordan out of North Carolina. In 1987, Chicago traded the rights to Olden Polynice to Seattle for the rights to Scottie Pippen, and later drafted Horace Grant out of Clemson. In 1990, Krause plucked Croatia’s Toni Kukoc in the second round.

While the 2004 NBA Draft didn’t accelerate the development of a championship team, it helped the Bulls quickly move back to respectability. After an 0-9 start to the season, the young Bulls would rebound and make the playoffs as a fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, thanks in large part to these three rookie draft picks. Gordon would win Sixth Man of the Year and lead the league in fourth quarter scoring during his rookie season, Deng would be a solid contributor before hurting his wrist, and the second rounder Duhon would be a capable starter on a team that qualified for the playoffs. That’s not a bad draft!

4. 2003 NBA Draft: Selected Kirk Hinrich of Kansas with the seventh overall pick in the first round.

Paxson’s first draft with the team was a clinic for what to do during a crisis. Weeks before the 2003 draft, Chicago’s 2002 first round draft pick — guard Jay Williams of Duke — suffered career-ending injuries in a motorcycle accident, basically forcing Paxson to pick another guard.

While Chicago was hoping that Dwyane Wade would fall to number seven, the Bulls ended up taking Hinrich over Texas’ T.J. Ford, who went number eight to the Milwaukee Bucks. Considering Ford’s history of injuries versus that of Hinrich’s, the Bulls made the right pick.

Whether you love or hate Hinrich, you have to admire the way he plays the game, especially defensively. Skiles described Hinrich as the team’s best player during his rookie season, and the former Jayhawk installed some much needed toughness and urgency on the court. While the Bulls may have overvalued and missed on Hinrich’s development as a player when resigning him to a nice contract extension in 2006, the scrappy point guard has been another integral reason to why Chicago got back to decency.

5. August 11, 2004: Signing free agent Andres Nocioni of Argentina.

Not many people knew who Nocioni was when Paxson signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2004. Along with the 2004 rookie draft picks, Nocioni would be a huge contributor as the Bulls made it back to the playoffs in 2005. Nocioni became a fan favorite due to his hard-nosed, intense style of play and instilled the same type of toughness on the court that Skiles brought to the sidelines. While Nocioni would struggle after signing another contract with the Bulls in 2007 and later be traded, he was yet another major component to the organization climbing back to NBA relevancy.

6. February 18, 2009: Traded Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

After missing the 2008 NBA playoffs and getting off to a rough start in ‘08-09, Paxson made a trade that provided a much-needed shake up to the Bulls roster. While this trade initially was not what many fans were thinking, especially when the name of A’mare Stoudemire was being bandied about in trade circles, it proved to have huge dividends.

Miller would help stabilize Chicago’s young big men while Salmons would come in for the injured Deng as the Bulls pushed their way to the 2009 NBA playoffs and a classic seven-game first round series against the Boston Celtics. Miller now gives the Bulls an expiring contract next season in case that dream big man becomes available via trade; if not, Miller will further help the development of Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. Salmons provides protection if Gordon leaves and is on an affordable contract. While it was tough to see Nocioni go, a change of scenery was needed for the fiery Argentine.

7. February 21, 2008: Traded Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and 2009 second round pick to Cleveland for Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons.

Paxson deserves a lot of credit for recognizing that Wallace — whom he signed to a 4-year, $60 million contract in the summer of 2006 — was aging fastly and not whom he thought he was acquiring. While the Bulls had to get garbage in exchange for Wallace, could you imagine if the Bulls held onto Big Ben? He’d be virtually unmovable until this upcoming season, meaning that the Bulls would have had to suffer through his declining play and poor leadership this past season. In reality, the Bulls traded Wallace for Miller and Salmons, two contributors who proved to be good teammates and more effective players in Bulls uniforms.

8. July 14, 2006: Traded Tyson Chandler to New Orleans for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith.

After signing Wallace as a free agent in 2006, Paxson had to move Chandler, who was signed to a contract extension the previous summer. Wallace’s first season in Chicago proved to be successful as the Bulls advanced to the second round in the Eastern Conference. After a slow start, Brown proved to be a great leader and defender on the court, giving Chicago a formidable defensive front line with him and Wallace. You can argue that Brown’s presence made Wallace better that season. Brown’s ability to hit the mid-range jumper was also huge as the Bulls marched in the playoffs.

