Editing John Paxson (section)

===Chicago Bulls===
In April 2003, Paxson left his broadcasting position to become General Manager for the Bulls after the resignation of longtime Bulls general manager [[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 one of the stars of their championship years. 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]]. These moves had virtually no impact at all, and the Bulls finished Paxson's first season as general manager 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 (basketball)|Ben Gordon]], [[Luol Deng]], [[Chris Duhon]] and [[Andrés 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 (basketball)|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 [http://www.suntimes.com/output/bulls/cst-spt-bull062.html ] "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 [[NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award|Defensive Player of the Year]] [[Ben Wallace (basketball)|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 general manager'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. {{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

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]]. In June 2008, Paxson named former NBA player and scout [[Vinny Del Negro]] head coach,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/delnegro_hired_080611.html|title=Bulls Name Vinny Del Negro Head Coach|website=Chicago Bulls|date=9 May 2008}}</ref> but their relationship eventually went sour. Multiple reports surfaced that on March 30, 2010, Paxson and Del Negro got into a physical altercation<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-bulls-vp-paxson-shoved-222300099--nba.html|access-date=25 February 2014|first=Adrian|last=Wojnarowski|date=13 April 2010|title=Sources: Bulls VP Paxson shoved Del Negro|website=Yahoo}}</ref> over the minutes of Bulls center [[Joakim Noah]], who was recovering from a foot injury. Paxson allegedly grabbed Del Negro by the tie and shoved him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/04/13/del-negro-paxson-spat-comes-to-forefront/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820100932/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-04-13/news/ct-spt-0414-bulls-celtics-chicago--20100413_1_del-negro-john-paxson-and-coach-bulls-spokesman|access-date=25 February 2014|archive-date=20 August 2016|date=13 April 2010|title=Del Negro, Paxson spat comes to forefront|first=K.C.|last=Johnson|url-status=live|website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> Del Negro was fired a little over a month later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-Chicago-Bulls-finally-fire-Vinny-Del-Negro?urn=nba,238618|access-date=25 February 2014|title=The Chicago Bulls Finally Fire Vinny Del Negro|archive-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306141040/http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-Chicago-Bulls-finally-fire-Vinny-Del-Negro?urn=nba,238618|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 21, 2009, [[Gar Forman]] replaced Paxson as general manager, when he was promoted to vice president of basketball operations.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526125808/http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1584652,CST-SPT-bull21.article|url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1584652,CST-SPT-bull21.article|title=Bulls name Gar Forman new GM; Paxson still on top|date=21 May 2009|archive-date=26 May 2009|website=Chicago Sun-Times|first=John|last=Jackson}}</ref>

During Paxson's leadership of the Bulls front office, the Bulls have had below-average success. From the 2003–04 through 2018–19 seasons, they failed to make the playoffs five times; lost in the first round seven times; lost in the conference semifinals three times; and lost in the conference finals once.

On April 13, 2020, Paxson was reassigned as senior advisor of basketball operations, when the Bulls named [[Artūras Karnišovas]] executive vice president of basketball operations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/chicago-bulls-statement-john-paxson|title=Paxson will move into a new role as Senior Advisor of Basketball Operations|website=Chicago Bulls| date=April 13, 2020}}</ref>