Construction of a Contender: Part I & II <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">[IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/bulls/paxson_060921.jpg[/IMGL]n the first installment of a two-part feature, Bulls.com examines John Paxson?s most significant front office moves from the early part of his tenure as general manager, including the drafting of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, and the hiring of Scott Skiles. Visit Bulls.com on Monday for the second half of this segment. When John Paxson took over as the Bulls? general manager three and a half years ago, he inherited a team that was loaded with underachieving and undesirable players. The organization lacked a positive direction, and a search for the winning ways that had eluded the team since Michael Jordan?s departure in 1998 had begun. Paxson knew that turning things around would be a tall task, and that patience would be his most important virtue. With an evolutionary plan in mind and lofty goals in place, Paxson was determined to stay the course until he made them a reality. Chicago?s GM says that his philosophy as general manager dates back to his playing days, when he was primarily a role player. ?I valued the team and understood that guys who weren?t the headline players could still add and contribute to a team,? Paxson said. ?Those values were important to me and I felt that was how you won.? Paxson added that when he took the job, he didn?t have a set train of thought that he was ready to instill on a daily basis. ?Instead, it was sort of born out of some of the decisions that I had to make,? he said, citing his first draft as an example, just days after Jay Williams? motorcycle accident. ?When you are faced with tough decisions is when your philosophy comes forward.? With the departure of Tyson Chandler, Paxson put the finishing touches on a complete overhaul of the Bulls roster since his arrival in the front office. Along the way, he?s taken significant risks and dealt away young talent that many fans once believed would be the cornerstone of the franchise. ?When I first got the job, everyone was really excited about our prospects,? he recalled. ?They had just won 30 games for the first time in years. But when camp arrived that fall and I started to look at our make-up, I didn?t like it. I didn?t like the character of the team. I found out that you can?t change it in one swoop; you have to chip away at it.? Now, three years later, thanks to crafty trades, successful drafts, and, most recently, a major free agency score, Paxson has led the Bulls back to prominence. The team has made two consecutive playoff appearances and the young core is only beginning to scratch the surface of its potential. In Scott Skiles, Chicago has a head coach who fits perfectly with a hard working group that refuses to quit. Expectations for the coming season have been raised, and Chicago may once again have a legitimate contender playing on the West Side. Bulls.com targets the organization?s ten key transactions since Paxson?s tenure began and talks to the general manager about each move.</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">?No-ci-oni! ? No-ci-oni! ? No-ci-oni!? If you were at the Bulls? opening game against the Washington Wizards in the 2005 NBA Playoffs, you can still hear the thousands of fans chanting for the 6-foot-7 forward out of Argentina. Gritty, relentless efforts like that one?he finished the game with 25 points and 18 boards?have made Nocioni a fan favorite. They are the same qualities John Paxson saw over two years ago overseas. ?He?s as tough and passionate when he plays as anyone I?ve ever come across,? said Paxson. ?When I went over to Spain and saw him in the Spanish Cup a few years back, I was enamored with that passion and thought that it would fit exactly what we were trying to do. It fits our coach, it fits what I like, and, in addition, he?s a pretty darn good basketball player.? When Nocioni first arrived in Chicago, it was largely believed that his main contributions would come on the defensive end of the floor. However, Paxson credits him for recognizing after his rookie year that his jumper and outside shot were not as consistent as they needed to be. ?He came in last season, though, and was as consistent of a player as we had as far as defending and shooting goes,? Paxson said of Nocioni. ?I think he learned a lot his first year and now he?s got a little more control to his game. He fits everything we?re trying to do here. It?s pretty simple. ?Noce also extended his range and became a pretty good three-point shooter for us last year,? Paxson added. ?We need to play that way, because we don?t have that dominant low-post guy who is going to score a ton of points. His game expanded last year, and that?s what you hope your guys will do. You want them to work enough until they become real threats. I guarantee you that every other team in the league would love to have that guy. I value him very highly.? Having Nocioni in addition to Luol Deng provides the Bulls with tremendous depth at the small forward position. While the luxury of having two high-caliber threes can cause a slight dilemma in getting both of them adequate minutes on the court, Paxson is quick to point out that Nocioni spent more than his fair share of time at the power forward slot and will continue to do so when match-ups allow. What he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in aggressiveness. ?He?s as good of a straight-line driver as there is in the league,? said Paxson. ?When he catches it and busts to the basket, he doesn?t flinch. A lot of guys flinch, but Noce doesn?t. That?s where he has the advantage against some bigger guys that maybe aren?t as quick.? ?It?s a wonderful luxury to have,? Paxson said of Deng and Nocioni. ?I think that the game is getting to a point where versatility is really important and both Lou and Noce have versatility. Our roster this year has got a ton of versatility to it. I think that Scott and his staff are going to be able to find different ways to play.?</div> http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/paxson_feature_060925.html
Paxson mentions that 11 out of 15 games in the first month are on the road and if there's a chemistry problem than that might create loses. I really don't see something like that happening. Wallace, Brown, and Griffin are all vets and Thabo has been all over the world I'm sure he's got some people skills and I don't see any of them creating issues. As for the youngsters I've never heard of them having any issues in the past and I'm sure they're smart enough to see that there's no room for that kind of attitude. But he is right about that schedule. And we did start off last season slow so maybe we won't start off that great but this is the NBA so that doesn't really matter haha. Also anyone have any idea why Paxson said Wallace won't be that talkative in the locker room? I'm just assuming he's the strong silent type haha, is that what the word was in Detroit?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bulls=Amazing:</div><div class="quote_post"> Also anyone have any idea why Paxson said Wallace won't be that talkative in the locker room? I'm just assuming he's the strong silent type haha, is that what the word was in Detroit?</div> He had a couple small outbursts with Flip Saunders nothing serious though.