What’s lost in Chicago falling apart the next season was that Brown did not re-sign with the team but retired before signing with the Celtics late in the season. Would the Bulls have fallen apart in 2007-2008 with a respected veteran and inspirational leader like Brown still on the team? That question has a lot of validity when you look back at that train wreck of a season.

9. December 1, 2003: Traded Jalen Rose, Lonny Baxter and Donyell Marshall to the Toronto Raptors for Antonio Davis, Chris Jeffries and Jerome Williams.

After taking over for Krause, Paxson wasted little time in cleaning up the mess and bad attitudes of underachieving players. At this point in his career, Rose — who was acquired by the Bulls in 2002 for Brad Miller and a young and unrefined Ron Artest — could still score, but he didn’t too much else. The Bulls were not a team going anywhere with Rose on them, and this trade was another one that provided some much-needed change. Davis proved to be a great addition who added more toughness to the Bulls. Davis was a pro’s pro, a solid veteran who helped Baby Bulls big men Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry make great strides in their development as players. Davis started on the 2005 Bulls team that got to the playoffs for the first time since Chicago’s last championship team in 1997-1998.

10. August 5, 2004: Re-signed Jamal Crawford and traded him and Jerome Williams to New York for Dikembe Mutombo, Othello Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski.

Crawford was a decent player on the Bulls; the problem was he was a one-dimensional scorer who made no one else better. While Harrington would be the only player in this trade to contribute for the Bulls, Paxson continued to clean up Krause’s mess and get rid of his disappointing draft picks. Despite his ability to score, Crawford has never played for a team that has made the playoffs. He simply didn’t fit in with what the Bulls were looking to do under Skiles and had to go, especially with rookies like Gordon and Duhon in the fold.

11. February 19, 2009: Traded Larry Hughes to New York for Tim Thomas, Jerome James and Anthony Roberson.

Coming to Chicago in the Ben Wallace trade, Hughes was never a good fit but rather a ridiculously high salary that was needed to move “Big Ben.” Lacking the type of game that Paxson likes, Hughes was more of a distraction and negative influence (to no one’s surprise) in his time in Chicago. During this past season, Hughes complained publicly about his playing time on several different occasions, and his mere presence contributed to a logjam in the back court that never allowed Thabo Sefalosha to fully develop. In reality, Chicago should have tried to move Hughes last summer as his meltdown was predictable. Still, Paxson got him out just in time for the team to come together and make the playoffs.

The Bulls got nothing worthwhile in this trade but peace of mind. Too bad the Bulls didn’t send Tim Thomas home again, but they needed his body on what was a very thin bench at the end of the year.

12. 2007 NBA Draft: Selected Joakim Noah of Florida with the ninth overall selection in the first round.

While it took Noah a while to come around, he looks like a good player to have around Rose in the future. In fact, he looks to be what the Bulls thought Ben Wallace would be: an offensively-challenged hustler who made his living on the boards, with the main difference being that Noah cares about winning and Wallace didn’t seem too concerned about this after getting a fat contract.

13. July 20, 2003: Signed Scottie Pippen as a free agent.

For the sake of sentimentality, this was a great move by Paxson. It was also a move that allowed Pippen to finish his career in a Bulls’ uniform. While Pippen would only play out one of the two years that he was under contract for, it was still fun to see him come back to Chicago, even if he was no longer healthy or effective.

This signing signaled a huge philosophy shift and personality difference in Paxson and Krause. Quite frankly, would Krause have put the bad blood aside and signed Pippen? The answer is no.

If there’s one thing that I enjoyed about Paxson early in his tenure with the Bulls was his propensity to bring in veterans who may have been limited players at that point but were still solid influences for the younger players to learn from. You know, guys like Pippen, Kendall Gill, Harrington, Malik Allen, Adrian Griffin, Erik Piatkowski and Lindsey Hunter this past season. It was great to see those type of guys on the bench as opposed to washout free agents like Eddie Robinson or joke draft picks like Dalibor Bagaric and Dragan Tarlac.

Honorable Mention

Summer of 2004: Pursuing Kobe Bryant in free agency.

Before Bryant re-signed with the Lakers in July of 2004, Paxson went under the radar and flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the free agent. Amazingly, no one in the media picked up on this until way after the fact. Bryant said he was impressed with the Bulls’ presentation, and although he stayed where everyone figured he stay, Paxson showed the ability to take a home run swing.

Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll review some of Paxson’s misses with the Bulls.